“He loved the culture,” Aziz said. “It was bustling and booming. There was music. He came to the States pretty young. He was like 16. He liked the women and the scene. He was there to hang out and make friends.”

In fact, he spent so much time there, his family had their own name for the Philly boulevard: South Saeed.

Aziz’s uncle and family are now back in Morocco, but his spirit is still there, lending his nephew’s project some of his old street cred.

‘It’s good for the street’

“It’s gotten to the point where people will recognize me in public, and they’ll address me as South Street. They’ll be ‘South Street Sam!’ Honestly, it gives me a lot of pride,” Aziz said. “They’re seeing my work, and the positivity and the joy.”

Merchants and others who make up the South Street community are among those who applaud Aziz’s project.

“He’s a great person, and he is definitely capturing the diversity of the street,” said Bridget Foy, co-owner of Bridget Foy’s and Cry Baby Pasta restaurants and whose family has been in business on South Street since 1978. “I think his project is super, and we’re really supportive of it.”

City Police Lt. Steve Ricci has let Aziz photograph him while on the beat on South Street.

“We’re getting into the busy season now. He’s highlighting the good people who come down here,” Ricci said. “It’s good for the street.”

Eleanor Ingersoll, executive director of the South Street Headhouse Square, linked the photo project to the area’s tradition of creativity.

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