About
The
Spruce Hill District
Spruce
Hill Historic District
Voices
The proposed designation of Spruce Hill as a Philadelphia Historic District has given rise to much discussion in the neighborhood over the merits of such a designation. The University City Historical Society and the Spruce Hill Community Association believe that the designation will provide neighborhood residents an important tool to protect the unique historical character of the area.
Here are some other voices:
Fred Wolfe, a local architect/theologian, writes: Much of the group of "villages" which comprise University City have been around much longer than any of the persons debating this current issue. (Ruth Malloy, are you on the list serve?) While we may be owners of a property at the moment, we are in the long run, custodians for future generations. In any neighborhood of age, there are elements which most people will generally agree, define that neighborhood's character. (ie. Wide, tree-lined street, brick sidewalks, stately mansions, "cozy" bungalows, etc) Often times, it's the repetition of those elements which create rhythms which make walking those neighborhoods enjoyable, whether it's repeated fenced-in front yards, classical porch columns, pedimented bay windows, or alternating gabled and peaked roofs.
The majority of the blocks in University City were concieved as an assembly of rhythms by their origonal designers. Stand across the street from the house in which you live, and look at it in relation to the rest of your block. Notice any common elements? Can you see any patterns of repetition or alternation? Are there pieces of any of the patterns that are missing? Historical designation does not try to lock neighborhoods into a specific time frame, but rather to preserve those elements which give the area its unique qualities.
If someone chooses to remove pieces of a pattern which affect a whole block's facade, from the one portion which they temporarily own, are they impacting the value of the other buildings on that block? Could they be reducing the value of other homes? Is that our God-given right as Americans, to do what ever we wish with our property, at the potential expense of others?
Despite what many have written, this collection of neighborhoods is unique in its architectural heritage. Despite accusations that UPenn is all behind this effort, I believe the historical designation would work against Penn's ability to expand into any further residential areas.
Christine Hibbard, a Cedar Park resident writes: I am writing this as a proponent of the Spruce Hill Historic District, living outside of the district boundaries. I live in Cedar Park within the West Philadelphia Streetcar Suburb National Historic District. I hope the Spruce Hill Historic District will be a precursor to a Cedar Park Historic District so that all of the properties within the national district will be protected by a local ordinance.
On my block, half of the properties are not owner occupied and could be in jeopardy of alteration. Four properties at one corner are already drastically altered. Local historic designation would help us maintain this block despite a preponderance of absentee landlords.
The significance of the architecture in our neighborhood lies in the streetscape, the rhythm and cadence of the porches, dormers, and bays of the groups of Victorian speculative twins, each with a slightly different set of details. When one property within a group is altered the sense of the whole isn't quite lost, however when several properties are altered, (porches enclosed, bay windows replaced with glass blocks, vinyl siding marring the brick façade) this unique set of buildings becomes anyplace. The local historic district is a vehicle to maintain the integrity of our Victorian streetscapes.
When repairs are needed the Historic Commission guides homeowners to materials and techniques that will preserve their properties. They help homeowners understand why these old buildings were built as they were, to take advantage of and appreciate their wonderful qualities. Porches are a good example: they shade our homes in the summer keeping them cooler, protect them from the weather in the winter, and are a great place to sit, enjoy the breeze, and greet neighbors as they walk by. Sitting on you porch at night is not only pleasant, it's a way to keep the neighborhood safer by having "eyes on the street".
A Local historic
district could be used as a focus for neighborhood organizations, a way
of giving identity and a sense of place to our unique area within West
Philadelphia. Thank you.
Alan Krigman, a local landlord, has posted his views on historic designation here.
John Holland, a local architect writes: I am not sure why there are people against having the area designated an historic district. As an architect I have seen many beautiful communities that are similar in nature to University City that have been designated historic districts. For them it is a matter of pride that their community is intact enough to be designated.
Some have spoken vociferously against being told what to do with their property. It reminds me of the worst kind of conservativism where there is no concept of the "common good." To me it is good that historic features or reconstructions are kept within certain design guidelines and that original features are preserved. It keeps the heart and soul of the architecture together and thus the neighborhood. It keeps the neighborhood beautiful and we do have a beautiful neighborhood. It is an oasis to some extent.
There will also be benefits. We had the old trolley rolling around which was fun. Expansion of service would be likely. There may be other benefits such as tourists interested in seeing an intact streetcar suburb from 1900. That would mean business for our local businesses.
To me an historic district is the right direction. It well help limit bad renovations cheap or not. Ripping off porches is not the thing to do either. It always looks to me as though a leg is missing, the issue of light can be addressed in other ways.
There have been some criticisms of the University City Historical Society which are unfair. It is wonderful hardworking group of people with the best of intentions. They have a particular love and respect for old things. This probably comes out of the idea that once a building or feature is lost it is very hard to get back. From my point of view and experience as an architect this is true.
Please support the historic designation.
Tom Gagliardi, a local contractor and landlord writes: I am writing regarding the proposed historic district in the Spruce Hill neighborhood. I am a landlord who owns one house within the boundaries of the historic district (used as a rental property) and several others in other areas around Philadelphia. I also run a contractor business.
I wanted to let you know that I am very excited about what an historic district could do for Spruce Hill. This proposed district will make this neighborhood stronger and more stable. I have watched houses deteriorate until they had to be torn down. We have so many beautiful houses here that losing even one of them is very troubling.
Thank you for the work the University City Historical Society is doing to preserve the Spruce Hill neighborhood through the historic district.
Brian Siano, a Spruce Hill resident wrote a recent opinion piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer opposing the designation of Spruce Hill. Click here to read it (we're not sure how long this link will stay active).
Katherine
Dowdell and Tim Wood, Co-Presidents of UCHS submitted this response to
Mr. Siano's article: Brian Siano's opinion piece in Tuesday's Inquirer
("Historic-district designation about power, not preservation")
raises fears that historic designation of Spruce Hill would drain the
diversity from our neighborhood. This has not been the experience of other
historic neighborhoods, however. A 1998 study done for the Preservation
Alliance for Greater Philadelphia ("The Economic Benefits of Preserving
Philadelphia's Past") points out that Philadelphia's historic neighborhoods
tend to be economically, racially, and educationally more diverse than
other areas of the city. Further, it shows that those historic neighborhoods
have been more stable, losing less of their population than other areas
of the city, and attracting more newcomers from the suburbs and outside
the region. Recent research done in Boston and New York (see "The
Gentry, Misjudged As Neighbors," New York Times, 3/26/2002) has shown
that far from driving out those with lower or fixed incomes, the kinds
of improvements that can come with historic designation make these neighborhoods
more attractive; those in the lower income brackets tend to stay in those
neighborhoods at a higher rate than in other neighborhoods. This can only
help to stabilize the neighborhood as it preserves its diversity.
In short, we believe that while historic designation does add another
layer of regulation, it is not an especially burdensome one. Many repairs
would still proceed as before; most others can be approved very quickly
by Historical Commission staff, and be completed within reasonable budgets.
The benefits-the preservation of the historical streetscapes of one of
Philadelphia's earliest commuter suburbs and access to the resources of
the Historical Commission, among others-far outweigh any added bureaucracy.
Designation also will help to address the continuing problem of demolition
of properties by neglect and the resulting loss of the area's historic
fabric. At a time when blight threatens many parts of our city, historic
designation provides a community with a tool to see that decay does not
become irreversible. A diverse range of Philadelphia's neighborhoods have
claimed the benefits of historic designation. We believe that Spruce Hill
deserves to join them.
Rich Kirk, a longtime Spruce Hill resident responded to Mr. Siano's article with this letter: As a resident of Spruce Hill since 1972, I was taken aback by Mr. Siano's letter concluding that the Spruce Hill Historic District is about "power" and "control".
He is wrong. It is not about power at all, and it is certainly not about the kind of 'control' he seems to be intimating in his letter. The District is about preservation of architecture that is very much worth preserving for ourselves and for whoever might be here a hundred years from now. Period. Yes, bureaucracy is anything but perfect. And yes, the historic district would mean that certain specific repairs would cost more. But if you take care of your house, you don't have to make those expensive repairs. I paint my windows every seven or eight years, and all my original hundred year old wooden windows work just fine, I don't have to replace any of them with vinyl or wood or anything else. And I'll paint them whatever color I please, with or without the historic district. Every few years we do roof maintenance, religiously. That's about it.
Those persons backing the Historic District are thinking about long term value for the future, ensuring that those who follow us, whoever they are (and none of us really know who that will be), will enjoy the same benefit of the wonderful and gracious neighborhood architecture that we have inherited and so much enjoy ourselves. Almost all of the persons backing the District officially have been residents of the neighborhood for more than a quarter century themselves. Some were born here. When most of them came here every other house was for sale and almost nobody but the worst sort of speculator landlords was interested in buying. In those days, Spruce Hill was characterized by an endless series of absentee landlords who sucked lots of money out of the neighborhood and gave absolutely nothing back in return, making absolute minimal repairs, changing interiors and exteriors beyond recognition at will, all so they could squeeze more profit for themselves out of the buildings. (Too many of those exploiters are still around, and yet, interestingly enough, I haven't heard the Spruce Hill Alliance's position about this.)
Those who dug into this dysfunctional environment and started building community have likely forgotten more about how the neighborhood came to be what it is today than those who stalwartly oppose them will ever understand. More to the point, those who back the historic district today have worked ceaselessly for decades making that neighborhood the open, diverse, tolerant and vibrant community that too many people take for granted today.
Many of the people from the Spruce Hill Alliance seem to imply that the group of people officially advocating for the historic district are intent on gentrifying the neighborhood, and that historic preservation provides a nice smoke screen to accomplish their selfish ends. The Alliance's observation that the neighborhood is gentrifying is quite correct, but what they cannot seem to grasp is why it is gentrifying or who (or what, or better yet, what forces) are behind the gentrification. What they don't seem to understand is that this process will continue unabated for its cycle, and whether or not the historic district is established will make absolutely no difference whatsoever, the Alliance can take that one to the bank. Certain Alliance members cannot grasp that many persons who support the historic district in principle are genuinely concerned by the gentrification process and don't particularly appreciate being blamed for something over which they have no more control than Mr. Siano does. It probably hasn't occurred to Mr. Siano that some persons actually understand the need to intentionally preserve the neighborhood's valuable architecture and at the same time are concerned that those who appreciate and want to remain in the neighborhood can do so regardless of income level.
That is a concern where serious energy really needs to be concentrated. Instead, we find that valuable energy is wasted with this nonsensical debate about the District and similar rhetoric because some people misplace all their anger and all their energy in knee-jerk reactionary, negativistic positions, without any serious probing into forces which are far beyond their understanding and hence, beyond their control. What do such people stand for, and why do they never have any tangible positive accomplishments to show for all their efforts? There is still much to learn in University City, it would seem, but then again, learning is what the neighborhood has always been about.
From what I can tell, the historic districts in Philadelphia which have worked best are the ones in which the residents took pride and ownership in making their neighborhoods better places in which to live and work. Would not that be the most beautiful outcome of all, if all those wonderful, diverse, free-wheeling people in Spruce Hill decided to work together for the truly common good?
Some day
I hope it will happen just that way, maybe some day soon.
Rev. Larry Falcon, leader of Neighbors Against McPenntrification wrote the following letter to the University City Review in December:
RE: Historic Certification is Predatory Gentrification
The proposal to have our neighborhood certified as a historic district is just another of the many threads spun by the U. of Penn.; Spruce Hill Community Assoc. (Barry Grossbach) and the gloves on their hands: U.C.D., West Philadelphia Partnership and the Partnership C.D.C. in collusion with the City (City Councilperson Blackwell) in their relentless and voracious appetite for "lebenstraum".
The "partnership for Quality Housing" projects an increase of rent for one-bedroom apartments to $550 a month.
The attempt to impose restrictive zoning in Spruce Hill drives the "undesirable development" to its fringes.
The property grabbing and attempt to evict hard working residents (the 911 House) by "The Partnership C.D.C." (Blane Stoddard) and his "Penn Pals" (Lussenhop and Nunnery) in collusion with the Redevelopment Authority (They wish to sell the 911 house to "low and moderate income" people for "$70,000 -$100,000???).
And now, the desire to certify our neighborhood as a historical district and the resulting higher rents and restrictions are all part of Penn's web of predatory gentrification.
The poor are being driven out! Monies allocated for neighborhood improvement are being redirected into Penn's coffer (T.I.F.) to facilitate their takeover. These are our tax dollars which means we are paying for our own lynching! "Removing the ancient boundaries" (Pubs. 22:28) is strictly forbidden in the Bible. But they go by another golden rule: the people with the gold make the rules. Father forgive them for THEY KNOW WHAT THEY DO!
We meet every Tuesday night from 7:00 to 9:00 to discuss these and other issues, at 4211 Chestnut Street, Toviah Thrift Shop. We also engage in direct action! Join us.
Rev. Larry Falcon, N.A.M.
Daniel Thut and Douglas Witmer, Spruce Hill residents, landlords, and business owners write: We are writing to express our support for the proposed historic district in the Spruce Hill neighborhood. We are property owners who are both occupant landlords in Spruce Hill. Between us we own three properties and rent 8 apartments. Recently, we have also purchased 4239 Baltimore Avenue, at the corner of 43rd street and Baltimore. In addition to renting 5 apartments there we are in the process of renovating that building's original storefront for use as a coffee shop and espresso bar.
We believe that Spruce Hill is a great place to live and work, which is why we are centered here. We enjoy (and hope to add to) the attractive environment of the neighborhood. Part of this is created by the great Victorian architecture we have, but also by the active interest and involvement of neighbors in community affairs. Both lend a sense of stability and strength, particularly to us as we plan to open a new business.
In our view, the proposed Historic District will continue to strengthen the neighborhood by increasing accountability between neighbors, business, and government with the goal of making decisions that preserve its unique historic qualities without sacrificing future growth.
Thank you
for the work the University City Historical Society is doing to preserve
the Spruce Hill neighborhood through the historic district.
If you have comments you wish us to consider adding to this page, please e-mail them to info@uchs.net