The former Episcopal Church of the Atonement at 47th Street & Kingsessing in April, 2013 | Photo: Bradley Maule, for Hidden City
- Aaron Wunsch, a historic preservation professor at Penn, has spared a 1900 Frank Furness-designed church at 47th & Kingsessing from the wrecking ball, reports West Philly Local. After Hidden Cityfirst reported on L&I’s condemnation of the building two years ago, Wunsch eventually courted former mayor–and current chair of Partners for Sacred Spaces–W. Wilson Goode, “who helped usher the purchase through the Department of Licenses and Inspections.” Two schools are in talks to eventually lease the space.
- On a triangular lot in Mill Creek, a small and vacant building awaits its reuse as a coffee shop. That would at least prove the most feasible option for the preservation of the ninety-year-old service station, reflects Eyes on the Street. Designed for Pure Oil by engineer Carl August Petersen in the 1920s, these patented “cottage style” service stations aimed to blend in with the countless single-family homes then being framed out on just about every available piece of farmland in southern Montgomery and eastern Delaware counties. One of the first gas stations on this stretch of the Lincoln Highway (the nation’s first transcontinental highway, opening in 1914), this unassuming building literally helped fuel westward suburbanization between the World Wars.
- Naked Philly shares the latest renderings from Harman Deutsch for a proposed five-story, 113-unit apartment project at 24th & Washington Avenue, whose developers presented to the South of South Neighborhood Association (SOSNA) zoning committee on Wednesday night. The current thinking seems agreeable enough, with many residents in attendance expressing their support, yet the blog would rather have an anchor commercial space be centered at the corner and not the residential lobby currently envisioned.
- The Barnes Foundation will display over William Glackens 90 pieces through February 16th,says CBS Philly. The exhibit will be complimented with the jazz music of Dandy Wellington in order to conjure the air of the “Vintage Vaudeville” of the early-twentieth century. Barnes officials see such events as essential in piquing and maintaining the interest of the next generation of Philadelphia gallery-goers.
About the author
Stephen Currall recently received his BA in history from Arcadia University. Before beginning doctoral studies, he is pursuing his interest in local history, specifically just how Philadelphians engage their vibrant past. Besides skimming through 18th century letters, Steve is also interested in music and travel.
