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'Released by Ethnoarchitecture.com' showcases personal - professional notes related to
Ethnoarch webmaster's current work. In other words, this is Ethnoarch's blog.
The section also details new content added to the site, technical improvements and, in general, how Ethnoarch.com is going.
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A Requiem for the Hall
March 28, 2005
I might not have been the only one who was taken by surprise by the demolition works in Philadelphia's Convention Hall. I had promised myself I would not take more pictures until I finished the technical set-up of this online album (But would it matter to take a few hundred more after having taken twenty thousand?). I thought, in order to make that decision possible, that I could postpone 'urgent commissions' such as paying an obliged visit to the old building, to say goodbye with a few pictures.
Designed by Philip H. Johnson and built between 1929 and 1931, the Convention Hall, a gigantic Art-Deco piece, meant a lot for the collective memory of Philadelphia. Indeed, the hall hosted speeches, ceremonies and presentations by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, the Beatles, Pope John Paul II and Nelson Mandela, among other historical figures.
I had heard about the legal battle the Committee to Save Convention Hall was engaged in, in an attempt to halt the demolition plans. I thought the Committee would finally get to save the building. That was certainly possible, not only because they had some valid arguments, but also because it was expectable some sensitivity from the building's owner, the University of Pennsylvania. After all, UPenn has a world-class school of architecture, the second oldest in the States. Among its notable alumni are Louis Khan and Robert Venturi. Its historic preservation program confers a great deal of importance to cultural identity. It was actually hard to think that given those and many other reasons such a significant structure would be torn down. So I surely would have plenty of time for photographing the restored building in the future.
However, it seems like the beginning of demolition also took by surprise the Committee. It began quite abruptly, just five days after UPenn's president had said they were exploring avenues to conserve it. The University, however, refutes the Committee's claims that it started suddenly. They said it had been in preparation for three years, and that it was unavoidable. There was not any way, according to UPenn, to readapt the building to the new use, that of a health care and cancer center.
Currently there does not exist an architectural project, so nobody knows how the health care center is going to be like. Integrating the building to the project was possible. It would have saved existing resources. It was culturally sensitive. The cancer center is just a part of the new 19-acre project, but the cancer card was played wisely. How come conserving yet another impractical historical artifact can be more important than curing cancer? When confronted to that argument, few people could feel morally enabled to oppose the demolition.
There exists research that connects stress and cancer. Looking at the past reminds us of viable life alternatives to today's rush. There was nothing to do, other than taking a few pictures before the building was completely demolished. It was necessary to take the pictures in a rush, of course.
Update September 2005: The Convention Hall's site, six months after...
About this article
A note about the demolition of the Convention Hall, the historic Art Deco piece in Philadelphia.
And here is an update six months after.
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Image
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Shoot Date and Info
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March 13, 2005
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Code No. D05III13-II-02434
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USA - Pennsylvania - Philadelphia. Historical Architecture: Details of demolition: Southwest. Last picture of the series.
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March 13, 2005
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Code No. D05III13-II-02432
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USA - Pennsylvania - Philadelphia. Historical Architecture: Details of demolition: Northwest - 3.
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March 13, 2005
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Code No. D05III13-II-02430
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USA - Pennsylvania - Philadelphia. Historical Architecture: Details of demolition: Northwest.
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March 13, 2005
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Code No. D05III13-II-02427
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USA - Pennsylvania - Philadelphia. Historical Architecture: Northwestern corner of the Hall (even closer).
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March 13, 2005
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Code No. D05III13-I-02415
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USA - Pennsylvania - Philadelphia. Historical Architecture: Convention Hall, West side. Image sequence – 3.
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March 13, 2005
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Code No. D05III13-I-02404
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USA - Pennsylvania - Philadelphia. Historical Architecture: On the way to the Convention Hall (coming from Civic Center Boulevard) - 1.
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March 10, 2005
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Code No. D05III13-I-02397
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USA - Pennsylvania - Philadelphia. Historical Architecture: The Hall. Closer view of the Northwest.
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March 10, 2005
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Code No. D05III13-I-02394
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USA - Pennsylvania - Philadelphia. Historical Architecture: The Hall. View of the Northeast.
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March 10, 2005
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Code No. D05III13-I-02392
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USA - Pennsylvania - Philadelphia. Historical Architecture: Convention Hall. General view.
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March 10, 2005
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Code No. D05III13-I-02390
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USA - Pennsylvania - Philadelphia. Historical Architecture: Convention Hall, North side. Image sequence – 4.
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March 10, 2005
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Code No. D05III13-I-02385
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USA - Pennsylvania - Philadelphia. Historical Architecture: The Convention Hall. General view.
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March 10, 2005
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Code No. D05III13-I-02381
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USA - Pennsylvania - Philadelphia. Historical Architecture: On the way to the Convention Hall (coming from 34th Street) - 2.
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