Facadism is on the rise in Philadelphia and it ain’t pretty. In this op-ed Starr Herr-Cardillo says the practice has the power to confuse compromise with real historic preservation

Design-wise, plans for the Boyd Theater site at 1900 Chestnut Street has been doomed from the get-go. Pearl Properties’ first architect for the project, Eimer Architects, couldn’t deliver a quality blueprint to match the prime Center City site. Enter Cecil Baker + Partners. With thoughtful consideration to neighborhood stakeholders and a mind for smart urbanism, Baker’s redesign sets plans for the the site right. Contributor Stephen Stofka has this Q&A with the architect who picked up the pieces and saved the project from a deadlock

Pearl Properties goes before the Historical Commission tomorrow with new plans for the 1900 block of Chestnut Street. The developer’s first pass with project designs that replace all but the Boyd Theater’s façade and lobby was unanimously rejected by the Architectural Committee in May.

Pearl Properties’ latest plans for 1900 Chestnut Street and the Boyd Theater were unanimously voted down on Tuesday by the Architecture Committee of the Philadelphia Historical Commission amid a room full of applause. Contributor and in-house urbanist Stephen Stofka takes a look at the unsavory design and where the firm keeps getting it wrong

Demolition stickers signal the end of the Boyd Theater’s grand Art Deco auditorium and a lost opportunity to preserve Philadelphia’s last remaining movie palace

Architectural elements to be preserved, some on-site, in legal agreement that also preserve’s the building’s facade. “The best we can do now,” says Boyd advocate

The Historical Commission’s hearing that led to its ruling March 14 to condemn the Boyd Theater were deeply flawed. Architect Katherine Dowdell wants the Commission to account for ignoring key findings, procedural problems, irrelevant evidence, and the “clear appearance of bias”

Advocates fear demolition will take place this week, before the appeals process can begin