Month: October 2013

Official “Marriage” Of Reading Viaduct Advocates | Hidden City Philadelphia

Bob Bruhin

 

From left Aaron Goldblatt, Sarah McEneaney, Leah Murphy, John Struble, and Liz Maillie of Friends of the Rail Park | Photo: JJ Tiziou

With construction documents in hand and a financing package in the making for the first phase of the conversion of the Reading Viaduct into a park, the two leading non-profits advocating for the project are merging. Tonight, at the closing party for Design Philadelphia, the Reading Viaduct Project, led by Sarah and McEneaney and John Struble, and Friends of the Rail Park, led by Aaron Goldblatt, Leah Murphy, and Liz Maillie, will officially “marry” and work together going forward under the name Friends of the Rail Park. “We share common goals and have a wealth of energy, skills, knowledge and optimism,” said McEneaney, the highly acclaimed artist, who along with Struble founded the Reading Viaduct Project a decade ago. “We are working with the City of Philadelphia, Center City District, Studio Bryan Hanes, and Urban Engineers to help make phase one a reality.”

Official “Marriage” Of Reading Viaduct Advocates | Hidden City Philadelphia.

Metaphysically charged ceramics by Terri Saulin Frock at TSA | Knight Arts

Bob Bruhin

 

Jorge Luis Borges, the Argentinean writer and thinker, proved to be among the most interesting and creative figures of the 20th century through his short stories and essays that delve into the labyrinthine recesses of the human mind and the vast universe we inhabit. It is a testament to his imagination that his ideas are still inspiring artists to this day, and the current show at Tiger Strikes Asteroid pays this notion credence. This Knight Arts grantee is currently showcasing ceramic work by Terri Saulin Frock in a show entitled “The Garden of Forking Paths” after a Borges story of the same name.

Metaphysically charged ceramics by Terri Saulin Frock at TSA | Knight Arts.

PlanPhilly | Commonwealth Court to rule on Church of the Assumption

Bob Bruhin

 

PlanPhilly | Commonwealth Court to rule on Church of the Assumption

Last week, attorneys for the City and for Callowhill Neighborhood Association made arguments before a panel of Commonwealth Court judges in the ongoing battle over the Church of the Assumption, a Catholic Church building at 12th and Spring Garden streets that was constructed in the 1850s and placed on the city’s historic register in 2009.

In 2010, the Philadelphia Historical Commission granted permission to demolish to the building’s owner, Siloam, a nonprofit group that serves people affected by HIV/AIDS. Since then, the case has been appealed to the Board of L&I Review, the Court of Common Pleas, and the Commonwealth Court.

The attorneys, Sam Stretton for CNA and Andrew Ross representing the Historical Commission, were given 7-½ minutes each to argue before Commonwealth Court on Thursday morning, plus some back and forth with the judges, according to Andy Palewski, who wrote the church’s nomination for historic certification. The Court’s decision could come down any time in the next one to six months, said Andy Ross.

PlanPhilly | Commonwealth Court to rule on Church of the Assumption.