Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Historic Church Saved!

Great news from PlanPhilly on the Church of the Assumption on Spring Garden. L&I has unanimously voted to stop plans to demolish the historic site. 

In more good news on Spring Garden's landmark, The Clay Studio has emerged as a "very serious buyer".

I find it ironic that the Philadelphia Historical Commission granted Siloam permission to demolish the church to build a parking lot while the Board of Licenses and Inspection - typically harbingers of the wrecking ball - favored the appeal of the Callowhill Neighborhood Association. 

Would the PHC - charged with preserving Philadelphia's historic catalog - have voted in favor of the CNA if the neighborhood group had spoken up sooner, or is the PHC simply not doing its job?
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2 comments:

  1. Steve StofkaMay 17, 2011 at 8:47 PM

    I was on Philly Brownstoner staff at the time, so I took the liberty of asking around, and as it turns out the PHC decision was far from unaminous. It was 5-4 for Siloam, and the deciding vote was cast by a developer.

    My guess is, had the CNA spoken up earlier, the one ear that would have needed to be swayed would have been.

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  2. WMay 17, 2011 at 8:56 PM

    I remember reading about that on Brownstoner (miss that blog btw!). I always got the impression that this wasn't on the CNA's radar until it was almost too late.

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