When community members came last spring to hear the University of the Sciences’ proposal to tear down the Alexander Wilson School and build a 6-floor student dorm complex, they had lots of questions and one big request: Could USciences host an event that would provide Wilson alumni, parents and employees a last chance to share their memories of the school, which has stood at the corner of 46th and Woodland for 100 years.

A mural at the Alexander Wilson School.

A celebration of Wilson’s history is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 2 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the school’s courtyard (see the schedule below).

The event will include the opening of a Wilson school time capsule from 1958 and a recording booth for alumni and teachers to share their memories about the school.

Wilson was shuttered during a controversial round of school closings in 2013 and then sold. The school is scheduled to be demolished within a couple of months.

USciences paid a reported $2 million for the 1.03-acre parcel that borders its campus and includes the three story school building. The purchase, which was approved at a School Reform Commission meeting last fall, followed a long bid process that included interest from West Philly based developers Orens Brothers.

The proposed new dorm complex, which will house about 400 students and replace residence facilities elsewhere on the campus, will be U-shaped with the open end of the U along Woodland. The university hopes to break ground for the building early next year and open it to new students in the fall of 2018.

Here’s the schedule for Sunday’s event:

1:00 pm – 3:00 pm Music by the Brook Street Band and DJ Lonnie Love BBQ Lunch

3:00 pm – 3:45 pm PROGRAM REMARKS
Paul Katz, MD, President, University of the Sciences
Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, City of Philadelphia, District 3
PA State Senator Anthony H. Williams, 8th District
Joan Myers Brown, Founder, Executive Artistic Director, PHILADANCO, Former Wilson student
Reverend Martin Wright, 46th Street Baptist Church
Jane Golden, Founder & Executive Director, City of Philadelphia, Mural Arts Program
Dianne Settles, Former Wilson student
Richard Liuzzi, Former Director, Wilson Community School
Dr. Kathleen Cosby-Tabb, Former Wilson student

3:45 PM – 4:00 PM UNVEILING OF SCHOOL TIME CAPSULE

4:00 pm – 5:00 pm Music by the Brook Street Band and DJ Lonnie Love Water Ice

ALL DAY Story Collection Booth – Collect video and audio stories and scan in photos.

As demand for housing and commercial development in parts of the city increases, historic buildings have come under threat of demolition. The University City Historical Society is holding an important public meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 24 to provide residents and community organizations with tools and information that will help them rally to preserve historic buildings.

The meeting, titled “The State of Preservation in West Philadelphia,” will include Martine Decamp of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission; Penn Professor Aaron Wunsch; Paul Steinke of the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia; and Greg Pastore, a former member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment.

Organizers hope the meeting will help people understand:  Continue Reading

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.

A murder nearly 60 years ago that still casts a long shadow over neighborhoods around the University of Pennsylvania today will be remembered Friday when the 3600 block of Hamilton Street in Powelton Village, will be named “In-Ho Oh Memorial Way” in a special ceremony.

In-Ho Oh was a 26-year-old Penn graduate student who was beaten to death by a group of nearly a dozen young men and boys on his way to drop a letter in a mailbox at about 9 p.m. near 36th and Hamilton on April 25, 1958. The murder exacerbated racial tensions in the city and became national news. Oh lived with his aunt and uncle in a small apartment at 36th and Hamilton and planned to return to Korea and his family after his studies at Penn.

Law enforcement’s reaction was swift and severe. Nine people were charged with murder, many juveniles, and prosecutors pushed for the death penalty. In the end, five were sentenced to terms ranging from life in prison to 10 years.  Continue Reading

Many of you have checked out books or taken your kids for activities to the Walnut Street West Library at the corner of 40th and Walnut. This Saturday, the library is celebrating its 110th anniversary, and this is a perfect opportunity to visit on this special day – to thank the staff for all the work they’ve been doing and to celebrate with them.

A lot of fun activities are being planned throughout the day, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., for children, adults, and families, such as live music and singing performances, storytimes, chess coaching, salsa and zumba classes, cake, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream sampling, and more.

Library and city officials will also speak at the event. Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell will read a resolution from City Council, followed by remarks and cake at 2 p.m.

The party will take place rain or shine, with activities outside as weather permits. For more information and event and activities schedule, visit the Friends of Walnut Street West Library website.

The Walnut Street West Library serves the communities of University City and Spruce Hill and is one of the most used Free Library of Philadelphia branches.  Continue Reading

West Philly residents, especially those in Powelton, Mantua, Belmont, Mill Creek, and in the former Black Bottom neighborhoods are invited to a meeting this Tuesday (Apr. 19) to talk about neighborhood history and provide input for an online history map of West Philly. You can bring your old photos and personal stories to share. The meeting will be held at New Africa Center at 4243 Lancaster Avenue, beginning at 6 p.m.

The “Black Bottom” was a predominantly African American neighborhood, located between 40th and 32nd Streets and Powelton Avenue and Curie Boulevard. The neighborhood was mostly razed for urban renewal in the 1960s.