Architecture Philly
The Best in Philadelphian Architecture
A Look at Girard College Chapel
For your interest…
Yet another great find from Hidden City. This chapel isn't too far from Church of the Gesu, a church with similar status now. Girard College, on the other hand, appears to be more Beaux-Arts or Art Deco in style, which is not often seen in churches. That sanctuary has magnificent lighting, but the rest of the building does not appear too religious. The lack of natural lighting allows light to be displayed on the ceiling, rather than through the glass, resulting in the golden glow of the chapel.
OFF TOPIC: Flyers in Playoffs
For you interest…
Philadelphia is back in the playoffs. The Flyers have recovered from their low rank and have made the final spot in the playoffs. With the other 3 big teams having been disappointing in recent years, it's nice to see one of them back in the playoffs. They will face off with the Washington Capitals on Thursday.
On a side note, RIP to Ed Snider, longtime Flyers owner, who died today.
A look at Pennsylvania Hospital
Sorry for my recent inactivity. I've been working on a much larger project.
Pennsylvania Hospital is one of the most overlooked historic sights in Philly, perhaps because it's "out there" away from most of the touristy things despite being in Pennsylvania Hospital. Philadelphia has had an important role in medical history, as any visit to the Mütter Museum will tell you. It was the nation's first hospital, founded by Benjamin Franklin. If I'm not mistaken, Thomas Eakins' The Agnew Clinic was painted here.
It's a very stately old building, as many are in that area. It has lavish furnishings, grand staircases, and libraries with bookshelves that remind me of the Mütter. A very grand, Georgian place. A hidden gem indeed.
Philadelphia Falling in Population Ranks?
This is completely unsurprising. Census estimates are saying that the Washington area has passed the Philadelphia area in population. While Philadelphia and surrounding suburbs have been growing, other cities have been growing faster. DC has apparently passed us, and Miami is expected to this year, followed by Atlanta by 2021 (Granted, we'll have another census by then)
What's interesting is the populations in relative to city and metro area. Philadelphia's population at the 2010 census was 1,526,006. At that time, Washington had 658,893, Atlanta had 456,002, and Miami had 430,332. Those three combined had 1,545,227, marginally bigger than Philadelphia. All of them in terms of metro area are at 6,000,000. Therefore, Philadelphia's suburbs have far less people than those of DC, Atlanta, and Miami.
Bear in mind that these are estimates. Remember back when people said that Phoenix passed Philadelphia in population? Yeah, didn't happen. Granted, that may very well be inevitable, but who knows?
OFF TOPIC: Why I, of Irish descent, hate St Patrick's Day
It's rant time again…
Before we start, I'd like to say that I'm 7/8 Irish, the other eighth is from Scotland. And since it's such a big deal with the Irish, yes, I'm Catholic.
That time of year again. National Beer Day, or as some people like to call it, St Patrick's Day. St Patrick's Day is technically a celebration of Irish culture and heritage. That's rather interesting because the only other cultural holiday from another country celebrated here is Chinese New Year. Anyway, there is something that dissociates between them. One of them is accurate to the festivities in the original country. St Patrick's Day is not that holiday.
Unlike Chinese New Year, where you can witness many Chinese traditions recreated in America, on St Patrick's Day you can find pub crawlers in stupid costumes get their BAC somewhere near .90. Granted, that may be an exaggeration, but would it really surprise you? In Ireland, St Patrick's Day is a Holy day. Its purpose is to commemorate the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, via St Patrick. Later, in places where Irish immigrants moved, it became a celebration of Irish heritage. According to the people who celebrate it now, Irish heritage consists of drunkenness, stupid costumes, and be obnoxious. If I must say, the think I hate the most is the clothing, the pinnacle of which are the hats. First off, those weird antenna-like things with shamrocks on the top that mostly girls wear are just plain stupid. Then there are the T-shirts. "Kiss me, I'm Irish" No, I'm not kissing you, and you're probably not Irish. These clothes have more green than Fenway Park. People do the most obnoxious things on their pub crawls. Having your feet on the seat in front of you on the train? Check. Yelling curse words that echo around the block? Check. Jaywalk in the most random places? OK, I do that, but check. Also, "Patty" is a girl's name. "Paddy" is the name you're looking for.
My only question is, is this racism? (By the way, I didn't come up with what you're about to read) What they are doing is dressing up in stereotypical clothing of an ethnicity, doing stereotypical activities of that ethnicity, and than proceeding to act like stereotypes of that ethnicity. Imagine if people did that on Chinese New Year. Imagine if people wore exaggerated Chinese clothes, ate loads of rice, and spoke intentionally broken English. There would be massive outrage if people did that. Granted, that's definitely a more extreme example from what we actually see on St Patrick's Day, but it's the same concept. This holiday celebrates Irish heritage by mocking it. That seems to contradict itself.
Oh, and also, don't even consider going near a college campus when people are pub crawling. Don't use public transit either. Unfortunately my calendar had me on Regional Rail on the 12th, and that was one of my most unpleasant train rides of all time.
FMC Tower – 3/12/16
We've seen plenty of updates on Comcast Innovation, but at the same time another tower is rising above the Schuylkill. The FMC Tower at Cira Center South will reach a final height of 736 feet, making it not only the tallest building in University City, but also the first building west of the Schuylkill to exceed William Penn's hat. It's made some serious progress, and is now a legitimate part of the skyline. Pardon the blurry photos. It rained that day.
Introducing: Schuylkill Yards
Well… That certainly came out of nowhere. This is quite exciting, seeing a massive project like this one. For those who don't know, in the past few years, there's been a massive area of construction in New York City on the West Side called Hudson Yards. It's a massive place built over a railyard that contains a variety of buildings, mostly offices and residential units. At its center is 30 Hudson Yards, a pyramidal structure rising nearly 1,300 feet above the ground. While the quality of these buildings is questionable, it definitely is a quintessential example of urban redevelopment. There's been talk lately of Drexel University building over the railyard on the western bank of the Schuylkill River. This has somewhat become true, as there are indeed renderings of a development project west of 30th Street Station.
The most notable feature of this project is Schuylkill Yards Tower 1, which will rise 70 stories to a height of 1,095 feet! If it is built, it will be the second tallest building in Philadelphia, only behind the Comcast Innovation & Technology Center. The renderings show a sleek glass tower rising drastically higher than its surroundings, as the tallest part of the development. It's proximity to 30th Street Station makes it good for being close to SEPTA Regional Rail, Amtrak, and the Market Frankford Line. This is good to further advance the demand of University City, which has been the trend recently. However, I do have a couple problems with this. The 1,095-foot tower looks out of place surrounded by those buildings that are far shorter. Second off, those shorter buildings are hideous. That weird, multi-colored window pattern seen next to the Evo never works. Also, if they assured that they would develop over the railyard, why aren't they doing it? Also, they could use materials other than glass on the new buildings.
Overall, though, this could spell amazing things for Philadelphia, and continue the revitalization that has been going on in U City ever since the Cira Center in 2004.
The end of Architecture Philly
Thoughts on PMA Renovation
Mormon Temple Consecrated
Philadelphia hosts the DNC
A look at the 30th Street Station District Plan!
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