Demolished: Sidney Hillman Medical Center in Philly

Photos courtesy of planphilly.com

On the morning of Nov. 28, 2011, demolition began at the Sidney Hillman Medical Center, located at 22nd & Chestnut streets in Philadelphia, PA. The site will soon become a high rise apartment tower, reaching 32-stories, including retail space and cafe.

Rendering of future high rise apartment tower.

Originally designed by Louis Magaziner and Herman Polss in 1950, and often referred to as a "modernist gem," the building made an impression on the architecture and design communities in addition to the public it served. This pioneering medical center provided free medical services to the labor union employees of the Male Apparel Industry. 

PlanPhilly, an independent news source for development, planning, and preservation, shares sentiments from David G. De Long, a Penn professor emeritus, who wrote: “Its angled orientation is unique, contributing mightily to the rich architectural diversity of Philadelphia.” Steve Fraser, a visiting professor of history at New York University and biographer of Sidney Hillman, wrote that the building “embodies a vital piece of the past century’s social heritage.”

While efforts to save this building were ultimately unsuccessful, they contributed to a growing appreciation for midcentury architecture in Philadelphia, promoting preservation concerns related to other sites built between 1945 and 1980. A growing list can be found here. 

Kronish House: SAVED!

Michal Czerwonka for The Wall Street Journal.

Previously facing demolition, the Richard Neutra-designed Kronish house was recently sold to an undisclosed buyer for 12.8 million. The new owners have plans to restore and preserve the property, though no arrangements have been made to work with Dion Neutra, the architect's son who also runs the Neutra architecture practice. 

The Wall Street Journal reported that real estate agent Susan Smith (who helped broker the deal), said the buyers had been looking for a property with architectural history, adding that, "the new owner is going to preserve the house and this will take about two years." 

Richard J.Neutra, Kronish House, 1953, pastel on paper,
courtesy Palm Springs Art Museum.

Given their heavy involvement with the battle to save the property, the LA Conservancy was thrilled with this recent sale. However, not every reaction has been as enthusiastic, including this comment from Dion Neutra, “I wish we could have won the Neutra Library idea,” he wrote in an email to Developments. “Still hoping for that; a quasi public use, and to hear from these new owners as to how they will treat this icon.”

While the Neutra House is safe from demolition, its fate is once again that of a private residence. Does Dion Neutra have a point? Should this house take on more of a public and educational function, or should we be satisfied that it's at least safe from demolition?  Share your thoughts!

Manitoga Named To 2012 World Monuments Watch Site List

Courtesy of Manitoga/The Russel Wright Design Center 

"...While these sites are historic, they are also very much of the present - integral parts of the lives of the people who come into contact with them every day." -Bonnie Burnham, WMF President

 

Manitoga, the 75-acre woodland garden, home and studio of industrial designer Russel Wright, was recently named one of 67 threatened cultural-heritage sites across the globe. "Receiving this designation is particularly gratifying as it will go a long way to help us restore Wright's masterpiece to its rightful condition and its place in the pantheon of mid-century modernism," remarked Manitoga Board President David McAlpin. By raising public awareness about heritage needs and concerns, the Watch program inspires local involvement and institutional investment, which in turn engages support and advances innovation and collaboration.

 

Fifty miles north of New York City, Russel Wright's Manitoga sits nestled amid the woodlands of the Hudson River Valley in Garrison, NY. Manitoga, named after Algonquin words meaning "place of great spirit," was Wright's residence until his death in 1976. (Living with Nature at Russel Wright's, an in-depth look at the property and vision behind this now threatened cultural-heritage site, is featured in the Spring 2010 issue of Modernism Magazine. To order this and any additional back issues, please visit: http://shop.modernismmagazine.com/Vol-13-No-1-M131.htm)

 

For further information on the World Monuments Watch program, visit www.wmf.org/ or Manitoga's project page at www.wmf.org/project/manitoga.

Possible Demolition for Kronish House Stirs Local and Global Preservation Debates

Photo: The Kronish House in Beverly Hills. Credit: J. Paul Getty Trust / Associated Press

Beverly Hills, CA:  A recent City Council meeting offers hope, and an extension, for conservation efforts in Beverly Hills concerning the Kronish House. Renowned modernist architect Richard Neutra built Kronish House in 1954 for Herbert Kronish, a then real-estate developer who planned to live there with his wife. Soda PARTNERS, LLC., a privately owned real-estate firm based in Los Angeles, purchased the house in a foreclosure sale last January, with hopes to resell it quickly for a nice profit. When no buyers materialized, Soda Partners amplified their efforts to maximize return profits in this purchase, and initiated demolition measures at the property site. Preservationists disliked the foreclosure purchase from the beginning, initiating at least two lawsuits against the real-estate company. Despite the public and legal attacks, the real-estate group is intent on replacing this piece of architectural history with an empty lot. Last week their plans hit to an indefinite halt when the City Council placed a stay on demolition and any related conduct until October 10, adding a historic preservation ordinance to the Planning Commission’s agenda in the meantime. The precarious fate of the 1950s residence – now the last remaining of three original properties by Neutra in Beverly Hills, and one of the city’s dwindling pieces of architectural heritage - shines a spotlight on the fact that Beverly Hills has no historical preservation ordinances in place to curb demolition efforts for companies like Soda Partners. In the past, under the city’s cavalier attitude regarding preservation, Beverly Hills has seen the compromise or loss of several of its most treasured architectural structures. 

The battle over Kronish House also raises another issue that as been an increasing subject of debate in architectural and urban planning circles: namely that historic preservation is a back-handed means of gentrifying neighborhoods and displacing existing residents. Often, it is the long-forgotten landmarks that become targets for historic preservation. Located in neighborhoods that have changed over the decades, developers aim to make use of the land for other purposes, and thus initiate demolition efforts. The motive behind those efforts varies from commercial to residential and much in between. While it is often important as well as useful to restore or just conserve (or both) a neglected landmark, there also exists an opposing argument that has recently gained equal validity. There are instances where conservation efforts prevent necessary improvements from taking place in their hosting communities. The clash sparks an important QUESTION: Where do we draw the line between efforts that preserve our architectural history and those that prevent us from ever making a new one?

New York, New York: Renovations to a landmark Manhattan office building

A recent shot of the building via Flickr.

New York, New York:  Renovations to a landmark Manhattan office building were halted last week when a state Supreme Court judge responded to a lawsuit brought by preservationists. Located at Fifth Avenue and 43^rd Street in New York City, this former bank is the future site of Joe Fresh, a Canadian fast-fashion brand started by Joseph Mimran (also the founder of Club Monaco). When Gordon Bunshaft designed the building in 1954, it was Fifth Avenue’s first glass edifice. In the years since, preservationists and architecture experts alike have come to recognize it as a model of midcentury modernism. For more information about the legal dispute, and details concerning the building’s previous conservation efforts, visit this recent article in the NY Times.