Philadelphia 2035 (Girard, Midland, Clark: inspection, weather, electrical)

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by cpomp

I believe she either graduated from, or taught at or both for the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

I read her articles every week. Though she can be dramatic in her writing, a lot of the points she makes are very valid, and I have not met one person who thinks Symphony House is an attractive building.



Not a newbie, shes been an architecture and design critic in Philly longer than we have both been alive probably. I do not always agree with her views, but read her bio on Harvards website, she is not some random fool who has a blog about architecture, actually quite the contrary.

I checked her Harvard bio. She was a Loeb Fellow at Harvard's GSD in 2012. But here's what I meant about not having the right credentials in her own words(in that bio), "never having studied architecture in a formal way", she decided that, well gee, maybe she better attempt getting some training. She's a fraud who got lucky. The Inquirer has had so many ownership and editorial staff battles over the last several years that they took her popularity as something to hang on to wrt to a dying newspaper. The Pulitzer means she'll be there for probably as long as she wants.

[MarketStEl]

My formal study of architecture consists of a semester of architectural drafting at Pembroke-Country Day and a couple of Visual and Environmental Studies courses taught by Prof. John Stilgoe at Harvard, and those didn't really deal with principles of architecture as they did how to "read" the man-made environment of the United States.

Yet I write about buildings and architecture too, and yes, Inga and I are acquainted. (I even filled her in on some geographical background once at a Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board presentation we both covered.)

That something sells well does not mean it's good architecture. You and I know Penn is a great university, Karen, yet many of its buildings are at best undistinguished, including every building on the campus built by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which went on a college building spree in the 1960s. (Despite this, the University of Pennsylvania was then and remains now a private institution; the General State Authority [then; now it's called the Department of General Services] simply provided money to construct buildings on a number of college campuses across the state in the 1960s.) The Symphony House functions quite well. It would look a lot better had Dranoff let the building be more frankly Modernist as it wanted to be and not try to turn it into a stripped-down, off-center Drake wannabe. Saffron's assessment of that building remains spot on.

She is an unabashed admirer of High Modernism. Know that and you can calibrate your aesthetic filters appropriately. (And IMO all it takes to write about architecture is an eye for design and a sense of what design is about.)

And she's not totally anti-Dranoff, as I pointed out on Phillymag's "Property" section a year ago:

Saffron Shocker: A Carl Dranoff Building She Loves | Property | Philadelphia Magazine

Of course the Inky should let her stick around as long as she wants to. She gets readers' attention, as all the brickbats tossed her way attest.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

She is an unabashed admirer of High Modernism. Know that and you can calibrate your aesthetic filters appropriately. (And IMO all it takes to write about architecture is an eye for design and a sense of what design is about.)

[some deleted for brevity]

Of course the Inky should let her stick around as long as she wants to. She gets readers' attention, as all the brickbats tossed her way attest.

Regarding Inga S.

Her opinions would matter more to me if she had degrees in fields she is reporting upon like Peter Dobrin and David Patrick Stearns do. They both have Masters in music criticism and musicology respectively. That's all I'm saying.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by kyb01

Regarding Inga S.

Her opinions would matter more to me if she had degrees in fields she is reporting upon like Peter Dobrin and David Patrick Stearns do. They both have Masters in music criticism and musicology respectively. That's all I'm saying.

Okay, I hear you.

My degree is a B.A. in Government from Harvard. I never enrolled in a graduate program. Does that disqualify me from expressing opinions about architecture?

Yes, I might give more weight to the opinions of someone who has studied the subject, but I should point out that as far as I know, there are no academic programs in architectural criticism like the one in music criticism Mr. Dobrin pursued. Most food critics aren't trained chefs either, again AFAIK. Most, I believe, educated their palates by eating.

[Pine to Vine]

I can evaluate a symphony performance even though I am not a composer. I can evaluate a movie even though I am not a director. I can evaluate a meal even though I am not a chef.

I have looked forward to reading Inga's column each Friday since moving here 4 years ago. She has a good eye coupled with a style of writing that clearly expresses her views. While I don't always agree with her, I appreciate that she uses her uses her platform to advocate for a better urban experience for Philly's residents and future generations. As to whether her columns have resulted in tangible changes, I don't know. I do know, however, that I would rather have her spotlighting proposed development around the city than finding out about projects after developers have broken ground.

FWIW, I lived in Houston before moving here and the local paper did not have an architectural critic. Houston is a developers' paradise. Go figure.

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.7391...hZtGYy1KYA!2e0

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.6764...xpIptHSTgw!2e0

[asiandudeyo]

I never had any attachments to Boyd Theater because I had never been inside. When I moved here 4 years ago, I always thought of it as an annoying storefront that need to be demolished. A site thta makes Philly looks ghetto.
Then I started learning more about the theater and some posters were nice enough to share the inside pictures.
So now after reading this article, I found that this is such a great loss. But again, why did not anybody (aside Friends of the Boyd) do something about it?
What happened with iPic deal?
Why the developer can't just leave the building alone and incorporate the apartment plan into it (instead of demo-ing part of it) ?

'Heart-breaking' demolition of historic Boyd Theater dismays supporters

[gwillyfromphilly]

Study: Reopening PATCO 'ghost station' would cost $18.5M

[Pine to Vine]

Originally Posted by asiandudeyo

I never had any attachments to Boyd Theater because I had never been inside. When I moved here 4 years ago, I always thought of it as an annoying storefront that need to be demolished. A site thta makes Philly looks ghetto.
Then I started learning more about the theater and some posters were nice enough to share the inside pictures.
So now after reading this article, I found that this is such a great loss.But again, why did not anybody (aside Friends of the Boyd) do something about it?

A committed group of people tried for 13 long and hard years to "do something about" the Boyd. Apparently, there is there simply is no financially viable model for its restoration and operation. After 13 long and unsuccessful years, it seems time to recognize that fact and excise the blighted eyesore that occupies the 1900 block of Chestnut Street.

I am not a cold and calculating person who promotes developing and gentrifying everything within sight. I too am a 4 year resident, and have learned a lot about the Boyd by following this story. Although I have no personal memories of the Boyd, I understand the attachment some posters have for it. I have read the pleas of folks who proclaim "Why can other cites restore and operate their historical movie palaces and Philly can't?" The answer is that no two cities are the same - their cultural arts offerings along with available venues differ, not to mention the demographics, population density and other factors that come into play. Would folks trade all they enjoy about their life in Philadelphia to live in St. Louis, just because that city has retained one its movie palaces?

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by Pine to Vine

I can evaluate a symphony performance even though I am not a composer. I can evaluate a movie even though I am not a director. I can evaluate a meal even though I am not a chef.

But you're not writing "reviews" for public consumption expecting to change outcomes of building projects, (concert performances, the success of restaurants, or movies)

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by Pine to Vine

A committed group of people tried for 13 long and hard years to "do something about" the Boyd. Apparently, there is there simply is no financially viable model for its restoration and operation. After 13 long and unsuccessful years, it seems time to recognize that fact and excise the blighted eyesore that occupies the 1900 block of Chestnut Street.

I am not a cold and calculating person who promotes developing and gentrifying everything within sight. I too am a 4 year resident, and have learned a lot about the Boyd by following this story. Although I have no personal memories of the Boyd, I understand the attachment some posters have for it. I have read the pleas of folks who proclaim "Why can other cites restore and operate their historical movie palaces and Philly can't?" The answer is that no two cities are the same - their cultural arts offerings along with available venues differ, not to mention the demographics, population density and other factors that come into play. Would folks trade all they enjoy about their life in Philadelphia to live in St. Louis, just because that city has retained one its movie palaces?

The unforeseen happened with it: Hal Wheeler died. Hal Wheeler was the initial developer of 10 Rittenhouse. He was going to buy the Boyd from Live Nation and rebuild it in manner that the Friends of the Boyd were hoping for.

After Wheeler's death no one took up the mantel of actually restoring it.