{"id":12738,"date":"2018-10-15T21:28:18","date_gmt":"2018-10-16T01:28:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phillyhistory.wpengine.com\/?p=12738"},"modified":"2018-10-16T13:33:14","modified_gmt":"2018-10-16T17:33:14","slug":"they-were-wrong-demolishing-scottish-rite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/2018\/10\/they-were-wrong-demolishing-scottish-rite\/","title":{"rendered":"They Were Wrong Demolishing Scottish Rite"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
150 North Broad Street, Scottish Rite Cathedral or Temple (also known as Town Hall) April, 1983. Photographed by Jefferson Moak for the Philadelphia Historical Commission (PhillyHistory.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Philadlephians gathered at the Scottish Rite Cathedral, also known as Town Hall, for all kinds of events between the 1940s (when the Christian evangelist Hyman Jedidiah Appleman<\/a>\u00a0launched his crusade) and the 1970s (when Dr. Timothy Leary presented \u201cAn Evening of Standup Philosophy”). Most were musical<\/a>. Just about everyone stopped by, from Miles Davis to Peter Paul and Mary; The Irish Rovers to The Doors; Pete Seeger to the Ahmad Jamal Trio. Bob Dylan started his set in October 1964 with The Times They Are A-Changin’<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Indeed, they were.<\/p>\n

All that praying, philosophizing and singing made no difference when it came to the survival of Town Hall, a building whose developers, the Scottish Rite Masons, committed a cardinal sin in 1927 of locating the 1,900-seat, Art Deco structure north of Market Street. No amount of design savvy or best intentions by architect Horace W. Castor could overcome the sheer audacity of being at Broad and Race Streets. More than anything else, that <\/em>dictated the difference between success and failure, appreciation and indifference, and, ultimately, the difference between preservation and demolition.<\/p>\n

No matter that the Philadelphia Historical Commission designated this palace of performance as \u201cworthy of preservation\u201d in December 1973. Less than ten years later it would be sold to a parking lot mogul and, soon after, demolished and replaced by\u2014you guessed it\u2014a parking lot. Sure, the city needed more performance venues. The Pennsylvania Ballet needed studio and rehearsal space. John de Lancie, Director of the Curtis Institute of Music expressed distress at the prospect of a loss. He called it \u201cone more blow to the organizations that try, against overwhelming financial odds, to achieve stability and provide cultural activities that a city of this size deserves.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Broad Street entrance, 150 North Broad Street.Photographed by Jefferson M. Moak, April 1983 {PhillyHistory.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the eve of destruction in March 1983 (so far as we know, Barry Maguire didn\u2019t<\/em> get to perform his song of the same name there) architect, planner and preservationist Maxwell Levinson described the imminent demolition “shocking. …\u00a0With the present desperate need for a first-class Performing Arts Center in Philadelphia, the destruction of the Temple and its fine facilities is an outrage.\u201d<\/p>\n

All hope evaporated as the Historical Commission chose not to come to the building\u2019s defense by implementing a six-month delay of demolition. The building \u201chas gone beyond its usefulness,\u201d explained one architectural history technician with the Commission. Demolition, the Inquirer<\/em> reported, was \u201cexpected within the next ten days.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Inquirer\u2019s<\/em> architecture critic, Thomas Hine, stood out as one of the few voices in favor of preservation. \u201cThe choice between landmarks and parking seems simple on the face of it,\u201d he observed. \u201cThere is no point in having plenty of parking if there is no place for you to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Hine, too, wavered. In an article offering a backhanded compliment in its headline: \u201cA historic building, even this one, deserves a reprieve,\u201d Hine conceded that although the Scottish Rite Temple \u201cdoes have some attractive decoration near its cornice line…few would mourn the loss of the building.\u201d<\/p>\n

He noted that the Historical Commission fell down on two fronts. Not only did the Commission abstain from delaying the demolition permit \u201cas allowed by the city\u2019s historic preservation law” he pointed out that “city preservation and planning leaders did a walk through and agreed the interior of the building was in ‘terrible condition,’ that there were cracks in the wall that appeared \u201cominous.'”<\/p>\n

\u201cThe decision may well have been correct,\u201d wrote Hine, \u201cbut it does raise questions about the value of historic certification. If a quick look by a few city officials, none of whom were really qualified to judge the building structural integrity, is enough to undo certification, what is its value? \u2026 By voting a delay, the Historical Commission could have given an opportunity for anyone who might have an interest in the building to take a look, along with competent structural engineers and architects who could make an informed judgment on whether the building had a future.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Demolition underway, 150 North Broad Street, 1983. Photographed by Jefferson M. Moak for the Philadelphia Historical Commission (PhillyHistory.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Stripped of all stewardship, with advocacy abandoned, the building had no future. A few months later, standing at the empty intersection, columnist Clark DeLeon reminisced about losing yet “another landmark.”<\/p>\n

\u201cThey chipped away at it, foot by foot, filling the night sky with the glow of metal cutting torches, undoing the craftsmanship of the men who built the windowless fortress more than 55 years ago. And now on the same site where the stately structure once loomed, there is a sign that says, \u2018Warning: Do not reverse over treadles. Tire damage.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Right. You can\u2019t drive in reverse once you cross those spiky treadles. Nor can you undo a hasty, ill-informed demolition.<\/p>\n

[Sources:Christopher Hepp, \u201cWill Wrecker\u2019s Ball Be Final Lot of Scottish Rite Cathedral?\u201d Daily News,<\/em> December 14, 1982; Gregory Byrnes \u201cTown Hall to be sold; to be demolished,\u201d Inquirer<\/em>, December 14, 1982; Thomas Hine, \u201cTown Hall set for demolition,\u201d Inquirer<\/em> March 5, 1983; Thomas Hine, \u201cA historic building, even this one, deserves a reprieve.\u201d Inquirer<\/em>, March 13, 1983; John de Lancie, Director, Curtis Institute of Music \u2013 Letter to the Editor, Inquirer<\/em>, April 9, 1983; Joe Clark, \u201cLast Rites for Town Hall \u2013 Wreckers Come Knocking,\u201d Daily News<\/em>, June 8, 1983; Clark DeLeon, The Scene: another landmark gone,\u201d Inquirer<\/em>, September 23, 1983; Philadelphia Historical Commission file on the Scottish Rite Cathedral.]<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Philadlephians gathered at the Scottish Rite Cathedral, also known as Town Hall, for all kinds of events between the 1940s (when the Christian evangelist Hyman Jedidiah Appleman\u00a0launched his crusade) and the 1970s (when Dr. Timothy Leary presented \u201cAn Evening of Standup Philosophy”). Most were musical. Just about everyone stopped by, from Miles Davis to Peter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12738\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}