Ooooookay, since I can't figure out how to post a 40-photo photo essay on here, I figure I can spend some time talking about the Convention Center expansion.
Almost since it was first opened, the Pennsylvania Convention Center is almost too small. Forget about the fact that it sprawls through the old Reading Terminal trainshed and a good two blocks to its north; forget about the fact that it sports a roof that can be seen from space, forget about the fact that it has more usable footage than practically any other inner-city convention center anywhere, it's still too small; it runs out of space too easily. And so was born its expansion.
And so was hatched this nefarious plot to expand it to Broad. (The photo's mine, by the way.)
Now half the Convention Center district is practically untraversable, from 13th east to Broad. Hey, but wait a minute, you may be asking, isn't that just one block? Well, yes and no. See, Penn's plan for Philadelphia was a grid which is why we get gridlock today, but it isn't a perfectly even grid. Arch is further north of Market than is Chestnut south of it; the distance between 13th and Broad is greater than that between 12th and 13th. The only features of the original plan that have perfectly regular acreage are the four squares (precisely 1.5 mean blocks on all sides); otherwise, minor variations occur, enough to mean that there is nearly half a block's difference between the smallest true Center City block and the largest--and the block bounded by Arch, Race, Broad, and 13th is one of the largest, almost half a block larger than the westernmost one the Convention Center currently sits on. And so the expansion adds floor space equivalent to half again the original Convention Center, creates a presence on Broad, and creates a whole district bounded by it, Broad, and Market. The facility is a giant L, and one that creates border conditions.
Much like the Chinese Wall of a previous era, the Convention Center splits off the newfound district bearing its name from Chinatown. When the original Convention Center was built nobody noticed it much because the Reading Terminal has long bounded Chinatown's west side--again due to border conditions--the streets tunneling under buildings create a certain physical and psychological border. The neighborhood west of 11th--previously known under another name--became the Convention Center district. Now, the Convention Center expansion actually divides its own neighborhood into two, and creates yet another new neighborhood, one only three blocks long and one block wide; this neighborhood has more in common with Callowhill than it does any other Center City neighborhood, and with the Convention Center, Hahnemann Hospital, and the Vine Street Expressway blocking off every other direction, the only true ties this neighborhood has with Chinatown on its eastern side. Yet even this is problematic; parking lots and the freight ramp built on the old Terminal leads dominate the block between 11th, 12th, Race, and Vine; these lots and this ramp represent a severe border.
This neighborhood, then, when the Convention Center is completed, will effectively be isolated from every other neighborhood in Center City. What will become of it? Will the portions hidden behind Broad waste away? No, I think; the residential district, built primarily of lofts, is one of the more pleasant and healthier neighborhoods in Center City. The Convention Center before the expansion was built isolated it; the extension merely follows the lines already established. And this neighborhood has survived, thrived in the time since. But the fate of it is tied directly to the fates of the neighborhoods surrounding it--particularly to Chinatown and Callowhill. What's in the best interest for both is in its best interest, too, yet it's not examined as often as either of the other two. What do its denizens think about Chinatown's plans for expansion? Callowhill's lofts? The Reading Viaduct? The seas of parking surrounding Hahnemann? Seeing the Convention Center's arse all the time? Do they air their voices? Or have they been lost in the shuffle?
And what will happen to the Convention Center District? A land of masonic temples, multi-structure hotels, courthouses, garages and lots, and one--one--historic industrial block? Will the 3/4 of a block along the 1200 block of Arch, dating back to 1900 and beyond, survive? Or will the rest of the block go the way of 1200 Arch itself, being transformed into a lot paved not just with asphalt--sound it out--ass-fault--but with broken dreams as well? Wasn't a W supposed to be built there? Is that plan dead, or merely hibernating? What about the lot next to the Arch Street Presbyterian Church? What will happen to it now that the Convention Center's its neighbor?
Questions abound in this part of Center City--unanswerable questions. The concrete rises. Time will tell.
Almost since it was first opened, the Pennsylvania Convention Center is almost too small. Forget about the fact that it sprawls through the old Reading Terminal trainshed and a good two blocks to its north; forget about the fact that it sports a roof that can be seen from space, forget about the fact that it has more usable footage than practically any other inner-city convention center anywhere, it's still too small; it runs out of space too easily. And so was born its expansion.
And so was hatched this nefarious plot to expand it to Broad. (The photo's mine, by the way.)
Now half the Convention Center district is practically untraversable, from 13th east to Broad. Hey, but wait a minute, you may be asking, isn't that just one block? Well, yes and no. See, Penn's plan for Philadelphia was a grid which is why we get gridlock today, but it isn't a perfectly even grid. Arch is further north of Market than is Chestnut south of it; the distance between 13th and Broad is greater than that between 12th and 13th. The only features of the original plan that have perfectly regular acreage are the four squares (precisely 1.5 mean blocks on all sides); otherwise, minor variations occur, enough to mean that there is nearly half a block's difference between the smallest true Center City block and the largest--and the block bounded by Arch, Race, Broad, and 13th is one of the largest, almost half a block larger than the westernmost one the Convention Center currently sits on. And so the expansion adds floor space equivalent to half again the original Convention Center, creates a presence on Broad, and creates a whole district bounded by it, Broad, and Market. The facility is a giant L, and one that creates border conditions.
Much like the Chinese Wall of a previous era, the Convention Center splits off the newfound district bearing its name from Chinatown. When the original Convention Center was built nobody noticed it much because the Reading Terminal has long bounded Chinatown's west side--again due to border conditions--the streets tunneling under buildings create a certain physical and psychological border. The neighborhood west of 11th--previously known under another name--became the Convention Center district. Now, the Convention Center expansion actually divides its own neighborhood into two, and creates yet another new neighborhood, one only three blocks long and one block wide; this neighborhood has more in common with Callowhill than it does any other Center City neighborhood, and with the Convention Center, Hahnemann Hospital, and the Vine Street Expressway blocking off every other direction, the only true ties this neighborhood has with Chinatown on its eastern side. Yet even this is problematic; parking lots and the freight ramp built on the old Terminal leads dominate the block between 11th, 12th, Race, and Vine; these lots and this ramp represent a severe border.
This neighborhood, then, when the Convention Center is completed, will effectively be isolated from every other neighborhood in Center City. What will become of it? Will the portions hidden behind Broad waste away? No, I think; the residential district, built primarily of lofts, is one of the more pleasant and healthier neighborhoods in Center City. The Convention Center before the expansion was built isolated it; the extension merely follows the lines already established. And this neighborhood has survived, thrived in the time since. But the fate of it is tied directly to the fates of the neighborhoods surrounding it--particularly to Chinatown and Callowhill. What's in the best interest for both is in its best interest, too, yet it's not examined as often as either of the other two. What do its denizens think about Chinatown's plans for expansion? Callowhill's lofts? The Reading Viaduct? The seas of parking surrounding Hahnemann? Seeing the Convention Center's arse all the time? Do they air their voices? Or have they been lost in the shuffle?
And what will happen to the Convention Center District? A land of masonic temples, multi-structure hotels, courthouses, garages and lots, and one--one--historic industrial block? Will the 3/4 of a block along the 1200 block of Arch, dating back to 1900 and beyond, survive? Or will the rest of the block go the way of 1200 Arch itself, being transformed into a lot paved not just with asphalt--sound it out--ass-fault--but with broken dreams as well? Wasn't a W supposed to be built there? Is that plan dead, or merely hibernating? What about the lot next to the Arch Street Presbyterian Church? What will happen to it now that the Convention Center's its neighbor?
Questions abound in this part of Center City--unanswerable questions. The concrete rises. Time will tell.
Michael, I am trying to send you a picture for your new blog but I cannot find your e-mail address in your profile.
ReplyDeleteFixed.
ReplyDelete