Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Speaking of Convention Centers

Can somebody tell me why University of Pennsylvania couldn't have used Convention Hall (Phillip H. Johnson, 1931) for something? Or better yet, why University City wasn't a better site to situate the sprawling Convention Center back in the 1990's rather than planning what is essentially a three block warehouse, just one block from City Hall? We tore down the Broad Street Station (Wilson Brothers & Company, 1881; Frank Furness 1892-93) because it took up too much valuable real estate to remain so close to the literal center of the city. How does the Pennsylvania Convention Center justify it's existence when we can rationalize demolishing two historic masterpieces?

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