Here’s some great news for the old Calvary Church building, which has been home to many local community and arts organizations over the last few decades. As a result of the fundraising efforts supported by the community, a new, much-needed HVAC system has finally been installed and will provide heating and air-conditioning at this historic building.

The new HVAC system was installed at the end of last month and has been working well, according to Calvary Center’s social media posts.

The fundraiser was announced last summer with a goal to match a $100,000 grant from the National Fund for Sacred Places.

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Historic Calvary United Methodist Church at 48th Street and Baltimore Avenue has been awarded a prestigious grant from the National Fund for Sacred Places.

The church building, which was erected in 1906, now provides space for several community, cultural and religious groups and organizations, including Cedar Park Neighbors community association, Curio Theatre Company, Crossroads Music, Kol Tzedek Synagogue, West Philadelphia Mennonite Fellowship, and more.

Calvary Church will receive a matching grant of up to $250,000 to support an ambitious capital campaign to be launched in early 2022 by the Calvary Center for Culture and Community (CCCC), a nonprofit organization established by the church 20 years ago to manage the building. Backed by an additional $500,000 Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) matching grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, awarded to the Calvary Center last year, funds raised will enable major repairs and renovations of the building. Continue Reading

4050-52 & 4054 Chestnut St. (Photo courtesy Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia)

Two West Philly buildings – 4050-52 & 4054 Chestnut St. and 1026-28 Belmont Ave – have recently been added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places. The historic designation means that the Philadelphia Historical Commission would have to review any major changes to the buildings. Overall, nine city buildings were added to the register after the Historical Commission ended its marathon meeting on July 8. Residents from neighborhoods as diverse as Oxford Circle and University City, Germantown and Kensington had successfully petitioned for these properties to be named to the register.

“Residents all over the city, fearing that post-recession development and an epidemic of tear-downs would change the character of their communities, took action and saved these properties. It represents a citywide effort that recognizes the intrinsic and economic benefits of protecting our historic resources,” Paul Steinke, executive director of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, said in a statement.

Here’s more information about the two West Philadelphia buildings added to the Register from the Preservation Alliance:

4050-52 & 4054 Chestnut Street

Nominated by professor Aaron Wunsch, University City Historical Society president Elizabeth Stegner, and historian Oscar Beisert, these three houses, two of which are attached, feature Italianate bracket-and-dentil cornices, segmental-pediment dormers and paired, round-headed sash. These twins were commissioned by Thomas H. Powers, the eminent chemical magnate and real estate developer, as part of a larger development intended to lure city-dwellers west in anticipation of the 1876 Centennial Exhibition. These are among the eight surviving homes on the block that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

This building is next door to the property recently saved (pending appeals) from demolition after a hearing in the Court of Common Pleas.

                Google Street View image.

1026-28 Belmont Avenue

Nominated by the University City Historical Society with preservationist Andrew Cushing and historian Oscar Beisert, this Italian Renaissance Revival fire house was built in 1896 for Engine Company No. 16. It is among the few surviving smaller municipal buildings designed early in his career by John T. Windrim, the architect of the Wanamaker Building, Franklin Institute and Family Court Building. No. 16 is a three-story brick and terra cotta building, with a sculpted seal of the City of Philadelphia, garland keystone on the garage arch and white sandstone ground floor façade.

Photo: Annamarya Scaccia/West Philly Local

Already home to Philadanco and PhilaFunkLive, the seemingly quiet stretch of N. Preston Street between Market and Filbert Streets is buzzing with even more activity now that Inewsent Studios has claimed space in the historic Bell Telephone Exchange, which once served as a telecommunications enterprise in the early 1900s.

Opened in April, Inewsent, located on the second floor of the 113-year-old Georgian Revival building at 8 N. Preston Street, is a 12,000 square-foot independent multimedia complex meant to support independent journalists and artists living and creating in the city. It’s actually an extension of PhilaFunkLive (PFL), a sweeping 3,000 square-foot live performance hall and screening space in the Exchange that was founded by Powelton Village resident and real estate developer Michael Davis in 2007.

In addition to PFL, which hosts 12 – 15 bands a week, Inewsent houses two offices, three audio production studios, two additional 1,000 square-foot performance spaces in the basement, a 25-person call center, WINR Radio, WPFLTV, Cup O Soul Philly (a coffee shop only open during PFL events), and Inewsent Gallery, a permanent art space curated by Stephanie Santos and Lindsay Gilbert. In the future, Davis plans to also run an independent national news station out of Inewsent and is currently looking for a national news anchor and independent journalist in Philadelphia and 49 other cities across the country, from Alaska to Florida.

“Inewsent Studios provides performance spaces where independent artists can be seen and heard and also provides a productive, creative and collaborative environment,” said 52-year-old Davis, a former Army Military Police officer and Judge Advocate General who also runs his medical malpractice and criminal defense law practice out of the Exchange’s first floor. “I wanted to find the ‘best use’, do something fun and support independent artists, which is my passion.”

–Annamarya Scaccia

The Sedgley Apartments, located at 400-3 S. 45th Street.

The Sedgley Apartments building, which has stood on the corner of S. 45^th and Pine Streets for more than 100 years and has been gutted in recent weeks, will be renovated to house “luxury” apartments, according to its new owners.

The Sedgley’s new owner, 400 S. 45^th Street LLC, which bought the property in February, plans a complete overhaul of the Romanesque-style building’s interior (the exterior will stay intact, save landscaping and window updates.) Work on the Sedgley, which was built circa 1900 when developers were looking for corner lots for high-density housing, has been left vacant for the last few years. Renovation should be finished by the fall.

The specs of the new apartments will sound familiar – hardwood floors, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, central air, washer and dryers, and custom tile. The majority of the market-rate units will be two- and three-bedroom apartments, each with two baths, with some one bed/one bath options available.

“It’s a unique opportunity to convert a beautiful greystone building in a premier area and we want to make the most of it,” said 400 S. 45^th Street LLC principal Noah Ostroff.

– Annamarya Scaccia

Proposed Historic District designation area in Spruce Hill (image courtesy of SHCA).

The Philadelphia Historical Commission, the City’s preservation agency, is calling for public meetings to consider the proposal to designate a part of the Spruce Hill neighborhood as a historic district. The agency will hold two public meetings, on Wednesday, April 17 and Friday, May 10, when property owners and other interested parties are invited to comment on the proposed district. Both meetings will be on Zoom.

The proposed historic district consists of 572 properties and the boundaries are shown on the map above. The map also shows parts of Spruce Hill already designated as Historic Districts and properties included in the Registrar of Historic Places.

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