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Hidden City Philadelphia
UArts Closure Will Bring Change, but It’s Not the First Time
With the University of the Arts (UArts) announcing its abrupt closure this month, several blocks of South Broad Street might soon look different than they do today. The university’s real estate portfolio includes buildings with origins that span 100 years and are scattered along a five-block stretch of Broad Street, plus a few either east or west of it.
When Hot Dogs Threatened the Wissahickon Valley
The Wissahickon Valley has just about everything one could want in a park. There’s the beautiful sight of light filtering through the leaves of a towering oak, then reflecting off of the gently flowing creek below. In summer comes the sweet songs of the wood thrush and scarlet tanager. Year round, dozens of miles of rugged trails, coated with the sparkling dust of Wissahickon schist crushed underfoot, invite visitors to take it all in. But where, they may ask, are all of the hot dogs?
Queen Anne Home and Arts and Crafts Interior Listed on the Local Register
The Philadelphia Historical Commission approved two distinctly different nominations to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places and reviewed two requests for construction on previously designated sites at its meeting on June 14. The home at 3343 West School House Lane in East Falls was built in 1896 and designed by...
Fleisher Art Memorial: Welcoming Immigrants Since 1898
We tend to take Fleisher Art Memorial for granted. It is where we may have gone as kids and returned as adults to make jewelry, paint, or try our hand at ceramics. Yet, we often forget the unique history and mission of this South Philly institution, which has been serving the needs of a constantly changing immigrant community for over 126 years.
Ships Ahoy! New Vessel Construction at the Navy Yard Signals a Historic Revival
History is being made on the Delaware River waterfront with a new class of ocean-going vessels under construction at the west end of the Navy Yard. The ships are uniquely designed to serve both as state-of-the-art training platforms for five of the nation’s merchant marine academies and to provide humanitarian and logistical support in response to national emergencies, such as hurricanes. They echo Philadelphia’s long history of technological innovation in shipbuilding.
In Germantown, a 152-Year-Old Cathedral Connects Communities Through Worship
The Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, a well known and impressive structure in the heart of Center City that most residents are likely familiar with, is not the only minor basilica in Philadelphia. Tucked away in the eastern section of Germantown is another impressive cathedral which shares the same papal designated title as a minor basilica: the Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.
Inventor, Publisher, Celebrity, Diplomat. Environmentalist? Inside Ben Franklin’s Battle Over Philadelphia Pollution
Plenty of visitors to Philadelphia have caught a glimpse of Benjamin Franklin’s old privy well, encased in glass amidst the old foundations of his former home at 4th and Market Streets in Old City. It’s a bit of an odd landmark for sure: most old homesteads urge people to ponder how their historical inhabitants lived, not what they ate.
A New Home is in the Works for the African American Museum Of Bucks County
The barn at Boone Farm’s and the surrounding 32 acres in Middletown Township have been empty for over 50 years. Now, the structure is being renovated and the farm will be the future site of the African American Museum of Bucks County. In 2020, County commissioners Diane Marselia, Robert...
In Germantown’s Food Desert a New Co-op Blooms
Weavers Way Co-op opened the doors to its fourth location on May 15. The new food market in Germantown will undoubtedly take the pressure off its smallest location in Mt. Airy, where squeezing through an aisle requires the agility of a contortionist. The 6,000 square foot space at 328 W. Chelten Avenue is large enough for customers to do wheelies with their shopping carts. It also break the barrier in one of Philadelphia’s many food deserts where a 2023 study found that 29.8 percent of residents experience food insecurity.
A New Book Illuminates the Life and Work of a Forgotten Architect
For several years, a team of historians, archivists, and photographers have been working to return a forgotten architect to the historical record. Not just any architect: Minerva Parker Nichols (1862-1949) was the first woman to establish an independent architectural practice and she did that in Philadelphia. An exhibition at the...
Places to Save: Spring 2024
Editor’s Note: A version of this story was published in the Spring 2024 issue of Extant, a publication of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia. Location: North Front and Cooper Streets, Camden, New Jersey. Built: 1924. Threat: Demolition. Built in 1924 for the Victor Talking Machine Co., Building No....
Op-Ed: Preserve Cultural Legacy, Too, Through Rebuild
Editor’s Note: A version of this story was published in the Spring 2024 issue of Extant, a publication of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia. Rebuild was billed as a generational chance to reinvest in and rehabilitate our parks, recreation centers, and libraries–many historic but few designated–and the program may be former Mayor Jim Kenney’s most positive preservation legacy. While preservation is not an explicit Rebuild objective, it is one of its outcomes. Rebuild represents a renewal of our collective commitment to stewarding the city’s legacy public assets, honoring their civic promise, their enduring programs, the deep and generational community relationships they support, their historic architecture, and quality public design. That’s just the kind of layered preservation our current moment demands. To date, however, Rebuild’s focus has been largely physical. The task ahead is to foreground forms of cultural preservation as part of Rebuild’s projects.
Black Labor Leader Ben Fletcher Honored with New Mural
On Saturday, May 18, a dedication and celebration of a new mural honoring Black labor leader Ben Fletcher will take place on the Delaware River waterfront. The public artwork is the culmination of a collaborative effort between Mural Arts, the Philadelphia branch of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), and the Racial Justice Committee of Philadelphia Democratic Socialists of America (PDSA). The mural will draw attention to a period of local history that often gets lost among communism, the Red Summer, the Negro Renaissance, the Great Migration, and World War I. It will also highlight the 111-year anniversary of a strike that resulted in a better work environment for Philadelphia’s dock workers.
Four New Additions to the Local Register and One Demolition
At its meeting on May 10, the Philadelphia Historical Commission added four buildings to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places. It also approved the demolition of an industrial property located within the city’s oldest historic district. 1200-08 South Broad Street was erected in 1954 for the Order of the...
Rebuilding More Than Places
Editor’s Note: A version of this story was published in the Spring 2024 issue of Extant, a publication of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia. Terrence Finley didn’t set out to get into construction. Up until about a year ago, the 32-year-old was working in an entirely different field when his cousin sent him a link to sign up for a carpentry academy, part of the city’s Rebuild initiative, which trains cohorts in partnership with Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site. Intrigued, Finley applied and, before he knew it, was one of the program’s top participants, building skylight covers to protect and weatherproof roofs at the National Historic Landmark.
Restoration Role Model: The Battery
Editor’s Note: A version of this story was published in the Spring 2024 issue of Extant, a publication of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia. The imposing power plant formerly known as the Delaware Generating Station, which was built in 1917 and in operation until 2005, is being transformed by developer Lubert-Adler Partners and the Strada design firm into a riverfront destination with residences, workplaces, and event spaces. Strada Principal Christopher Kenney spoke with Extant about how the firm reimagined new purposes for the industrial- era leviathan and the massive spaces within.
Dive Into History at the Mermaid Inn
Today the Mermaid Inn in Chestnut Hill is a cherished community landmark, but it may have vanished if singer-songwriter Tom Gala hadn’t stumbled upon it in the 1980s. “There was no one at the bar except a half dozen motorcycle gang members,” said Gala. “But there was an adjacent room that was right for my purpose. I asked the owner, John Mekkis, who bought the place in 1959, if I could use the room one night a month for a gathering of folk musicians. John didn’t say a word. He just nodded.”
Demolition Permits Issued for Historic Chestnut Street Arcade
The issuance of a demolition permit for the century-old Chestnut Street Arcade at 1812-14 Chestnut Street sent a wave of concern through Philadelphia’s historical community this month. While sources familiar with the situation say the worst of the panic might be a bit premature due to a quirk of zoning policy, tax records suggest potential financial motivations for the current owner, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT), to sell.
Carpenters’ Company Celebrates 300 Years with Historic Trades Fair
As the United States prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary in 2026, a Philadelphia institution is doing it one better as it commemorates its 300th anniversary this year. The Carpenters’ Company of the City and County of Philadelphia was founded in 1724. “We are an active trades guild with 200 members, the oldest in the United States,” said Emily Winters, operations and development associate at Carpenters’ Hall.
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Hidden City Philadelphia of CultureTrust is dedicated to exploring Philadelphia’s urban landscape in all its complexity through journalism and public history.
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