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Friday, November 03, 2017
City Landmark Being Turned Into 4,000-Seat Entertainment Venue
CBS Philly: It’s often said reflecting on the past can help us prepare for the future. Perhaps, a 39,000-square-foot structure sitting on a full city block off of North Broad and Poplar Streets can give Philadelphians plenty of angles to reflect.
I’m always pleased when I hear that a city or company is investing in renovating or redeveloping historic buildings with an eye toward preservation. Cities have distinct characters and I think honoring and protecting the character and history of a city can help improve, even if its in a small way, the general population’s quality of life.
Because, let’s face it, we are aesthetic creatures. Spaces and what they look like, what they feel like, really do matter. What make space looks like has a direct affect on how I feel. And though I often like contemporary design and find some of it extremely beautiful (check out the façade of Princeton’s new music building,) a lot of contemporary building is boring, uninspiring, or utilitarian. And they lack… a depth of feeling, the weight of history, a sense that stories have passed through their walls. It’s a romantic perspective, I know. But I’m not the only person that feels that way. Our preserved historical buildings give us something extra, something that feels like poetry.
I lived in Philly for a number of years around 1998-2001. I drove by this building often but never really knew what was inside. It’s that way with most structures that people pass on a daily basis. I remember recently that a building in Rochester NY was being renovated and they uncovered an entire section that housed a theatre that had not been seen before. It’s great to see that buildings like this are getting new life and reinvented. I would rather see an existing space reconstructed than a new fancy building built. Having venues that have history make it more exciting to go see a show. Whenever I go to an older venue, I spend time to look at the architecture and the history than I do watching the show. Venues like this speak to a time past. Many venues used to be vaudeville houses and then movie theatres. Modern structures don’t give that same historic feeling. Often I have found myself after the show just taking photos of the building itself. I also like to talk to the ushers as sometimes they know the history of the building and can tell you some very interesting facts. Kudos to this man for saving this gem of days gone by.
2 comments:
I’m always pleased when I hear that a city or company is investing in renovating or redeveloping historic buildings with an eye toward preservation. Cities have distinct characters and I think honoring and protecting the character and history of a city can help improve, even if its in a small way, the general population’s quality of life.
Because, let’s face it, we are aesthetic creatures. Spaces and what they look like, what they feel like, really do matter. What make space looks like has a direct affect on how I feel. And though I often like contemporary design and find some of it extremely beautiful (check out the façade of Princeton’s new music building,) a lot of contemporary building is boring, uninspiring, or utilitarian. And they lack… a depth of feeling, the weight of history, a sense that stories have passed through their walls. It’s a romantic perspective, I know. But I’m not the only person that feels that way. Our preserved historical buildings give us something extra, something that feels like poetry.
I lived in Philly for a number of years around 1998-2001. I drove by this building often but never really knew what was inside. It’s that way with most structures that people pass on a daily basis. I remember recently that a building in Rochester NY was being renovated and they uncovered an entire section that housed a theatre that had not been seen before. It’s great to see that buildings like this are getting new life and reinvented. I would rather see an existing space reconstructed than a new fancy building built. Having venues that have history make it more exciting to go see a show. Whenever I go to an older venue, I spend time to look at the architecture and the history than I do watching the show. Venues like this speak to a time past. Many venues used to be vaudeville houses and then movie theatres. Modern structures don’t give that same historic feeling. Often I have found myself after the show just taking photos of the building itself. I also like to talk to the ushers as sometimes they know the history of the building and can tell you some very interesting facts. Kudos to this man for saving this gem of days gone by.
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