Hawthorne, once called Hawthorne Square, is a neighborhood in Central Philadelphia. The neighborhood extends from Broad Street to 11th Street and from South Street to Washington Avenue. The area is remembered as the previous home to the Ridgway Library, a huge public library which was modeled after the Parthenon and has been dated back to 1878. Without proper ventilation or air-conditioning, many books in the library were destroyed and as a result the library had to shut down. The building now facilitates the High School of the Creative and Performing arts. The area has seen numerous building developments in the past decade; most notable were the implosions of the MLK towers which once served as a public housing high-rise. The new MLK Plaza has won numerous awards and is probably the best example of HOPE VI housing in Philadelphia. The area is now seeing improvements from the ashes of the MLK towers, providing townhomes for rent and sale to low - moderate income families.