There was AstroTurf carpet, a bed, some seating, a coffee table and lamps. Devices included a toaster, coffee maker, space heaters, and a stereo.
“They came in, it was very dark and there was equipment, boxes and crap,” said Mr. McNally, a former general manager of the Electric Factory, a concert venue in Philadelphia. “He had built a few walls in the back, a refrigerator, a couch, a few chairs, a hotplate. It’s not like it’s a luxury apartment. “
Mr. Garvey called it “cozy” with “anything a guy would want”. The bathrooms were across the hall with the staff showers downstairs.
Terry Nilon, Mr. Garvey’s cousin and another former stadium employee, said he saw the apartment but didn’t give it much thought at the time. “I thought it was funny,” he said.
“Disbelief is the key”
In his book, Mr. Garvey “describes an off-the-Wall-South Philly version of The Phantom of the Opera,” including encounters with Eagles trainer Dick Vermeil, Sixers legend Julius Erving and Phillies pitcher Tug McGraw. He also shares elements of everyday life, including the friendships that helped him adapt after the military and the alone time roller-skating through the empty stadium at night, with the city skyline, rivers, Bridges and flights as a background.
“It was euphoric,” he said in an interview. “It was like a form of meditation for me. It helped me alot. “
He was hiding very clearly: everyone knew him, he said, and his job gave him a reason to be there at any hour, every day of the week.
