4050-52 & 4054 Chestnut St. (Photo courtesy Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia)
Two West Philly buildings – 4050-52 & 4054 Chestnut St. and 1026-28 Belmont Ave – have recently been added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places. The historic designation means that the Philadelphia Historical Commission would have to review any major changes to the buildings. Overall, nine city buildings were added to the register after the Historical Commission ended its marathon meeting on July 8. Residents from neighborhoods as diverse as Oxford Circle and University City, Germantown and Kensington had successfully petitioned for these properties to be named to the register.
“Residents all over the city, fearing that post-recession development and an epidemic of tear-downs would change the character of their communities, took action and saved these properties. It represents a citywide effort that recognizes the intrinsic and economic benefits of protecting our historic resources,” Paul Steinke, executive director of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, said in a statement.
Here’s more information about the two West Philadelphia buildings added to the Register from the Preservation Alliance:
4050-52 & 4054 Chestnut Street
Nominated by professor Aaron Wunsch, University City Historical Society president Elizabeth Stegner, and historian Oscar Beisert, these three houses, two of which are attached, feature Italianate bracket-and-dentil cornices, segmental-pediment dormers and paired, round-headed sash. These twins were commissioned by Thomas H. Powers, the eminent chemical magnate and real estate developer, as part of a larger development intended to lure city-dwellers west in anticipation of the 1876 Centennial Exhibition. These are among the eight surviving homes on the block that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
This building is next door to the property recently saved (pending appeals) from demolition after a hearing in the Court of Common Pleas.
Google Street View image.
1026-28 Belmont Avenue
Nominated by the University City Historical Society with preservationist Andrew Cushing and historian Oscar Beisert, this Italian Renaissance Revival fire house was built in 1896 for Engine Company No. 16. It is among the few surviving smaller municipal buildings designed early in his career by John T. Windrim, the architect of the Wanamaker Building, Franklin Institute and Family Court Building. No. 16 is a three-story brick and terra cotta building, with a sculpted seal of the City of Philadelphia, garland keystone on the garage arch and white sandstone ground floor façade.
August 5th, 2016 at 12:32 am
Excellent! Keep up the good work.
August 5th, 2016 at 8:37 am
I’ve always loved that fire house. IIRC, it’s currently for sale. I bet the interior is a mess, but that place has good bones.
August 5th, 2016 at 2:44 pm
This is nonsense. These are run of the mill buildings.
August 5th, 2016 at 4:06 pm
By no means is the fire house “run of the mill”. Have you ever actually seen it? It jumps right off the street. Not to mention that it has some strong provenance.
I’m the last person to say that we should preserve every building, but that one is indeed special.
August 6th, 2016 at 9:00 pm
Maybe Gentri should evaluate the shit they’re replacing those run-of-the-mill homes with.
I’ll say again, if we have to designate entire zip codes as “historic” to stop this trend I don’t think people would object, as long as the historical society doesn’t overplay its hand and demand approval every time you replace a switch plate.
August 7th, 2016 at 12:22 pm
Hand has long been overplayed. Our city could use more density in terms of population. We still struggle with our tax base, our schools are underfunded, and whenever someone tries to bring new money into the city, the hipsters who moved here first complain, all while making it look like they actually care about their poor local neighbors. I call BS. Bring in the new more dense housing, fill them with tax payers who can help our city.
Stop obstructing progress. Just because it doesn’t jive with you in terms of aesthetics doesn’t mean it’s bad.
Stop with the feigned concern. Do something good, like support people trying to make our city better.
August 7th, 2016 at 2:17 pm
What a load of misguided crapolla.
I’m having a hard time with your message: is it that the highest density area in West Philadelphia needs more residents (which ultimately will literally tax our city services seeing as how most residents of University City pay nothing outside of rent adding nothing to wage taxes which hardly prop up the local govt), or is it that a new tax-abated property will someday, not today or the next 10 years mind you, magically make thing all well with a PSD pension fund that’s tanking?
This is not progress: this is destruction of properties with good bones only to be replaced by shoddy construction that won’t last 25 years let alone 150 as the current properties have. If your only intent is to make fast money, just say it. The rest of us live here and see that someone is tearing down perfectly good buildings to throw up tax-abated student squalor, which add absolutely nothing to our community.
I have a strange feeling that you don’t actually live here, but rather simply own property and hope to cash in. For the record, I’m a property manager, property owner, and long-term resident. I actually care beyond my monthly statement. YMMV.
August 7th, 2016 at 11:45 pm
Thank you goldenmonkey. Now I don’t need to say essentially the same thing.
August 9th, 2016 at 8:21 am
@goldenmonkey PREACH! Yes! you said it well
August 10th, 2016 at 9:08 pm
So, for starters, you’ve made several assumptions, none of which are sound…
I’ve lived in West Philly for over 10 years. I own property here, have children, and plan on staying in this beautifully gritty city.. And while I agree that the old construction far exceeds the durability of these newer buildings, I, much like you, have no proof of this. Moreover, we don’t know what the upkeep schedule of these new buildings will be. What I do know, as a property owner, is that lots of the old stuff under those bones needs A LOT of work. Plumbing, electrical work, sewage drainage, etc…
I’m not looking to pick an e-fight, I’m just pointing out that we throw the “historical” designation around way too easily. There are literally thousands of these “historical” types of buildings through out the city. Perhaps if you took a nice bike ride around the areas besides U. City, you would see that.
I highly disagree that anything you said was “well said”. You’ve made assumptions, and they were wrong.
Let me just cap my rebuttal to your comment off with some facts.
-Students pay sales tax
-Some students register their cars in Philly, and then they pay for parking rights.
-Some students are ticketed, have their cars towed and pay their tickets.
-Some students volunteer at our local schools. Schools in WEST PHILLY.
-MOST students are here on their own or through their parents money and are NOT using up city services (welfare, chip, section 8, subsidized healthcare, etc)
-Some students get jobs and pay our cities ridiculous wage tax. (why exactly are the roads covered in potholes and why are our schools failing??? Must be the new construction and addition of students to the neighborhood)
-These students are TOTALLY responsible for more dining options moving west.
-These students are the reason this neighborhood has become safer. (I also feel bad about the fact that it takes white students to make a neighborhood safe, but it is what it is. Non-students always have the option of grouping together to make their neighborhoods safe. I’m all for a better way of doing this, but the comments section of WPL isn’t the place for that solution.
It’s easy to scapegoat students for all of societies ills… However, try to think beyond whatever West Philly crusty ideology that has shredded your ability to think. Good night.
August 11th, 2016 at 9:44 am
*Students pay 2% sales tax to Philadelphia. A negligible sum. And most of what they buy is food, which, for the most part, is not taxed.
*Not a single one of my tenants owns his or her car. All are registered out of state.
*Ticketed? That can’t seriously be your point.
*How do student NOT used city resources? Just as one example, the Penn Police Department has multiple PPD officers on its force. Additionally, you’re creating a straw man argument about where the city’s resources go. Section 8 has nothing to do with this discussion.
*Indeed, some students do have jobs. Most are low-paying internships.
*Dining west of 40th St. is driven by residents, not undergraduates. We’re talking about undergraduate housing on the 4000 block of Walnut St. You’d be hard pressed to find a single undergrad at Dock St, Saad’s, or Local 44.
*No one will deny that Judith Rodin was instrumental in creating a safer environment for this area, but the main driving force in creating a better community was Penn Alexander.
Finally, I’m not blaming students for anything. I eat every night thanks to my student tenants. I’m not saying the students some evil force: I live in University City. As the name implies, there are universities and students. The argument here is that the developers wish to tear down perfectly good buildings and replace them with new, tax-abated properties. Generally speaking, I am very much pro-development, but this is simply not “development”…it’s tax-dodging.
August 11th, 2016 at 11:00 pm
The whole student thing is a red herring. No one is attacking students, but the vulturistic cutthroat profit-as-the-essence-of-existence mentality of certain developers.