4200 Spruce Street was built circa 1890 and designed by Andrews, Jacques, and Rantouyl. It is the former home of financier Clarence Howard Clark, Jr. | Photo: Michael Bixler

At its meeting on July 12 the Philadelphia Historical Commission voted in favor of adding the Spruce Hill Historic District to the local register and approved two new construction projects that will each lead to the demolition of historic industrial buildings.

The Spruce Hill Historic District, Southeast Quadrant, is comprised of the area between Spruce Street on the north, Baltimore Avenue and Woodland Avenue to the south, and between 39th and 43rd Streets. Of the 572 properties contained there, 94 percent were deemed to be either significant or contributing to the historic district.

St. Andrew’s Chapel at 4205 Spruce Street was built in 1919 and designed by Zantzinger, Borie, and Medary. It is part of the campus of the former Philadelphia Divinity School of the Protestant Episcopal Church. | Photo: Michael Bixler

An attorney for two large property owners in the proposed district, Campus Apartments and University City Housing, first questioned whether the nomination was complete and correct, claiming that the proposal indicated it was a part of a larger historic district of which an inventory of contributing properties had not been done. At the same time, he called for a continuance in case the Historical Commission found the nomination to be complete and correct.

The nomination was submitted in October 2023. It was reviewed by Historical Commission staff in February and by the Historical Commission’s Committee on Historic Designation in June, both of which found the nomination was complete and satisfied several criteria for designation.

The Leonard Apartments at 4101 Baltimore Avenue. Built in 1928, designed by Israel Demchick. The Italianate twin next door at 4105 Baltimore Avenue was built in 1869 by developers Henry Townsend and Charles Este. | Photo: Michael Bixler

The Historical Commission first voted to affirm the completeness and correctness of the nomination, then voted to deny the request for continuance, pointing out that notices to property owners had been given five months ago. Finally, it voted unanimously to add the historic district to the Philadelphia register, modifying the name to the Spruce Hill Southeast Historic District, citing its significance in the economic and cultural development of West Philadelphia as a streetcar suburb and its body of buildings with distinctive mid-to-late 19th and early 20th century architectural styles including Italianate, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Second Empire, and Georgian Revival. Many of the buildings are the work of significant architects such as Theophilus P. Chandler, Willis G. Hale, G.W. and W.D. Hewitt, and Samuel Sloan. 

The Washington Square West Historic District was also up for a vote at this month’s meeting, but the Historical Commission issued a two-month continuance at the request of several property owners and a homeowners’ association who are opposing the nomination.

John Stortz & Son at 208-12 Vine Street. | Photo: Michael Bixler

208-12 Vine Street, a complex of buildings of the John Stortz and Son Store, the oldest of which dates to 1780, was individually designated in 1984 and was listed as contributing to the Old City Historic District in December 2003. The owner, the current John Stortz, was given permission to demolish the buildings in October 2023, owing to financial hardship and pending approval of building plans, zoning, and financing. Based on the recommendation of the Historical Commission’s Architectural Committee, the full Historical Commission approved the plans without review or comment.

4045-61 Main Street in 2023 and a rendering of the proposed residential redevelopment of the historic industrial site. | Images: Google Street View and CBP Architects

4045-61 Main Street, the Littlewood & Company Dyers and Bleachers complex, was built in 1869 and was listed as a significant property within the Main Street Manayunk Historic District in 1983. In 2023 the current Littlewood family was granted permission to demolish the historic industrial complex based on financial hardship. While the proposed plans retain some of the facades of the original buildings that face Main Street, public commenters and some Historical Commission members objected to the seven-story height and mass of the new construction, which will include 162 residential units. Approval was ultimately granted with a 6-5 vote.