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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Oscar Beisert
Riverwards Wooden Houses
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With so much of Philadelphia’s Delaware River waterfront lost to the construction of I-95, I was always intrigued by the vignettes of buildings and structures that survived east of the interstate in Fishtown and Northern Liberties. Among these accidental survivors was a row of four wooden houses on E. Allen Street, then visible from Penn Treaty Park. While representing a humble building type in a city of vast architectural resources, the surviving row of four frame dwellings was as rare as hen’s teeth--likely built by Manual Eyre, the Philadelphia shipwright, for his workers. The row, with its vernacular, marginally Georgian appearance, brought to mind the historical paintings of Shackamaxon by artists like Benjamin West.
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One day, while passing the row in late 2014, I noticed a demolition permit posted on the door. Alerting the Philadelphia Historical Commission (PHC), I reported that “a row of early 19th century frame houses” was being demolished in Fishtown. Recognizing the undesignated, but historic location, the PHC staff member informed me that the subject houses in fact “dated to the 18th century,” but that there was unfortunately little that could be done. Philadelphia’s preservation ordinance doesn’t allow an opportunity to nominate a building for historic protection if a demolition permit has already been filed. Some cities, such as Boston and Washington, D.C., try to mitigate this scenario with demolition review, but Philadelphia unfortunately has no such provision. Sensing flaws in our local historic preservation culture and regulatory framework, I have since made reforming historic preservation in Philadelphia my personal mission.
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Fearing the demolition of the nearby Second Associate Presbyterian Church on N. Front Street, I immediately filed my first nomination to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places in early 2015, which several local preservationists told me was a waste of time. Once the nomination was determined “complete and correct,” an actual meeting of the Committee on Historic Designation wouldn’t be called until further nominations were submitted, to justify a full meeting of the Committee. I immediately began writing three more: St. Laurentius Roman Catholic Church, the Edward Corner Warehouse, and the 3600 block of Lancaster Avenue. Ultimately all four properties were designated and added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places.
After dozens more nominations, I helped found the Keeping Society of Philadelphia, a non-profit solely dedicated to nominating historic properties for listing on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places (the strongest form of local protection against demolition and insensitive alteration). My efforts over the last five years have amounted to nearly 100 local landmark nominations. Working with local historians, neighborhood groups, and preservationists, my partners and I have successfully nominated more properties than any other individual or organization in recent memory, and it all started with those little wooden houses on E. Allen St.
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Oscar Beisert
While serving as the director of The Keeping Society of Philadelphia, Oscar Beisert works full time for FEMA as its Unified Federal Review Coordinator for Environmental and Historic Preservation compliance, while also working on his old livery stable, where he lives, in Germantown.
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NEW VIRTUAL LECTURES
Watch from the safety and
comfort of your own home!
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Tomorrow! 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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Tuesday, June 2, 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Saving Neon and Rowhouse Culture
Presented by Len Davidson
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Founder,
Neon Museum of Philadelphia
For over 40 years Len Davidson has produced new neon and collected the old, both in sign and story. His 1999 book "Vintage Neon" is an essential photo archive and cultural history for sign lovers. Len’s interactive talk will examine Philly neon history including his establishment of the Neon Museum of Philadelphia in lower Kensington.
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