George Pepper Middle School at 2901 S 84th Street is one of Philadelphia’s best examples of Brutalist architecture. The school has sat vacant since it was closed in 2013. | Photo: Michael Bixler
George Pepper Middle School in Eastwick is not a building on most people’s radar. The Brutalist pile of rigid, concrete geometry is set back a ways from the road and almost sinks into the periphery as one travels down 84th Street towards John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge. It is a disorienting feat for such a big, commanding structure. To truly appreciate the school’s powerful presence you have to walk onto the campus and see the place up close. What is striking today is how muscular and even dignified the building still looks after a steady barrage of vandalism and five years of vacancy.
The school was designed by architecture firms Caudill Rowlett Scott and Bower & Fradley in 1969. After the original plan was panned by the Art Commission for lacking “the humanity element” and being “entirely too concentrated,” construction was stalled for two years. Another row with the Art Commission in 1973 delayed the project even further and the school didn’t officially open until 1976.
The School District of Philadelphia closed Pepper in 2013 following the vote to shutter 23 other public schools across the city. The building and surrounding property has since become a persistent public nuisance. Windows have been smashed, frayed wiring dangles like exposed arteries, crude graffiti mocks the breezeways and facade. And then there’s the trash. Old mattresses, piles of clothes, boxes upon boxes of adult diapers, and pornographic DVD cases cover the school’s grounds. This past January the Streets Department removed over 26 tons of garbage and 65.32 tons of used tires (approximately 5,000 tires in all) from the property. To make matters worse, the entirety of the Pepper parcel is listed as a FEMA Special Flood Hazard area. The building is also contaminated with asbestos and mold. Without a plan for reuse in the near future the abandoned school is doomed.
“Obviously, Pepper Middle School does not serve the best interest of the community as a vacant building,” said Ramona Rousseau-Reid, Interim President of EFNC. “As an eyesore, it serves no meaningful purpose, its deteriorated exterior diminishes the aesthetic beauty of Eastwick, its vacancy is a symbol of municipal disinvestment, and it is a constant reminder of how vacant buildings impact the property values in the neighborhood. This is why residents and stakeholders want to participate in the decision making process for what occurs in Eastwick.” Rather than considering future proposals for Pepper and other vacant properties on a case-by-case basis, Rousseau-Reid said EFNC decided to include significant vacant properties within the context of the entire neighborhood and its vacant land issues.
Until the Eastwick plan is complete, the sale of Pepper remains on hold. The Streets Department continues to patrol the surrounding property for illegal dumping and Philadelphia Parks and Recreation keeps an eye on the athletic field. As for the school itself, its only defense against further degradation is its indomitable character and colossal concrete bones.
Against all odds, George Pepper Middle School still cuts a brawny figure. Photographs by Michael Bixler.
Terrific photos from Michael Bixler!
The city tears so many beautiful structures down, why are they keeping this ugly thing up!
My recommendation is to do asbestos abatement to remove asbestos and other toxic substances prior to demolishing the structure. That must be done first before giving any consideration to the Eastwick plan as this could stretch for decades as disgruntled parties go ahead to delay the final plan. The land should
be left for passive use and the athletic field used by neighborhood sports groups.
Furthermore, politics must be left away from pending school sales as disgruntled neighbors could screw up sales to developers aiming at conversion of school buildings to apartments with parking provided by former asphalt playing fields behind the school. Leaving abandoned school buildings subject to vandalism brings down housing values in the neighborhood.
I’d encourage anyone to take a walk around this building. Interesting architecture in its way, but wow, does this thing epitomize the reason Brutalism is called that or what! With its inverted setbacks (setOUTS?) and hulking brown concrete, it squats over its puny humans like a boot hovering over a handful of ants. It makes one feel small, so terribly small.
Whoever thought that this would be a good idea for high school architecture? More appropriate to an IRS building. It’s no coincidence that the FBI headquarters in DC is Brutalist.
It’s really a shame that they closed this school . While the building itself is ugly as sin, the surrounding area was beautiful ad we can see in this post from before it closed: http://hiddencityphila.org/2013/04/final-bell-nears-at-brutalist-southwest-philly-middle-school/
I don’t think it is ugly at all. I think it is a powerful and grand building and I hope it can be saved.
I don’t think the building is Ugly! It’s really beautiful! Pray it’s used for a good purpose!
I just drove by this building on the way to John Heinz. It is a once beautiful building that is now an eyesore on a beautiful piece of property. It has been abandoned for 8 years! This neighborhood deserves some action ,whether it is demolished or restored.
Some properties are to far gone to attempt to renovate.It isn’t just a ugly eye sore it is a open and dangerous building that someone could be hurt in.There was a incident in Detroit where a woman was stabbed and killed inside a abandoned school her body wasn’t found for a month.Do we really want to be another Detroit with all those open and dangerous buildings?Tear it down and plant sunflowers