The Philadelphia Historical Commission added three properties to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places and kept two “demolition by neglect” cases in check at its meeting on August 14. The session opened with a tribute to former long-serving Historical Commission member Janet Klein, who passed away on August 4 at the age of 96.
The twin houses at 580 Pelham Road and 333 West Upsal Street were added to the local register. Known as the Wolstenholme Twin, they were designed in 1894 by the architectural firm of Boyd & Boyd as part of the Pelham development in West Mt. Airy, a project of bankers Anthony J. Drexel and Edward T. Stotesbury, contemporary to their Overbrook Farms development.
Located on a triangular lot at the juncture of Pelham Road and West Upsal Street, the homes are distinguished by characteristics of the Flemish Renaissance Revival style, with rounded, curvilinear gable-parapets. The original owners were Thomas Wolstenholme and his son Fred, prominent manufacturers of woolen yarn at their Allegheny Worsted Mills at Frankford Avenue and Westmoreland Street in Kensington. The nomination was written by local preservation advocate Oscar Besiert and submitted by the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia.
The Wolstenholme Twin at 580 Pelham Road and 333 West Upsal Street. | Photo: Michael Bixler
Two mirror image properties at 6953 and 7001-09 Greenhill Road were nominated individually. Built between 1916 and 1919, the two stone houses with a shared twin garage were designed in the Colonial Revival style by the architectural firm Mellor, Meigs, and Howe as part of the subdivision of Green Hill Farm, which was developed from the Morris Estate in West Philadelphia.
The owner of 6953 Greenhill Road, Chabad of Penn Wynne, Inc., received a continuance to the Historical Commission’s November meeting. At today’s meeting the Commission proceeded with and approved the designation of 7001-09 Greenhill Road.
In three separate cases, the Historical Commission also reviewed proposals that all stemmed from a situation referred to as “demolition by neglect.” Preservationists and residents alike are concerned about this seemingly growing trend, where developers covet the land under the historic properties they buy and allow Department of Licenses & Inspection (L&I) violations to accrue until demolition is required for public safety. Multiple public comments urged the Historical Commission to deny the requests, to avoid setting a precedent that would encourage this maneuver.
4275 Viola Street is listed as contributing to the Parkside Historic District and is therefore legally protected from demolition. | Photo: Google Street View
The first case was a request by the owner of 4275 Viola Street. Built in 1897 by architect Henry E. Flower, it was listed in 2009 as a contributing property to the Parkside Historic District. The current owner purchased the property in 2023. After numerous violations from L&I, he received and let lapse a make-safe building permit in 2025 to address them and repair the rear ell. Two days after the permit’s expiration, L&I issued another permit for complete demolition. The owner also holds title to the vacant lots at 4214, 4277 and 4283 Viola Street, the latter of which he is appealing a variance denial to construct an 18-unit apartment building.
Philadelphia’s historic preservation ordinance allows complete demolition only if it is deemed necessary in the public interest or unless the building cannot be used for any purpose for which it is or may be reasonably adapted. In the application for the make-safe permit, the owner’s contractor stated that only the rear ell needed to be demolished, which prompted the Historical Commission to deny the full demolition request.
Temple Beth Israel at 3135-49 West Montgomery Avenue was demolished in 2021 after the owners received and ignored numerous unsafe structure violations from the City and allowed the roof to collapse from deferred maintenance. | Photo: Michael Bixler
The second case was a recission request for the parcel at 520 Queen Street. Currently a vacant lot, it was added to the local register in 1973 when a two and a half story house stood there. In 2018, the Historical Commission approved an application for the rehabilitation of the front facade and the construction of a rear addition. When the contractor exceeded the approved scope of work by removing a front dormer and load-bearing walls and damaging the two adjacent properties, the building became unstable and was completely demolished. The owner next requested recission of the designation, stating that the historic qualities that led to its addition no longer exist. The Historical Commission denied the request.
The third example was a recission request for 3135-49 West Montgomery Avenue, the former site of Temple Beth Israel synagogue in Strawberry Mansion. Built in 1907 and designated in 1993, the Moorish Revival synagogue was demolished in 2021 after accruing hundreds of violations and the collapse of its domed roof in 2020. The Historical Commission granted the request.
The Robert Purvis House, a former stop on the Underground Railroad at 1601 Mt. Vernon Street, was saved from demolition by neglect and later rehabilitated after the Spring Garden Community Development Corporation successfully placed the historic home under its conservatorship in 2018. | Photo: Michael Bixler
The owner of the building at 1601 Mount Vernon Street in Spring Garden sought Historical Commission approval in the choice of facade materials. It was designated in 2000, having been a home of abolitionist Robert Purvis. After decades of neglect, the 1859 house was taken over by the Spring Garden Community Development Corporation through an Act 135 takeover, stabilized, and sold to an out-of-state developer. At August’s meeting, the Commission approved the use of cast stone for new steps and window surrounds when the owner claimed marble was prohibitively expensive.
A request to remove the marquee and vestibule walls from the former Boyd Theater at 1910 Chestnut Street was continued to next month’s Historical Commission meeting. Built in 1928 by noted Philadelphia theater architects Hoffman & Henon, it was designated in 1987 and again in 2008. Its Art Deco auditorium and the rear of the building were demolished in 2015.
