Stretching a dollar - and your legs - in University City

What can you get for a dollar in these tough economic times? If you're in University City on Thursday, on Baltimore Avenue from 43d Street to 50th Street, a lot more than you might think.  How about a yoga lesson for an hour and a half?  Perhaps a preview of a fall theater performance, a scoop of ice cream, a salad or a sandwich?

On Thursday, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., join the Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll, a promotion organized by University City District, a nonprofit community improvement group featuring about 15 restaurants and shops.

"The idea is to draw traffic to Baltimore Avenue restaurants and retail locations, to hopefully increase sales during typically slower periods," said Lori Klein Brennan, a spokeswoman for University City District, noting that university students are on summer break and some area residents are taking vacations.

At Studio 34 Yoga Healing Arts, at 4522 Baltimore Ave., customers can get a 90 minute yoga lesson for a buck. Jason Schoen, manager of the studio, said the regular price for such a lesson is $10. "We're, like, the best deal in town. At other studios you can pay $14 to $18 per class," Schoen said. "It's a good deal. We have a huge studio and there is no chance of people being turned away or anything like that. We can accommodate about 80 people."

In the 4700 block of Baltimore Avenue, Curio Theatre Company is offering previews of its fall performances for just a buck. In the same block, at Dahlak, an Eritrean restaurant serving Ethiopian foods, a buck will buy finger foods or a salad.

Brennan said the Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll will be held Thursday and on July 8 and August 12. For more information visit

» READ MORE: www.universitycity.org

or call 215-243-0555.