Good Guy Loses on the Mall
It's not every day that the chiefs of the two ruling Philadelphia tribes - politics and trade unions - come out to mark the passing of a building. Then again, the gathering on Monday in front of Mitchell/Giurgola's 1976 Liberty Bell pavilion was really more of an occasion to thump chests and do a unity dance around the funeral pyre. Everyone was there: Gov. Rendell, Congressman Brady, Mayor Street, U.S. District Court Judge Edward Becker (a Republican!), the electricians' Johnny Doc, uber-union chief Pat Gillespie and eight other union leaders. Even Philadelphia head plunger, Edward Keenan of Plumbers Local 690, attended, after making sure no one was trying to install any waterless urinals on the mall.
The politicians and building trades hated the old Independence Mall, and with good reason. It was sterile and barren. Plus, a complete overhaul guaranteed years of construction work. What they hated most about the mall, though, was the swoopy glass curves of the bell pavilion. Its crime was daring to be modern on a colonial stage-set. So when the U.S. Park Service cried poverty and said it couldn't afford to tear it down, the unions offered to do it for them, gratis. The union chiefs and pols generously patted themselves on the backs for their effort. And just to make sure no one got the wrong idea about their motivations, Pat Gillespie took pains to assure the sparse crowd that the dismantlement would be done right: "We're going to do it legit. We promise," Gillespie said. Does mean no overtime charges?
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Of course, as with most Philadelphia ground breakings, no ground was broken Monday. Which was a good thing, from our point of view. Someday, we'll have to face the person who asks: So tell us again why you had to demolish the best building on the mall? And we'll have answer: You see, we had to destroy the axis to preserve the axis. For what it's worth, the pavilion's stone and wood will be saved and sent to Anchorage, Alaska's Unity Park, a garden being designed to promote unity, diversity, freedom, and all good things. They just wanted to hold onto to a piece of Romaldo Giurgola's old pavilion. Philadelphians will have to remember in a different way. Starting April 19, an exhibit charting the design evolution of the bell pavilion will open at Penn Archives, in the Furness Library. Enter from 34th Street.
posted by Inga Saffron at 9:40 AM
4 Comments:
liberty bell pavillion
although the pavillion was the essence of good desing, it enclosed and at the same time opened a visual link between the hall and the bell. I always thought i looked cheap, i.e., mostly because the meaterials seemed cheap,
I am 4th generation citizen of this city. I have worked at the Curtis Building during thr mid 1970's. I recall well the park across the street with benches where I could eat a hoagie the size of my arm and watch school children and tourist line up. I remember seeing the famed director John Houston, sit anonomously on the stoop of Independence Hall facing Market St. He was filming an all star Bi-Centenial production. And I remember when they brought the Liberty Bell out of its veiled seculsion, to be on 25/7 viewing. I believe the point was not that it was or was not modern, but its 4 glass walls allowed you visual access. I seem to remember Mort Krim, a local TV news anchor, recording some historical snippents which would broadcast at the touch of a button on the outside of the building. I had a friend from out of town who had never seen the Liberty Bell, although he spent many years going to school here. On the way to airport, in the middle of the night, parked by the curb your could see the lighted relic. That was really the point, a transparent pedestal for our heritage. It was what was in the content, clearly visible night and day not the container that I or most people noticed. That was the point.
Oh god, no more fake re-creations of colonial times! Spare us, we are not Williamsburg. We should preserve our inventory where possible, and forge ahead with new visions elsewhere. No More Crap!
I know! How about some giant multi-story parking garages on the mall? Wouldn't that just be the ultimate urban iconography? Historic relic and convenient parking right across the street. Those quasi-museums didn't do the trip of making the space user friendly -- just giant civic versions of McMansions.
I would like to see what designs might be created by some elementary school students. Bet they could come up with something fabulous.
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