The Athenæum of Philadelphia • the Architectural Archives of the University of Pennsylvania • Initial Grant Proposal (With
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TheAthenæumofPhiladelphia • TheArchitecturalArchivesofthe UniversityofPennsylvania • Initial Grant Proposal (with updated Summary) • May7,1999 (updated Jan 7, 2000) The Athenæum of Philadelphia The Architectural Archives of the University of Pennsylvania • Application to the William Penn Foundation May 7, 1999 (Project Summary updated January 7, 2000) • Philadelphia Architects and Buildings Project Drawing of the PSFS Building and “Nothing More Modern” slogan are from a Philadelphia Savings Fund Society brochure, circa 1932, University of Pennsylvania Architectural Archives Contents Project Summary ...........................................................1 Project Narrative ...........................................................2 The Problem ................................................. 2.1 The Solution ................................................. 2.4 Background of PAB ............................................ 2.5 PAB Project Components ...................................... 2.17 PAB Building Information Database ........................... 2.17 PAB Digital Image Library .................................. 2.18 PAB Online Biographical Dictionary of Philadelphia Architects ...... 2.19 PAB and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) ................ 2.20 Staffing .................................................... 2.26 Steering Committee ........................................... 2.28 Advisory Committee .......................................... 2.28 Equipment, Hosting & Software ................................. 2.29 PAB and the Athenæum ........................................ 2.30 PAB and the University of Pennsylvania Architectural Archives .......... 2.31 PAB and the Philadelphia Historical Commission ..................... 2.32 PAB and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission .......... 2.33 PAB and the Places in Time Project ............................... 2.34 PAB and Other Organizations in the Philadelphia Area ................. 2.35 PAB and the Future ........................................... 2.36 Timeline ..................................................................4 Appendix A: Institutional Backgrounds ....................................... A Appendix B: Biographical Dictionary of Philadelphia Architects .................... B Appendix C: Guide to Roman Catholic Building Resources at the Athenæum ......... C Appendix D: Introduction to the Cultural Resources/Geographical Information System . D Appendix E: Steering and Advisory Committees Membership Lists ................. E Appendix F: Letters of Support and Commitment ............................... F Appendix G: Resumes of Key Personnel ....................................... G Project Summary The Philadelphia Architects and Buildings Project (PAB) is a regional initiative that will dramatically expand free public access to information on the built environment of the five- county Philadelphia area by creating a user friendly, web-based, and image rich resource. In an ambitious example of private, academic, and public cooperation, the PAB project will bring together the collections, data, images and professional expertise of The Athenæum of Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania Architectural Archives, the Philadelphia Historical Commission, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, and several local cultural institutions. The Athenaeum of Philadelphia has received a two-year grant from the William Penn Foundation for the PAB project. In brief, the Philadelphia Architects and Buildings Project will provide: · A free, publicly searchable Internet database of architectural and historical information and images for 20,000+ structures in Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties, including all those on the Philadelphia Historical Commission list of significant buildings, and the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission’s inventory of historic structures. All local buildings represented in the Athenæum and the University of Pennsylvania architectural collections, as well as the holdings of such institutions as the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and the Library Company of Philadelphia will be included in the database. · A Web-based library of 20,000+ images, including most existing original architectural documents of Philadelphia area buildings created before 1900, and representative images (when available) for each twentieth-century building included in the database. · A Web-based, digital version of the expanded and corrected Biographical Dictionary of Philadelphia Architects (Boston, G.K. Hall 1985), featuring biographies or biographical sketches of 2500+ individuals and firms, (twice the number of the printed edition) updated to the year 2000, and integrated into the building database. · An architectural and building history component to the region’s growing Geographical Information System (GIS), which provide the ability to link authoritative geographical coordinates with a wide, and potentially limitless variety of information. · A national model for creating and presenting authoritative building history resources, which easily might be linked to similar regions throughout the United States. 2.1 Project Narrative The Problem The Greater Philadelphia region may have the richest surviving architectural heritage in the United States. Thousands of historic buildings spanning three centuries still house our citizens and their institutions, many representing the work of our nation’s greatest designers. In addition we have an unequaled documentary record of our built environment preserved in a host of regional and national repositories. Despite the effort of these institutions, it remains a daunting task to track the history of a given Philadelphia building. Professional researchers are often stymied by this effort, and the average home owner or dedicated amateur preservationist is too often seen with hands thrown up in frustration. Yet the most common request at any architectural repository comes not from professionals. Typically we hear, “I live at 123 Main Street. Can you tell me who designed my house and what style it is? Are their any drawings or pictures of it? And by the way, I’m told my house is registered as historic. How do I find out?” The answers to these straightforward questions are rarely so simple. The staffs of the Athenæum, University of Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Historical Commission and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission must usually explain that the answers exist but will take several calls or visits to find the desired information. The Philadelphia Architects and Buildings Project will directly address these and more complex needs. A Single Example Even well-known sites can present challenges to those who wish to track down information. For example, if someone wished to research the PSFS building at 12th & Market Streets, they might 2.2 encounter this sequence of events. The original owner of the building, the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society, is out of business, so perhaps they would start with the American Institute of Architects, Philadelphia Chapter, whose staff might correctly tell them that the building was the design of George Howe & William Lescaze; it was completed in 1932, and was named by the AIA in 1969 the “building of the century.” The AIA might refer the inquiry to the Athenæum, whose curator would tell them that there are 39 blueprints for the building as well as three photographs and a biographical file on architect George Howe. Because the Athenæum’s curator is sure that the building is on the National Register, he may suggests that the researcher call the Philadelphia Historical Commission, the city office whose mission it is to maintain files on all historically certified buildings. The Historical Commission staff would tell the researcher that the building is indeed on the National Register of Historic Places and that it has one file of photos, a National Register survey form, a file of newspaper clippings, and three file boxes of architectural drawings prepared in 1998-99 for the conversion of the building to a hotel for Loews. Since the PSFS building is on the National Register, a file has also been created for it at the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission that includes both photographs as well as a Commonwealth inventory survey form. The commission staff might refer the researcher to the University of Pennsylvania Architectural Archives (UPAA), which maintains a collection of architectural drawings from the firm of Mellor, Meigs & Howe. As it turns out, UPAA does indeed have preliminary sketches for the landmark tower building. Someone at UPAA might remember that the PSFS corporate archives were acquired by the Hagley Library in Wilmington, Delaware, after the bank’s demise. A call or visit there would reveal the presence of more than 6,000 photographs of the construction of the building. At this point our researcher, pleased with the findings—though understandably quite 2.3 fatigued—might be surprised to learn that there are additional materials in the Library Company of Philadelphia, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Temple University Urban Archives, the Philadelphia City Archives, and the Free Library of Philadelphia. And those are only the organizations in the Philadelphia area with holdings. Would one of the reference staff have been sure to mention to the researcher that the Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs division, has 39 photographs of the building? Or that the William Lescaze Papers can