Celebrating National Historic Preservation Month
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May is National Historic Preservation Month.
To celebrate, the Preservation Alliance asked 31 historic preservation leaders in Philadelphia to name a building that has inspired them and why. We invite you to watch this space daily and hear from leaders in the local preservation movement as they reveal the historic buildings that have inspired them.
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Betty Turner
Terminal Commerce Building
401 North Broad Street, Philadelphia
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This building inspired me in the late 1970s. This building was a major factor in my decision to pursue knowledge and understanding of preservation. Antioch College Philadelphia (a satellite site of Antioch College, Yellow Springs OH) was one of many tenants in the building and occupied two floors for offices, classes and semester start colloquia. I was the Undergraduate Program Administrator and a member of the faculty. I was impressed with the majesty and uniqueness of the building, the Art Deco style and the diversity of the building tenants. I envisioned this as a way to foster preservation, expand degree offerings, share history, tell the stories, and expand preservation resources.
The Terminal Commerce Building was owned by The Reading Company and built in 1929. It is a 14-story, concrete reinforced terra cotta faced building. The architect is Steele, William and Sons Co. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. This building is a part of the fabric in the surrounding Callowhill neighborhood.
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Art Deco is a visual arts, architecture and design. It combines both craftmanship and fine materials. These buildings are usually steel and concrete. Over the years the building has changed owners with adaptive reuse projects and other efforts to meet the needs of the tenants. The Art Deco movement represented a belief in social and technological progress. Antioch College was a leader in progressive thought, innovation, social reform and belief that a well-educated populace was essential to a strong democracy.
Today, the building serves as one of the largest interconnection and co-location facilities on the east coast. It is a “carrier hotel” which serves as a co-location center, a secure building in which data communications and media coverage are interconnected with numerous providers share the facilities of this building.
In addition to the Terminal Commerce Building, there are other Art Deco buildings: The Drake; 30th Street Station; Uptown Theater; Tindley Temple United Methodist Church; and others.
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Although Philadelphia is not always recognized for its Art Deco style architecture, the Terminal Commerce opened architecture and preservation to me enhancing professional growth, leadership and community service. Yes, I appreciate this inspired and inspiring building and I will continue collaborative efforts to use preservation to build community.
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Betty Turner
Vice Chair, Philadelphia Historical Commission
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NEW VIRTUAL LECTURES
Watch from the safety and
comfort of your own home!
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Tomorrow! Tuesday, May 19, 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Art Deco in Philadelphia
Presented by Dr. David Brownlee
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Frances Shapiro-Weitzenhoffer Professor of 19th Century European Art,
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia contributed an exhilarating chapter to the history of "Art Deco," the colorful, invented modern style that offered an exciting alternative to the austere functionalism in the 1920s and 30s. The quintessential style of the Jazz Age, Art Deco brought brilliant color to the decoration of the Art Museum, introduced exotic motifs (including Mayan and Spanish Colonial) to the city's new skyscrapers, and contributed zig-zagging ornament to our radio stations and "automat" restaurants. It was also one of the components of the brilliant stylistic synthesis created by George Howe and William Lescaze in the era's greatest landmark, the PSFS Building.
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Tuesday, May 26, 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Penn Square, City Hall, and the Emergence of Modern Philadelphia
Presented by Paul Steinke
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Executive Director,
Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia
The building of Philadelphia City Hall at Center Square in the late 19th century was not only a monumental feat of art, architecture and engineering. It was also a powerful catalyst for city building, and for the forging of a civic identity. Preservation Alliance executive director Paul Steinke discusses the forces that led our municipal headquarters to be located where it is, as well as the forces it unleashed to transform the surrounding neighborhood.
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