- The Planning Commission’s Civic Design Review Committee has granted provisional approval for the Mormon Church’s proposed mixed-use high-rise at 16th & Vine, reports Plan Philly.
- The Inquirer’s Inga Saffron weighs the pros and cons of developer David Blumenfeld’s proposed apartment building over the City Branch submerged railroad and adjacent to the solitary Rodin Museum on the Parkway. On one hand, the basic design “would immediately establish a strong urban presence on Hamilton Street, between 21st and 22d Street.” On the other, it “would drastically alter how we experience [those] two important historic structures,” making the “diminutive Rodin look hemmed in by a giant.” If the project is to move forward, Saffron suggests repositioning the figure-7 shaped building to have it front Hamilton Street.
- The Daily News previews the itinerary for Wednesday and Thursday’s visit from officials of the Democratic National Convention site-selection committee. Last night, Ed Rendell, Rep. Bob Brady and Mayor Nutter stopped by the Independence Beer Garden, where “about 150 people from the corporate, political, nonprofit and activism worlds mingled and quaffed brews in a kickoff party, the first step in recruiting an army of convention volunteers and raising $70 million in local cash.”
- The Philly History Blog looks at the 14-story Sears Tower, which stood at Adams Avenue & Roosevelt Boulevard from 1920 to 1994. “Through most of the 20th century, the Sears complex was a popular and well-known landmark in Northeast Philadelphia. It employed thousands of workers from the surrounding neighborhoods. In the 1960s, the area, still a popular hub, even had a subway station constructed. Although it was meant to be connected to the Broad Street Line, the plan never went through.”
- La Salle University will break ground on September 16 for a $35 million, 78,000-square-foot business school at Wister & Chew Avenues, says the Philadelphia Business Journal. “A 300-seat auditorium, a sales training laboratory and corporate-style boardroom are among some of the building’s features.”
Leave a Reply
Recent Posts
Sharswood Tour Spotlights African American Landmark
Efforts to save the former home and studio of Philadelphia Black Renaissance artist Dox Thrash will take center stage with a neighborhood tour and discussion. Kessler Thibert has the story > more
Exhuming A Pyramid Of Petrol Along The “Golden Mile”
Greg Prichard takes us on a suburban expedition to find Vincent Kling's lost, modernist gas station on City Avenue > more
Conkling-Armstrong House & Jewelers Row District Go Before Designation Committee
Starr Herr-Cardillo has this roundup of local register nominations on the agenda at the February meeting of the Philadelphia Historical Commission's Designation Committee > more
Under Construction: Charles Library At Temple University
Something Snøhetta this ways comes. Michael Bixler takes us to the quad at Temple University where its new library is currently taking shape > more
A Life Of Community Service For Theaters In North Philly
The legendary Uptown Theater is gearing up for its 90th anniversary this month with a new fundraising campaign and the lighting of its original marquee. To mark the occasion, cinema scholar Joan McGettigan gives us a social history lesson on the neighborhood movie houses near North Broad Street > more
Archaic Expectations: Freeing Female Roles From A Dollhouse In Society Hill
In this essay Mickey Herr examines women's roles and social norms through the history of a dollhouse spanning seven generations > more