In a time of such rapid development, it is important for community members to access spaces that have a sense of openness, permanence, and stability. That sentiment, voiced by an attendee…
Late this year, a bill quietly slipped through City Council that is intended to protect the iconic Victorian homes in Spruce Hill from demolition. The neighborhood enjoys what experts believe is…
This January, Justin McDaniel may have found a new way forward for Philadelphia preservationists. The last few months, even the last few years, haven’t been kind to their cause. As the…
Friday’s meeting of the Historical Commission opened with the latest twist in the ongoing St. Laurentius saga, but otherwise the meeting proceeded in a fairly breezy fashion. Which is not…
Three churches built by historic Baptist congregations were recommended for nomination to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places last week by the Designation Committee of the Philadelphia Historical Commission. The churches…
Now in its eleventh season, Shakespeare in Clark Park (SCP) staged five free nights of The Two Gentlemen of Verona for its loyal audiences in West Philly from July 27 through…
In an opinion issued July 20, Court of Common Pleas Judge Linda Carpenter ordered that the stay of demolition for 4046-4048 Chestnut Street is to remain in effect until October 15,…
The wall clock in Judge Linda Carpenter’s City Hall courtroom is stopped. But in preservation questions, as in life, timing is everything. Time is the elemental issue in a case before…
From prime examples of “Main Street Modernism” to common neighborhood rowhouse blocks, the Philadelphia Historical Commission’s committee on designation recommended last week that 19 properties be added to the Philadelphia Register…
First, the building on the southwest corner of 40th and Pine streets was a private home for a rich Philadelphian. Then it was a residence for sick elderly people. Later, when…
That historic site is so relevant, said hardly anyone ever. But that’s just what The Woodlands has become. The more common narrative in the world of house museums and standalone…
This isn’t really a news story, because on Wednesday night, after a 90-minute hearing at the Zoning Board of Adjustment, which was scheduled to start at 4 p.m. but which didn’t…
Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell is now supporting the development of an apartment building at 43rd Street and Baltimore Avenue in West Philly, across the street from Clark Park. Blackwell had previously declined…
In her Inquirer column last week, Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic Inga Saffron took 3rd-District Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell to task for supposedly holding up a proposed development at 43rd Street and Baltimore…
The Architecture Committee of the Philadelphia Historical Commission voted Tuesday morning to approve the design plans for Azalea Gardens, a 122-unit apartment complex planned for the historic property at 40th and…
Judge Ellen Ceisler of the Court of Common Pleas has filed an opinion asking the Commonwealth Court to deny an appeal of her decision earlier this year that upheld rulings of…
Newly retired Richard Redding reflects on Northeast Philadelphia, zoning by variance and ordinance, community redevelopment and gentriciation PlanPhilly sat down with recently retired Philadelphia City Planning Commission Planning Division Director Richard…
As first reported by The Daily Pennsylvanian, developer Jonathan Weiss met with Spruce Hill Community Association this week to present a new proposal for 400 S. 40th Street, the historic…
This summer the Philadelphia Water Department and PECO committed significant green (read: financial support) to the West Philly Coalition for Neighborhood Schools' (WPCNS) efforts to green the schoolyard at Henry…
Philadelphia now has long-range plans for future development within the Central and University/Southwest districts. The city planning commission adopted both comprehensive plans at its Tuesday (June 11) meeting. From now on,…