March 31, Wednesday, 5pm. Wagner Free Institute of Science, 1700 West Montgomery Avenue. Free
Noted historian and architect Robert M. Skaler will present a lecture and a series of images illustrating the development of North Broad Street in the 19th century. Following his lecture Mr. Skaler will sign copies of his book Philadelphia’s Broad Street, South & North. More info here.
Planning District F - Upper North Philadlephia
Inquirer: Temple's real gem: Baptist Temple to reopen as cultural arts center
Inquirer: Temple's real gem: Baptist Temple to reopen as cultural arts center
THERE ARE striking surprises inside the renovated Baptist Temple, on Broad Street at Temple University's North Philadelphia campus.
The 119-year-old former church, designed by architect Thomas P. Lonsdale as an example of the Victorian Romanesque-revival style, was originally known as simply "The Temple" when it opened in 1891.
In fact, the university took its name from the church, which had been built to accommodate the large crowds who literally had to wait in shifts to hear the speeches and lectures of Temple's founder, the Rev. Russell H. Conwell.
Conwell taught night classes at The Temple between 1891 and 1894, said James W. Hilty, a Temple professor of history and community and regional planning.
But the congregation pulled up stakes in the early 1970s and built a larger facility in Montgomery County, leaving the the Baptist Temple, as it later became known, to sit empty, deteriorating for more than 30 years.
Now, after a two-year, $29 million renovation, the university is ready to reopen the Baptist Temple on April 14 as a cultural center to anchor the northern section of the city's Avenue of the Arts.
"It's going to be much more than a performing arts center," said Charles Henry Bethea, executive director of the Baptist Temple.
It is planned as a multipurpose cultural and performing-arts center. (The first concert, by Patti LuPone, is scheduled for April 17.)
The new Baptist Temple will be a gathering place for film screenings, lectures, symposia, commencement ceremonies and a space for private events, from corporate meetings to weddings and other events.
The university is restoring the Baptist Temple's role as a cultural landmark that Conwell predicted 119 years ago, said Hilty.
Originally, the Temple could seat as many as 4,600 people, Hilty said. His new book, Temple University: 125 Years of Service to Philadelphia, the Nation and the World, is expected soon in bookstores.
But critics warned Conwell that the building would never succeed "as a religious and educational institution," Hilty wrote.
To that, Conwell replied: "If we don't make it a success as a Temple, we'll turn it into a theater."
North Philadelphia Arts & Culture Alliance | History of North Broad Street
March 31, 2010 5:00pm - 7:00pm
3rd Annual Philly Spring Cleanup
April 10, 2010
3rd Annual Philly Spring Cleanup
Saturday, April 10
University City District and City of Philadelphia are pleased to announce the 3rd Annual Philly Spring Cleanup to be held Saturday, April 10, 2010 (rain date, Saturday, April 17, 2010).
This year's cleanup, entitled "Keep Up the Sweep Up," will be the start of the City's sustained effort to eliminate and prevent litter and illegal dumping permanently. With ongoing strategies of education, enforcement, intense cleaning and beautification, the City is committed to keeping Philadelphia clean.
If you would like to sign up to participate or organize your block in University City please contact dexter@universitycity.org for more details and supplies.
Finding Northadelphia
March 11, 2010 5:00pm
Film screening by Youth Empowerment Services
The student-made documentary Finding Northadelphia explores the history of North Philadelphia by visiting various landmark institutions and organizations including the Uptown Theater, Freedom Theatre, the Philadelphia Doll Museum, and community newspaper Scoop USA.
With the guidance of instructors Stephen Gardner and Jeannine Cook, Finding Northadelphia was planned, filmed and edited by students of Youth Empowerment Services (YES), a non-profit organization dedicated to youth from all over the city who've dropped out of school or are otherwise unemployed.
Free
Presented by North Philadelphia Arts and Culture Alliance
Following the film screening, a tour of Freedom Theatre will be offered.
Freedom Theatre, 1346 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19121
Cosponsored by Temple University’s General Activities Fee.
The Wall Remixed: The North Philadelphia Small Business Advertising Campaign
March 25, 2010 5:30pm - 7:30pm
The Wall Remixed: The North Philadelphia Small Business Advertising Campaign is a multi-media collaboration among renowned artists Carl Pope, Mari Hulick and Homer Jackson, the Mural Arts Program and Philagrafika 2010. Using images created by students in the Mural Arts Program's ArtWorks! education program and input from local business owners, the artists designed 25 billboards and posters that visually celebrate North Philadelphia's small businesses and community organizations.
The project is designed to increase awareness of resources and have a positive economic impact on businesses in this culturally mixed neighborhood. The billboards will be displayed through March, thanks to a partnership with Clear Channel Outdoor.
Visit http://tinyurl.com/ykreg6y for a map of the billboard, business and organization locations.
Please join us for an opening reception celebrating this innovative project and an accompanying reception. The reception will be followed by a panel discussion that addresses the connection between commerce, art and social transformation.
Exhibition runs March 18th through April 23rd 2010.
This project was organized as a part of Philagrafika 2010: The Graphic Unconscious. Support for the project was provided by the City of Philadelphia Department of Human Services and Clear Channel.
For more information, please contact Emily Squires, ArtWorks! Assistant Program Manager, at 215-685-0752 or ems@muralarts.org.
Coalition for the Revitalization of William Penn High School
February 16, 2010 6:30pm
Coalition for the Revitalization of William Penn
Tuesday, February 16, 2010, 6pm-8pm
Leon Sullivan Building (Community Room), 1415 N Broad Street
The mission of the coalition is to bring community members and other William Penn supporters together to stand and fight the closing of William Penn high school, creating and changing the school environment by improving and raising the bar on our children’s education. The coalition hopes to have William Penn accommodate both the needs of its students and the local community members. If you are interested in participating and supporting the group, please contact 215-989-9809 or williampenncoalition@gmail.com, or Facebook: Save William Penn.
RESCHEDULED: A History of North Broad Street: A Lecture by Robert Morris Skaler
March 31, 2010 5:00pm
A History of North Broad Street: A Lecture by Robert Morris Skaler
*this event was originally scheduled for February 11
Wednesday, March 31, 5 pm
Wagner Free Institute of Science
1700 West Montgomery Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19121
Noted historian and architect Robert M. Skaler will present a lecture and a series of images illustrating the development of North Broad Street in the 19th century. While prosperous, North Broad Street was respectable but never really fashionable, as a “north” address did not have the cache of one south of Market Street to Philadelphia’s traditional elite class ensconced around Rittenhouse Square. Perhaps to compensate for this lack of social standing, residents of North Broad Street built their houses and churches grander than many in Center City preferring the clean “Uptown” air to that of the old Quaker City with its cramped hurley-burley. In addition, it is the home of Temple University and the Wagner Free Institute of Science. North Broad Street was also the center of social life of upper class German Jews who built four major synagogues, and the impressive Mercantile Club on Broad below Jefferson Street. Cosponsored by Avenue of the Arts, Inc.; Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia; and Temple University’s General Activities Fee.
Robert M. Skaler is a forensic architect and graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Architecture. He is a Past President of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Victorian Society, board member of the Old York Road Historical Society member of the Union League of Philadelphia, and is an adviser to several Historic Societies. His books entitled West Philadelphia, University City to 52nd Street, Philadelphia’s Broad Street, South & North, and Society Hill & Old City, and Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square with co-author Tom Keels, are pictorial histories of Philadelphia.
Following his lecture Mr. Skaler will sign copies of his book Philadelphia’s Broad Street, South & North.
North Philadelphia Arts and Culture Alliance | History of North Broad Street
February 11, 2010 5:00pm - 7:00pm
North Philadelphia Arts and Culture Alliance | History of North Broad Street
February 11, Thursday, 5pm. Wagner Free Institute of Science, 1700 West Montgomery Avenue. Free.
Noted historian and architect Robert M. Skaler will present a lecture and a series of images illustrating the development of North Broad Street in the 19th century. Cosponsored by Avenue of the Arts, Inc.; Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia; and Temple University's General Activities Fee. For more info, click here.
