Photo Friday: South Philly Kaleideoscope + Hot Links

South Philly Kaleidoscope, 804 Christian St. photo by Preservator

City Life Could Change Your Brain for the Worse [Wired]
National Trust for Historic Preservation Announces 2011 List of America's 11 Most Endangered Places [NTHP]
America Reviving its Highway System for Cyclists [GOOD]
Solving the Real Estate Crisis with Parks [The Dirt]

Philly Stories:
Park Preservation: Help Save East Kensington's Emerald Park [Grid]
Philadelphia's Summer Music Festival Breakdown [Philebrity]
Philly Independent Film Festival Gears Up [Newsworks
Owner of Church [of the Assumption] Takes Demolition Appeal to Common Pleas Court [PlanPhilly]
Nightmarket's Next Stop: Mt. Airy on Aug. 4 [nightmarket]

Robert N. C. Nix, Sr. Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Philadelphia is not especially well known for its collection of Art Deco/Moderne architecture, but it is home to some real treasures of 1930s design. One of my favorites is the monumental Robert N. C. Nix, Sr. Federal Building and Court House, taking up half of the block along the western side of 9th Street between Chestnut and Market. The Nix building was constructed between 1937-1939 as a project of the Public Works Administration, a federal initiative to provide jobs and economic activity surrounding public construction projects as part of the nation’s recovery from the Great Depression.

The Nix building is a stylized Moderne structure built out of Indiana Limestone, with simplified classical design elements. The entrances to the Court House, on Market and Chestnut, are flanked by huge bas-relief granite sculptures depicting allegories of justice and the rule of law. My favorites, however, are the bas-relief sculptures along 9^th Street showing postal carriers in different parts of the United States. 

For especially good interior photos of the post office and courts, visit the General Services Administration page for the Robert N. C. Nix, Sr. Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse.

All photos above by Preservator.

Monday Roundup: Kimmel Center redesigns, Kensington's Visitation BVM Matters, PHA Property Disposal, SEPTA Goes Hybrid

Dorrance H. Hamilton Garden at the Kimmel Center, 2009.           photo by Bob Jagendorf / flickr / creativecommons license.

Renderings for the BLT Architects redesign of the Kimmel Center's Dorrance H. Hamilton Garden have been released, revealing a more functional event space - check them out on the A/N blog.

West Kensington's beautiful, twin-spired Visitation BVM Catholic Church (built in 1879) is a finalist in the National Trust for Historic Preservation's "This Place Matters" grant competition. The $25,000 prize would support Visitation's church, school, and community center. Vote for Visitaiton BVM here.

The Philadelphia Housing Authority is seeking nonprofit takers for more than 1,000 of its vacant properties, and will over more than 1,200 to the public at market rates. [Inquirer] 

SEPTA plans to install batteries along the Market-Frankford line to capture and store power generated as trains stop [New York Times Green blog].

Photo Friday: Hot Hot Heat + Hot Links

Seger Playground, Philadelphia. Photo by The Preservator.

Whoa nelly. Hot times. Don't forget that the City of Philadelphia has an interactive map designed to help you beat summer heat, showing swimming pools and cooling centers. Click here.

I really miss phillyskyline.com. Brad Maule, the man behind the lens and the words, returned to Philly briefly and posted a great photo essay of his trip on his new website, Maule of America, here. It makes me miss PhillySkyline even more.

Over at PhillyHistory, Shawn Evans posted about the prevalence of the city's neighborhood movie theaters. The pictures of these lost picture palaces are fantastic.

According to the Philadelphia City Planning Commission, The Future Begins Now. This week the commission adopted the Philadelphia 2035 Citywide Vision this week. If you're up for the long read, download the full thing here, or the summary here. Inga sums it up in this week's Changing Skyline.

Travel Postcards: Pittsburgh, Santa Barbara, and Catskills

In the last month, I went to Pittsburgh twice, zipped west to California, and drove up to the Catskill mountains. More on Philly soon. Meantime, here are some postcards from my travels.

Clayton, Frick Art & Historical Center, Pittsburgh, PA. Photo by The Preservator

In Pittsburgh I visited Clayton, the centerpiece of the Frick Art & Historical Center - a Victorian jewel built for Henry Clay Frick.  History does not recall Frick kindly as an industrialist. (Recall the blood shed on his orders during the Homestead Steel strike in 1892.)  But, Frick is well-regarded for his vast art collection and as a museum benefactor. At home, Frick was a man of style. Clayton, is a delightful Victorian pile in the Point Breeze neighborhood of Pittsburgh. The house is a museum with original furnishings and objects intact and offers a portrait of how swells like the Fricks lived in Pittsburgh. Beautiful gardens, a really good cafe, and a free museum round out the five-acre complex.

Santa Barbara, California. Photo by The Preservator

 Oh, California. Land of my youth! It was a quick visit for a family occasion, but I still managed to put my feet in the Pacific Ocean and watch dolphins playing near the shore. I stand by my conviction that the Pacific is superior to the Atlantic. Sorry.

Photo by The Preservator

Palms to pines. This is the lake in the Catskills where my grandmother lives. It's the most beautiful place I know.

Hot Links - Weekend Edition

Repairing / Remodeling - Bainbridge and South Reese St, Philadelphia. Photo by The Preservator

Hot Links:
Philadelphia Inquirer building is up for sale (again). [Philly.com]
Bart Blatstein's trashy manners [DailyNews]
SEPTA launches TransitView, for real-time bus and trolley info [TechnicallyPhilly.com]
Changing Skyline History vs. Highrises: An Urban Debate [Inquirer]


This weekend:
Philly Beer Week kicks off today - some picks via PhillyHomegrown [HomegrownBlog]
The Roots Picnic 6/4 at Festival Pier[okayplayer]
Philadelphia Burger Brawl benefit for William M. Meredith Elementary School [facebook]
New farmers market opens this 6/5 in Pennsport's Dickenson Square Park [uwishunu]

Photo Friday: Race Street Pier

I popped over to the newly opened Race Street Pier yesterday. Despite the heat, there were several people there enjoying the new park: a couple of people camped out on the new wood benches in the shade of relatively mature swamp oak trees, a few parked on the steps, and two guys were fishing off the end of the pier.

Field Operations' design succeeds in creating a wide variety of spaces, heights, and textures that are a pleasure to discover along the length of the pier. The trees are already relatively mature, and with time will make the park a cool, leafy landscape along the water. Access to the new park space is easy, though it feels a little lonely in its current setting. Here's hoping it will be connected to more public improvements along the Delaware River in short order.

Maybe it was yesterday's heat, but I couldn't help but think that an ice cream stand would be an fantastic addition at the park's entry.

Enjoy the long weekend, everyone.

Photo Friday: Brooklyn City Hall + Goodbye to All That/Farewell to the Enchanted City*

Palen Postcard, Brooklyn City Hall.

Dear Brooklyn,

Thank you for being The Preservator's home base for the last couple of years. I know you won't take it personally when I tell you that we're leaving you for the friendly embrace of the great City of Philadelphia. You are a beautiful place to live and we will treasure memories of your gorgeous brownstones, awesome parks, and wild residents. We leave you in good hands. You won't even notice we're gone. Meantime, we are excited to get to know what's become of William Penn's Greene Country Towne.

Stay tuned for dispatches from a bit further south, maybe even a new format. Who knows what the move will inspire. We are all works in progress.

Yours,
The Preservator

*Goodbye To All That, by Joan Didion - not exactly my feelings, but worth the (re)visit
(also note - this is what the internet looked like in 1997!)

Photo Friday: Custom House Sunset

Cass Gilbert's U.S. Custom House, Bowling Green, NYC. Built c. 1900. Photo by The Preservator

Hot Links

Liquor Store Sign, DeKalb Avenue, Fort Greene Brooklyn. March 3, 2011. Photo by The Preservator.

Queens Graffiti Mecca Faces Redevelopment - via WNYC Culture
If you've ridden the 7 train, you know this building in Long Island City. I can't see how planning more lux-y development in Long Island City is a good idea right now. Not well-timed.

The Old American Dream Is A Nightmare - via Grist
Jim Kunstler, an old favorite, chats with Grist, breaking down why the skyscraper won't save us, how the New Urbanists have won, with requisite smatterings about the national debt and - of course - peak oil. And - beware the photo - our man looked better sans mustache. (Also, I saw someone reading his peak-oil futurist novel, World Made By Hand, on the subway this morning.)

Hoping Gowanus Canal Cleanup Turns Up Old Treasures - via NYT

What is not to love about urban archaeology of the forgotten Gowanus landscape?! Superfund = superfun!

Loss: I.P. Morris Machine Shop #2

I.P. Morris Machine Shop #2, Philadelphia, 2006-2007. by The Preservator.

Meet an old friend of mine, the I.P. Morris Machine Shop #2.  Since the early 20th century, this building sat along Richmond Street, facing the Delaware River in the Fishtown neigborhood of Philadelphia. Its early history was spent as a manufacturing facility, creating iron machine parts for the internationally renowned William Cramp & Sons Ship and Engine Building Company.

Fishtown was a major manufacturing area well into the 20th century.  There, along the Delaware River, Cramp grew into an industrial powerhouse over the course of a century. During the Second World War, Cramp's operations peaked, ultimately employing about 15,000 people (largely Fishtown/Kensington residents) on its 65-acre campus. Cramp shut its doors in 1946.

The long decline of industrial Philadelphia has meant that many large manufacturing facilities remain untouched, while others are demolished. The I.P. Morris Machine Shop #2 was the last vestige of Cramp's once enormous presence in Fishtown. This year, after years of planning, the Machine Shop is being demolished to make way for a new ramp for I-95 intended to handle traffic for the new Sugarhouse Casino a few blocks south.

In 1994 the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission had deemed the building eligible for listing in the State/National Registers of Historic Places. I always liked its raised monitor windows and the railroad tracks leading into the bays suggesting its industrial past. This is all that remained as of Wednesday:

via www.95revive.com

Want more? Peep this:
95 Revive: Cramp Building Coming Down
PlanPhilly: Cramp Shipyard Demo Proceeds
PlanPhilly: How One Shipbuilder Impacted Philadelphia and the World

Happy President's Day

NYPL Picture Collection; Digital Gallery, Image ID 1585450.

Photo Friday: Parkside Graffiti + Budget Chatter

Parkside Avenue Station, B/Q subway surface line. Photo by The Preservator, 2010.

February is short for a reason. It brings dreary days here in the Northeast, but also it opens budget season. On the latter, those of us who care about the built environment should brace for change.

Federal Preservation Funding is On the Chopping Block (Again)
Hard times bring drastic measures. Even though persuasive arguments can be made about the economic impact of preservation projects, federal and state preservation programs and grant pools are likely to face deep cuts this year. The two big federal grant programs: Save America's Treasures and Preserve America are likely to be slashed if not eliminated, and huge cuts to the Historic Preservation Fund (which provides funding to states for preservation programs and grants) and other cultural resource programs also seem likely.
The National Trust's blog PreservationNation.org breaks down the issues at hand here. 

President Obama Commits to Funding National Rail Improvements
It was heartening to hear Vice President Biden announce a new six-year federal commitment to upgrading the nation's passenger rail system, starting with a proposed $8 billion for this effort in the President's budget proposal. Biden made the announcement at a whistle-stop at one of America's loveliest historic rail stations, Philadelphia's 30th Street Station. "Amtrak" Joe has long been an advocate for improving our railways. "I understand the need to invest in a modern rail system that will help connect communities, reduce congestion and create quality, skilled manufacturing jobs that cannot be outsourced," he said.

Here, here! This is smart money that will help put rail on a more equal footing with investments in road and air travel. Our nation deserves this sort of forward-thinking investment spending that creates mass transit that is not so dependent on oil. That said, Congress is in a slash and burn mode with Federal spending, so we'll see how far this really gets.
NY Times article here.
DC Streetsblog post here.

Must Reads of the Week: Active Preservation + the Splendor of Cities

Must read of the week goes to Mario Ballesteros' article in Domus, A Call To Account! A Case for Active Preservation, really got the wheels turning this week. He writes:

In contexts of crisis, architectural preservation—of buildings, but also of structures, archives, discarded or abandoned plans, as well as other minutiae and ephemeral documentation—becomes an indispensable tool for critical, political, and historical disclosure. Historical value, in this sense, transcends formal architectural merit. Preservation needs to move away from nostalgia and surface; it needs to be cold, clinical, and combative.

Ballesteros' piece is a ballsy reminder of what preservation is good for: survival, deeper cultural understandings, and inclusion. In particular, the Preservator loves the idea of preservation as disclosure.

And while we're out recommending articles, I hope you didn't miss today's NY Times column by David Brooks, Splendor of Cities. Brooks echoes the pro-urban ideas of thinkers like Richard Florida, and reminds us: "Cities thrive because they host quality conversations, not because they have new buildings and convention centers." Word.

Photo Friday: Snowy Harbor Seagull + Hot Links

Photo by The Preservator

Hot Links:

In Athens, GA stands the steeple of St. Mary's Episcopal Church. It just so happens that said church was, at one time, a DIY venue where R.E.M. played it's first gig. Today the steeple is all that remains of the church/venue and its current property owners (a condo association) have voted to demolish rather than restore the steeple.  Signs that the times they-are-a-changing? The National Trust's Preservation Magazine covers the story online here. Hmm.

For years communities and advocates have been working to improve the health of the Bronx River. Now, there's more multi-municipal cooperation. Bravo! Jose the Beaver thanks you too! (via NY Daily News)

Over at Rorotoko Elizabeth Collins Cromley breaks down her new book, The Food Axis: Cooking, Eating and the Architecture of American Houses, which contends that the ways in which food is stored/prepared/preserved/consumed has driven domestic architecture and its adaptations over time.

Oh yeah, and Wal-Mart has opted to find a different development sight after years of seeking to build a Supercenter in Orange County, VA on the site of the Wilderness Battlefield, one of the Civil War's most important. The National Trust explains. Reenactors and buffs like yours truly, rejoice.

Iron and Snow

Photo by The Preservator

 Trinity Church's Fence, Wall Street and Broadway, NYC. January 27, 2011.

Photo Friday: Flatiron + Hot Links

Flatiron Building, December 29, 2010 3:49pm
Photo by the Preservator

Hot Links + Strays:
Polis recently posted a piece about how relevant Jane Jacobs' thinking about the use of old buildings, 50 years later. Even lovers of Jacobs' writing, including yours truly, can get tired of the endless rehashing of her influential writing. Still, this piece reminds us that old buildings, in big expensive cities like New York, provide space for entrepreneurship. Do read.

Philebrity shared this rad portal into the future/past... er the future of the past. Something. Hi-Tech Psychedelic Past/Present Philly Street View promised. If you've ever wondered about how the Preservator wishes to experience the world. This is so close.

ArchPaper reports about a new level of destructoporn: Buffalo artist who's creating art out of pieces of abandoned buildings in an installation called Undone/Redone City.

Harlem Bespoke unearths details about this beautiful horse fountain at 155th and St. NicholasPlace in Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill. NYC Parks has more info about the Hooper Fountain's restoration. Among the many streetscape treasures that delight the Preservator are horse fountains, most of which were built at a time when the ASPCA and its local chapters were on the rise. They make us think of kindness.

Amusing the Zillion tipped about an exhibit at Schroeder Romero & Shredder, Nickel Empire: Coney Island Photographs 1889-1948. It's up from January 27th-February 26 and looks great.

While we're on the subject, don't think we didn't notice, but in the last month the Coney Island debacle has continued with the demolition of the Bank of Coney Island and the landmarking of both Childs Restaurant and the Coney Island (Shore) Theater on Surf Avenue.

The Snowy Day

Okay, well, maybe it's not a Snow Day for us in New York City today. The Preservator didn't grow up in snowy climes so snow is not a hassle, it's magical. As a kid, these feelings of snow's fantastical wonder were fostered by favorite books like "Katy and the Big Snow," by Virgina Lee Burton and especially, "The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats.

"The Snowy Day" finds a little boy named Peter waking up to winter's first snowfall and he sets out to explore his urban neighborhood. He has adventures listening to the crunch of snow underfoot, making snow angels, looking at the snowball fight the big kids are having.

Ezra Jack Keats was the son of Polish immigrants who grew up in East New York, Brooklyn. He was an artist and illustrator who began creating his own picture books in 1960. Just like the Brooklyn neighborhoods where his books are set, Keats' books are full of Hispanic, Asian, African American and Anglo faces. In "The Snowy Day" you can see Brooklyn everywhere; its streetscapes, the rowhouses, shops, and oh the ironwork! I still love the strong lines, bold colors, and texture of the illustrations, created using paint, gouache, collages of paper and fabric.

Image from the Keats archive at the Library of the University of 
Southern Mississippi's de Grummond Children's Literature Collection

If you are out and about today, at the library or bookstore, thumb through "The Snowy Day". Remember what it's like to find wonder in your neighborhood transformed under a blanket of snow. Engage your senses. Be an urban arctic explorer.

Recycling Events in NYC for a Clean Start to 2011

New years are opportunities for good intentions to be put into action. If you live in NYC there's a lot of ways to responsibly recycle unwanted stuff and begin the new year with a clean slate. Here are a few ideas:

CHIP IN: Instead of landfilling your Christmas tree, recycle it at MulchFest this weekend at 70 parks throughout the city. The wood chips created at MulchFest are used to feed trees and plants in parks and on the street. You can even take a bag of chips home for your yard or street tree. In case your tree is already crispy, you can even drop it off early. Last year 24,000 trees were recycled. Check the MulchFest website for more info about how it works and where to drop your tree.

Image courtesy of art_es_anna via flickr

E-CYCLE
This month the Lower East Side Ecology Center is collecting E-Waste for recycling. Their goal is to collect 100 tons! So bring your aged, busted electronics (list of acceptable items) to any number of pick-up sites every weekend in January between 10am-4pm. Electronic waste is full of highly toxic materials that can contribute to air and water pollution if it's not recycled properly. If that's not enough incentive to drag your e-junk to a collection location, all recyclers are entered into a Tekserv raffle to win an MacBook Air and Zipcar members can earn a driving credit. Among the collection spots are Prospect Park (1/16), Habana Outpost (1/22), Bowling Green Park (1/8), Tekserv (1/15), and the Queens Botanical Garden (1/9). For a full listing of e-waste collection days and locations, check out the calendar.
 

CLOSET PURGE
Also, don't forget that GrowNYC collects textiles for recycling at eight Greenmarkets throughout the year. Help them reach their 1 million pound goal this year by bringing your unwanted clothes, paired shoes, bags, and household linens. Usable items are sorted out and sold, while unusable pieces are sold to companies that will reuse them in new products like insulation or cushions.

Preservator Resolutions 2011

New Year's Greetings. NYPL Digital Gallery Image ID: 1587814

As we face a new year, the Preservator offers a few slightly heretical resolutions as food for thought. Care to share yours?

1. Don’t Look Back.

The past isn’t everything. Good preservation is as much about planning for the future as it is about caring for the past. It’s time to get more comfortable with treating preservation as one among many creative tools for shaping the future. Idealized recreations of the past are not suitable landscapes of the future. We should carry forward the lessons that historic places and things teach us and use those to help create a sustainable future for our cities, towns, and landscapes. Good preservation cannot and does not end with putting something under glass and then regulating the hell out of it.

 

2. Go Stealth.

I think it was Lenin who said that radical change was possible through a few well-placed men. Consider this as inspiration for the next year. There are real boundaries for preservation’s growth as a field. Ignore them. Better yet, violate them by embedding yourself in other fields. Work with environmentalists, historians, planners, architects, landscape architects, writers, urbanists, teachers, and policymakers alike to think holistically about the past and its future. Abandon territorial pissing matches over credit and ownership. These are meaningless and futile. Go forth and infuse.