Penicillin and the Wrecking Ball: Two Views of Philadelphia’s Modern Redevelopment

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Penicillin and the Wrecking Ball: Two Views of Philadelphia’s Modern Redevelopment

Philadelphians were introduced to the value of modern planning in shaping the future of the city during the landmark, Better Philadelphia Exhibition of 1947. This show laid the groundwork for a reform era where public investment in urban renewal and community building brought figures like Edmund Bacon to the forefront of urban design and planning. Two modes dominated in the city and will be explored in this tour. Independence Mall followed the prevailing mode of demolition as a means of making way for new – in this case – civic minded uses, while Society Hill became a model for an urban renewal that was more engaged with the value of existing historic fabric – an approach that sought to make use of “penicillin” over the wrecking ball. A who’s-who of architects worked in these areas to create important, if sometimes controversial, works like GBQC’s Philadelphia Police Administration Building (1959-63). Other sites on this tour include: Rohm & Haas Headquarters (Pietro Belluschi; 1964); Society Hill Towers and Townhouses (I.M. Pei; 1958-64); African American Museum (Theodore Victor Cam, 1976); as well as a number of private houses by Mitchell / Giurgola, I.M. Pei and Adolph deRoy Mark.

 

Guides: William Whitaker, University of Pennsylvania and Grace Ong Yan, Thomas Jefferson University

$35

50 max (two groups of 25)

For general Symposium registration, click here. To register for just this tour, click the button below.

Credit:

Photo: George Cserna, Avery Library at Columbia University

Modern Landmarks Revitalized: Kahn’s Richards Labs and Saarinen’s Hill House Dormitories

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The undisputed heavyweights of modern architecture on the University of Pennsylvania campus are Louis Kahn’s Richards Medical Research Laboratories (1957-61) and Eero Saarinen’s Hill House Dormitory (1958-60). Each has undergone major renovations that sought to reinforce the cultural significance of the site while adapting to contemporary housing preferences and environmental concerns. These in-depth tours will be led by key members of the design teams who undertook these challenging projects, as well as their counterparts at the University.

Walking Tour

Frank Gehry in a New Light: The Philadelphia Museum of Art Core Project

Take an insider’s tour of the new renovation and interior expansion designed by Frank Gehry of the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s landmark 1928 building led by their Director of Facilities and Operations, Jane Lawson-Bell. Completed in May 2021, the Gehry project opened up the heart of the building, created 20,000 sf of new galleries, and re-opened a grand 640-foot-long corridor for the first time in 50 years. 

Walking Tour