Photo from temple.edu

Councilmember Jamie Gauthier (3rd District) recently introduced a resolution honoring the life and celebrating the legacy of the late Emanuel Kelly, a trailblazing architect, longtime Temple University professor, and champion of affordable housing and equity.

Kelly passed away on January 12 at the age of 80. He spent the last 45 years of his life living in a Queen Anne-style house across from Clark Park, which he refurbished himself.

Gauthier’s resolution, introduced last week at a City Council meeting, celebrates Kelly’s historic career and honors his many contributions to Philadelphia.

“Today, we honor one of Philadelphia’s homegrown heroes, an esteemed member of Philadelphia’s ongoing Black history,” Gauthier said. “Emanuel Kelly may have passed on last month, but his mark on Philadelphia – figuratively and literally – will live on for generations.”

Kelly’s wife, family, friends, colleagues, and admirers testified about Mr. Kelly’s legacy during public comment.

Kelly founded Kelly Maiello Architects (KMA), one of the first Black-owned architectural firms in the city and the design inspiration behind Reading Terminal Market, the Pennsylvania Convention Center, and the President’s House at Independence National Historical Park. Other projects that involved KMA included the refurbishment of City Hall courtrooms, the new West Philadelphia High School, the Criminal Justice Center, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Zoo, the John Coltrane Museum, and dozens of other public places.

Kelly became the first Black president of the Philadelphia chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 1993. Two years earlier, he co-founded the Community Design Collaborative and was active within the Design Advocacy Group and National Organization of Minority Architects. He served as a professor of architecture at Temple University for more than 20 years and was chairman of the Philadelphia Art Commission and a member of the Fairmount Park Art Association, Philadelphia Zoning Reform Commission, and Philadelphia Community Development Forum.

Kelly received the Pioneer Award from the Minority Enterprise Development Committee, the Visionary in Historic Preservation Award from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, and the Medal of Distinction from the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Institute of Architects.