Arts and Culture : Development News

It probably goes without saying that the average visitor to the Philadelphia International Flower Show, which kicked off this past Sunday and runs through March 13, doesn't likely expect to encounter anything even remotely political or societally challenging during their time at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, where the show is being held. But this year, along with the copious floral displays and the gardening exhibitions, the nonprofit New Kensington CDC will be hosting an exhibit that began as a vacant and littered inner-city lot, and which explores the significant effect that simple, do-it-yourself gardening can have on blighted urban neighborhoods.

"From Blight to Blossom" is the name of the exhibit, and its conception was the result of a partnership between the New Kensington CDC and Philadelphia's Office of Housing and Community Development. Its intention, according to a press release describing the project, is to "tell the story of an urban side-yard transformed from a vacant lot into a garden."

"It struck us as a really good opportunity to let the public know about the ways in which the city is working with local groups to improve the quality of life in the city's neighborhoods," says Paul Chrystie, of the OHCD. The exhibit itself is essentially a recreated lot that has been transformed by Kensington-area children. There are hand-painted flower pots and a garden path built of steppingstones, and as Chrystie explains, the project, which was paid for by the Philadelphia Flower Show, was completed for less than $1,000. The idea, says Chrystie, is to convince visitors to undertake something similar in their own neighborhoods.

"It really is an economic development strategy as well as an aesthetic and an environmental one," Chrystie says of the greening of vacant city lots, which has been proven to increase property values. "And that's one of the reasons we've been funding them for so long."

Source: Paul Chrystie, Philadelphia Office of Housing and Community Development  
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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The Clifton, NJ-based ARC Properties development company has been working for nearly two years now on an increasingly controversial hotel, retail and entertainment complex that will sit on the stretch of Race Street in Philadelphia between Fourth and Fifth streets and is scheduled to be operational sometime in 2012. But according to ARC's CEO, Robert Ambrosi, the project has only become controversial as a result of misinformation mixed with innuendo.

Ambrosi claims that his project, which is currently being referred to as Franklin Place, has the full support of the Independence Visitor Center and a number of other area groups. The Old City Civic Association, however, hasn't exactly given ARC Properties its undivided blessing, and Ambrosi thinks he knows why. "There's been a lot of wrong information in the press, unfortunately," he insists. "People are claiming we're putting in a nightclub. But this is really a hotel project with an attached restaurant and a small music venue."

Franklin Place will actually consist of two separate structures, one of them facing the residential community along Fourth Street, and the other facing Independence Mall, where no residential community exists. Understandably, the project has been the cause of much consternation among locals, although as Ambrosi explains, the Fourth Street-facing building will actually house a 55-unit residential complex. "We've been extremely sensitive that anything we do on the Fourth Street side of the project be very passive," he says. The structure facing Fifth Street, meanwhile, will be home to a 156-room Starwood Hotel, as well as a currently undecided combination of retail and dining venues.

Ambrosi originally wanted the complex to contain a bowling alley and a small live music space. His newest idea is to bring a Toby Keith-themed restaurant featuring live country-and-western music into the mix.

"This is a very, very important project to us," Ambrosi adds, "and we're going to make it a great project. I just want people to understand what we're doing."

Source: Robert J. Ambrosi, ARC Properties Inc.
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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Wander through the front entrance of the recently-opened, two-story Jonathan Adler emporium at 33 N. 3rd Street in Philadelphia's Old City district, and what you'll find--amongst the quirky pottery and the furniture and housewares, which have something of an upscale Urban Outfitters vibe about them, and which Adler himself likes to refer to as 'happy chic'--is essentially a bricks-and-mortar metaphor for the current economic state of the city.

Adler's entree to the Old City retail scene, was, after all, seen as something of a surprise--albeit a very pleasant one--to the cadre of local bloggers and journalists who covered it. A Philadelphia Inquirer article by Flying Kite contributor Caroline Tiger, for instance, mentioned that a number of "home-and-design stores in Philadelphia [went] belly-up in 2010," including the store that previously occupied the space where Jonathan Adler now sits, Foster's Urban Homeware.

But thanks to the season he spent as a judge the Bravo's reality TV show Top Design, Adler--who still considers himself more of a potter than a retailer--occupies a slightly more rarefied public space than the boutique owners who were forced to close their doors last year. His celebrity status, in fact, may very well play an important role in keeping his Old City boutique in the black while the economic strength of the city, hopefully, continues to creep ever upward.

"We have long been interested in having a presence in Philadelphia, and were thrilled to find a fabulous space in Old Town," says company spokesperson Starrett Zenko. "We are thrilled to be there!"

And Philadelphia, quite clearly, is just as thrilled. Here's to hoping we all feel the same way this time next year.

Source: Starrett Zenko, Jonathan Adler
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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Ask just about any tourist in Philadelphia to name one of the city's many museums, and it's quite unlikely they'll mention the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, regardless of the fact that it is the nation's oldest art museum and school. And that's partially why, after many years of planning, PAFA has finally begun construction on an outdoor civic space that will be known as Lenfest Plaza.

The Plaza's official groundbreaking ceremony took place on Feb. 2. It revealed the stretch of Cherry Street between Broad and 15th that will soon be closed to traffic and developed with a slew of urban amusements open to the public. The Plaza will feature an upscale restaurant, for instance, which will go into PAFA's Hamilton Building. It will be home to an outdoor exhibition of rotating artwork. There will also be a very welcome series of curved benches, and then, of course, the piece de resistance: a 53-foot-tall paintbrush designed by the pop artist Claes Oldenburg, the bristles of which will be illuminated like a torch.

According to Marsha Braverman, PAFA's Executive VP of Marketing and Communications, the idea to create the plaza initially came about after PAFA's purchase of the Hamilton building; it was agreed upon by the board that a plaza would naturally unite the school and museum buildings. "The idea (now)," says Braverman, "is when the conventioneers (at the newly expanded Convention Center) leave the front door, we're their first stop. And then if you walk down Lenfest Plaza, that leads right to the Parkway. So we're saying that we're really the start of the Museum Mile."

Construction of the $7.5 million Lenfest Plaza, which was designed by the local Olin landscape architectural firm, is expected to be complete this August, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony scheduled for October.

Source: Marsha Braverman, PAFA
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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As a former manufacturing hub so productive that it was once referred to as the "Workshop of the World," it shouldn't come as a surprise to learn that some areas of modern-day Philadelphia are unfortunately rich in brownfield sites, those former industrial areas that are oftentimes contaminated by hazardous wastes. In an effort to illuminate the issue, a temporary public art project--Soil Kitchen--will be installed atop a brownfield site in Northern Liberties during the first week of April, where it will remain for roughly one week. The installation is being scheduled to coincide with the EPA's National Brownfields Conference, which is being held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center from April 3-5.

Commissioned by the city's Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, the Soil Kitchen installation, as its name suggests, will actually operate as a working kitchen, serving locally-sourced soup. What's more, soil samples from area neighborhoods will be the only accepted form of currency. The public will be invited to trade their soil for soup, according to the OACCE's Gary Steuer, after which the samples will be tested by soil contamination experts, and the results posted on a map of the city. "It's a really interesting, multi-layered project that involves an educational component," says Steuer.

There's no telling, of course, just how much soil contamination will actually be discovered during the project's brief run, although Steuer hopes that Soil Kitchen's efforts will continue to facilitate conversations about Philadelphia brownfields, even after it closes up shop. "The fact that our soil may be contaminated is something we really need to be thinking about," he says. "I also hope that (Soil Kitchen) will help people understand that art can be a vehicle through which we better understand these issues."

Source: Gary Steuer, Philadelphia Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy
Writer: Dan Eldridge

It's unlikely that anyone who spent a significant amount of time hanging around the South Street commercial corridor of the 1970s will have forgotten about Paper Moon, which served as both an indoor newsstand and a countercultural institution during its heyday. While news of the shop's Thanksgiving weekend reopening at 520 South 4th Street by its original owner, Bill Curry, came as a welcome surprise to the shop's former customers, it has also been considered a touch curious, what with the unfortunate economic state of the print publishing world today (not to mention that of the retail industry in general).

"This all came about because we had a 40th reunion of the people that had the [South Street] Renaissance," explains Curry, who also owns the nearby Copabanana restaurant, referring to the economic revival of the area that took place during the late 1960s and early 70s.

At the reunion, which happened at Isaiah Zagar's Magic Gardens last October, someone suggested to Curry that he reopen the old shop. And since Curry is currently in the process of transferring the management of Copabanana to his nephew, he decided to give it a go.

As Curry points out, though, "magazines are only about 20 percent of my business." Paper Moon also stocks obscure greeting cards, a selection of high-end candies and snacks, and a number of cookbooks and New York Times-bestsellers that can even be rented, library-style, for $3 a week.

Curry has a wide range of future plans for the shop, including wireless Internet access and printing capabilities. "I'm still feeling my way (in terms of) how the store will evolve," he says. "But I know it has to be a 21st-century version of what I did in the '70s and '80s."

Source: Bill Curry, Paper Moon
Writer: Dan Eldridge

Being a perennial favorite on an annual top 10 list is usually a point of pride. But for the Divine Lorraine, the historic hotel at 699 N. Broad Street, the distinction of being atop the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia's Endangered Properties List is nothing to cheer about--yet. With several development projects beginning and then falling through, this historic hotel is in danger of becoming extinct along with nine others on the Preservation Alliance's eighth annual list. Still, while the list may look like a rebuke of Philadelphia developers, the Preservation Alliance looks at the list as a shining example of the historic assets our city holds and the potential for amazing future projects.

"There are examples in the tony Old City and in more impoverished areas," says PAGP Director of Advocacy Ben Leech. "But what ties them all together is that they all are or could be important neighborhood landmarks."

With three new additions to the list, the Preservation Alliance decided to focus this year on buildings like the Divine Lorraine, featuring seven properties that have appeared in the past but still remain underdeveloped. Luckily, most of the buildings that have been featured have since been developed and the Preservation Alliance is working with developers to continue that trend.

"The spirit of the list tries to balance between the optimistic view that these are our future landmarks, our future neighborhood assets," says Leech, "and the view that there is no reason for these structures to be in the condition they are in. We are so used to seeing them in the condition they are in that it blinds us to the critical risks facing them if they remain in this state. Let's celebrate what we have and also let's do something to make sure they remain."

Others on the list are: Dilworth House, Germantown Town Hall, Henry Pierce House, Burk Mansion, Provident Mutual, Lynewood Hall, Laverock Hill Estate, Cruiser Olympia, and 109 Elfreth's Alley.

Source: Ben Leech, Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia
Writer: John Steele

Architect Frank Gehry is known for his shiny, curvaceous designs like the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. His latest project is decidedly less glamorous but still adds his name to a piece of architectural history. Gehry is working with the Philadelphia Museum of Art to add an underground wing complete with loading dock and art handling facility. After hiring Gehry in 2006, the Museum has secured his services for a 10-year master plan, which will add underground gallery spaces for the museum's Contemporary American Art and Asian art sections, as well as rotating exhibitions. The project will add 80,000 sq. ft. of space to the historic Philadelphia landmark.

"Some may see this first phase of the project as simply practical, yet it is a critical component to the entire design, which really will transform the museum," says Museum President and COO Gail Harrity.

For architecture buffs, the more important feature of Gehry's design may not come from where he is building but where he is not. The new loading dock and art handling area will return the old loading zone--a vaulted walkway that runs through the length of the museum and has been used for shipping and receiving since the 1970s--to its original purpose as a street-level visitor entrance, adding yet another touchstone to Philadelphia's most famous architectural landmark.

"By creating a new art handling facility, we are not only bringing our museum up to state-of-the-art, best-practice standards, we also free up this historic space that will be reopened and restored as another entrance to the museum," says Harrity.

Source: Gail Harrity, Philadelphia Museum of Art
Writer: John Steele

For architects like Jibe Design Principal Juliet Whelan, sometimes the most innovative work is better enjoyed as a work of art. So for her most recent design--a completely energy independent house retrofitted into recycled shipping containers--she made artistry the focus, enlisting photographer Stu Goldenberg of Goldenberg Photography and frequent collaborator Naquib Hossain to design a model for a photo retrospective.

After buying a Fishtown lot at an auction, craftsman Martin Lautz enlisted Jibe to design a sustainable, off-the-grid oasis built out of shipping containers. The house, Lautz said, would test the limits of sustainable living in a modern, urban setting. Meanwhile, Goldenberg was looking for his latest muse. When Whelan brought them all together with builders Allison Carafa and Jason Flax, the team created a scaled model called Free Agent House, a test center for sustainable design elements and the subject of a unique photo collection.

"Most un-built architecture projects are only viewed as two-dimensional computer renderings and many iconic completed buildings are only seen by the masses as photos," says Whelan. "I liked the idea of Stu playing with the intersection of a real photo of a real model and a rendered image of an un-built project."

Complete with solar panels, vacuum-insulated wall panels, efficient natural lighting design, passive heating and cooling systems and a solar-thermal water heater, the model creates a complete home without the aid of outside energy producers--a model that may become popular as Pennsylvania rate caps expire at the end of this year. Lautz recently requested a larger home design and Jibe is working to keep the efficiency measures in tact for a larger structure.

"Every project I design belongs on a continuum of my development as an architect," says Whelan. "The Free Agent House fixes some mistakes I've made on other projects, particularly in regards to separating floors vertically for heating efficiency. The innovations in this home will certainly inform my future work."

Source: Juliet Whelan, Jibe Design
Writer: John Steele

When Disney's California Adventure unveiled 'World of Color,' the park's massive water-and-light animation show, officials hoped to create a focal point for nightly visitors to end their evening on a high note. The Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas has a similar show, where synchronized fountains create an aquatic ballet for visitors. But those are tourist destinations, where spectacle and showmanship are included in the experience. How would such a show be greeted in a highly-trafficked urban center like Philadelphia?

The principals at Philadelphia-based WaterMagic LLC hope the city will appreciate a little showmanship as they attempt to bring a similar fountain show to the Schuylkill Banks area by 30th Street Station. The installation, created by 'World of Color' designer Robert Nonemaker, would include a 70-foot water screen displaying digital images and a solar array to power all fountains and lights. WaterMagic has received $3.5 million that it must match with private funding in order to move forward. With support from city officials like Deputy Mayor Rina Cutler and former Governor Ed Rendell, principals John Randolph and Rob Stuart started the push for private financing this week.

"We hope this will extend the hours of useful life along the Schuylkill to include the nighttime hours," says Randolph. "And it will add to the image of the river as a gateway between Center City and West Philadelphia."

After talking to park users and residents, the most common complaint about the area was the noise level of traffic from nearby highway entrances and thoroughfares. WaterMagic hopes its installation will provide a noise barrier and a distraction from automotive noise.

"The water screen acts as a noise blocker and the plumes act as a masking with pleasant noise of falling water, that people find relaxing," Stuart says. "Our sense is that this will be something that will bring people to Philadelphia and keep them here at night to witness this phenomenon."

Source: Rob Stuart, WaterMagic LLC
Writer: John Steele

Between the large freighter ships docked all around it and the big box stores and other commercial complexes that dot the corners of Columbus and Washington, Pier 53 is the last place you would expect to find a park. But that is exactly why the Central Delaware Master Plan calls for the creation of greenspace at the long-vacant pier, hoping to bring a park to nearby property owners and spur development on nearby parcels. This week, the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation cut the ribbon on Washington Avenue Green, bringing a little country to this concrete jungle.

"This location was cited for ecological restoration and the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation owned the land already so we could do a project easily here," says DRWC's Master Planning Manager Sarah Thorp. "Whereas the rest of that area, all the way down to WalMart is under private ownership."

The new park features a bike path connected with the new Delaware River Trail, native plantings and woodland areas to prevent stormwater runoff and a public art project designed to mirror historic stream maps. Artist Stacy Levy recreated the stream map using plants, creating the appearance of the Delaware River coming ashore and turning from water to plants, creating a perfect representation for this new park.

"Over time, these areas that have paving and asphalt, nature takes over and weeds grow in between and the concrete starts to deteriorate," says Thorp of the public art project. "So we deliberately drilled holes for the plants to grow through. We really wanted to use all the materials instead of sending them to a landfill so the concrete we cut out became benches and pavers on the site."

Source: Sarah Thorp, DRWC
Writer: John Steele

With its shimmering glass facade, distinctive shape and LED display, University City's Cira Centre has cemented itself as a larger-than-life landmark in the Philly skyline. So when the Cira Centre opened its lobby space to restaurant development with Rae, the swirling, seasonal tastes and 200-bottle wine cellar graced many headlines. But over the last four years, its popularity waned. It seemed the restaurant's style couldn't keep up with its tony, trendy home. Now it's time for one of Philadelphia's premier tastemakers to take his turn at Cira. This week, Philadelphia's Iron Chef Jose Garces brings his gastrointestinal stylings (and his corporate offices) to 30th Street with JG Domestic, a tribute to all-American ingredients.

"American cuisine has its roots all over the world, so from a culinary standpoint I'll be drawing inspiration from a host of cultures and cuisines," says Garces. "This restaurant will celebrate domestic produce, meat, poultry, seafood, wines, beers and spirits. Our primary focus is creating dishes that honor the ingredients themselves, however we choose to prepare them."

With such high-concept creations as Distrito and Village Whiskey, the flavors in the decor are equally as strong as the flavors on the plate. Garces called on Jun Aizaki of Cr�me Design Collective in Brooklyn, NY, who has worked on all previous Garces restaurants. As JG Domestic's space is large for a restaurant, the challenge was creating intimacy. Complete with pictures of farms where ingredients come from, a "living wall" of plants and real trees growing in the middle, Garces  offers a counterpoint to the sleek modernity of the Cira Centre, bringing freshness to both his cuisine and design.

"Jun's work is wonderfully textural and helps to make the restaurant feel as though it's organic to the space, even though none of my restaurants have gone into new buildings," Garces says. "In fact, many were restaurants before, and it's a testament to Jun's skill that you would never know that."

Source: Jose Garces, Garces Restaurant Group
Writer: John Steele

Along the post-industrial corridor of Northern Delaware Avenue sits an abandoned trolley garage where Philadelphia's oldest transit assets were once serviced. So when architectural salvage firm Provenance decided to relocate to accommodate more retail customers, they couldn't think of a better location than a garage that once restored rolling symbols of Philadelphia's past.

"We feel that a lot of the material that is pulled out of the city is part of the fabric that makes this city cool," says Provenance partner Scott Lash. "We're hoping that people will start looking at stuff that was probably put in other buildings at the time their buildings were built."

The team at Provenance has expanded in the last year, offering flooring and many salvaged items for home and garden projects. While the floor is still concrete and the showroom still has a warehouse feel, Lash believes the place has a much more retail feel, with more organization and better lighting, allowing easier browsing.

With the new space, Provenance hopes to offer home improvement classes and First Friday events, like the Happy Hour they hosted on October 1. Making connections in the tight-knit Northern Liberties neighborhood, Lash believes, will stimulate foot traffic and draw not only DIY weekend warriors but also artists and designers looking for vintage pieces and custom home projects.

"We hope to be doing art work in our space on a permanent basis," says Lash. "We want to display painting, old architecture and elements from buildings we've torn down because we feel like that brings out some interesting ideas."

Source: Scott Lash, Provenance
Writer: John Steele

When Levi Strauss created his first work pants for Gold Rush workers in 1873, he fastened his stitches and buttonholes with hard, brass buttons and rivets for strength. Ever since, these brass denim appendages have symbolized the toughness of the American worker. So when the Fairmount Park Art Association approached Irish artist John Kindness to create a monument to Philadelphia's role in U.S. labor rights history, Kindness created seven brass work button tables, each representing a famous moment in Philadelphia labor history.

The monument, unveiled at Elmwood Park in Southwest Philadelphia last Friday, is part of a city-wide movement called New Landmarks, an effort to involve local citizens in the process of creating public art projects. When asked at various community meetings what sort of piece would best represent the Elmwood Park neighborhood, the vastly blue-collar Southwest Philadelphia neighborhood asked for a monument to the working man, to celebrate the history and the sacrifice of labor unions in the U.S.

"In Elmwood Park, they were very clear that they wanted to honor the working class because this particular park had actually been created for workers in industry because Westinghouse and General Electric and Hog Island Shipyard were all right there," says FPAA Executive Director Penny Balkin Bach. 

Each button table was molded out of brass and made to honor a famous event in history. Working with the Friends of Elmwood Park, Kindness, the son of a Belfast shipyard worker, created each table to be not only an urban history lesson but to make the park a gathering place for working people once again.

"These tables call attention to issues that are still going on today around the United States and across the world," says Balkin Bach. "It really calls attention to the really groundbreaking work and the debt that we all have to unions over the course of these many years."

Source: Penny Balkin Bach, FPAA
Writer: John Steele

When former Library of Congress researcher Ann Tetreault decided to open a book store in Manayunk, she knew she would have to create an environment people can't get at Borders or on the internet. Tetreault created the Spiral Bookcase (112 Cotton St., Philadelphia), a new take on the neighborhood book store, where she is currently featuring a collection of rare and out-of-print books from the 19th and 20th century. When she and her fiance bought their first house, they fell in love with the Manayunk neighborhood and wanted the Spiral Bookcase to play on their varied literary interests, as well as a love for their new-found neighborhood.

"Since we both have different backgrounds--he did electrical engineering and I did the arts--the spiral was common to them both. From science and math to the arts and religion," says Tetreault. "But also Manayunk is the coming together of a lot of different people from locals to students to people from the suburbs who come and visit and we want to be inclusive to everyone there, allowing them to share their love of books."

Tetreault hopes to offer a neighborhood feel by expanding her hours, creating book clubs and participating in community events like last Saturday's EcoArts Fest. While a bookstore may seem like an old-fashioned idea in today's world, Tetreault believes that the feeling of holding a book in your hand is something that will never go away. It is that joy of first cracking a book that Tetreault hopes to bring to Manayunk.

"If you sit down with your kid with a Kindle, you lose that intimacy of having the child flip the pages and have that kind of closeness," says Tetreault. "It is a different experience browsing a selection of books than knowing what you want and going online and getting it. You can't recreate the bookstore experience with an online store."

Source: Ann Tetreault, The Spiral Bookcase
Writer: John Steele