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BottleTemple t1_j9air8d wrote

I’ve walked by that a million times and never realized it was an old gas station.

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phatboye t1_j9bh7m8 wrote

Same here I don't think that I have ever noticed a gas pump or any cars filling up there. Also what is so historic about a gas station. Tear it down and build a wawa gas station in its place. More Philadelphians would appreciate that more than some dead gas station.

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BigShawn424 t1_j9c1ekf wrote

I dont think a wawa gas station can fit on a sliver of land

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TheTwoOneFive t1_j9b1g2z wrote

When I read the headline, I confused it with the project replacing the Sunoco at 22nd/Walnut and wondered who in the hell thought that was historic and why they would actually move it

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redeyeblink OP t1_j9acsa9 wrote

>At 20th and Arch Streets, perched on the edge of a vast surface parking lot, sits a nearly 100-year-old Gulf gas station done up in Spanish terra-cotta trappings.
>
>This vacant remnant of the early age of mass automobile ownership is protected by historic preservation regulations. It also stands in the way of the new 18-story office tower designed for insurance giant Chubb Ltd.
>
>That’s why the 200-square-foot structure is going to be moved from its present location to the area around the Sedgley Porter House in Fairmount Park’s Lemon Hill section.

>“The structure will be preserved and, while placed in an ahistorical context, it’s going to remain publicly usable,” said Patrick Grossi, director of advocacy for the Preservation Alliance of Philadelphia.

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PhillyAccount t1_j9al3u0 wrote

I am a big fan of architecture and generally speaking agree with the logic behind historical preservation. But this is dumb and a total waste of money. $1,000,000 from Chubb and all the future maintenance costs out of the Parks and Rec. budget...for what exactly? A single meeting room in Fairmount park? How about we maintain the existing mansions and centennial buildings in the park before adding more operational expenditures to the parks and rec budget?

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redeyeblink OP t1_j9ass7q wrote

I'm with you on that. Imagine what a million dollars could do for the youth cycling and amateur rowing programs.
>it will be turned into office space for the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia’s youth cycling program and the Schuylkill Navy, which champions amateur rowing on the river
>

And

>”it is a dear object to the community, and Parkway was not about to go in and argue that we should be able to knock it down.”

  • said Brian Berson, president of Parkway Commercial Properties

Now how many people from the community will go visit that dear object once it's moved to Fairmount?

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bukkakedebeppo t1_j9bb06c wrote

Nobody, because it won't be accessible to the general public. I live in Fairmount and have spent time at Lemon Hill and didn't even know about the Sedgley Porter House since it is always surrounded by cars and tucked into a corner. It's a cute building and maybe could have been turned into something cool at the existing location, but this really does feel like a waste of money.

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inthegarden5 t1_j9bbjji wrote

Parkway is paying the $1 million to move it off their land so they can develop it. They weren't ever going to donate that money to anyone.

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justanawkwardguy t1_j9aukwd wrote

TBH I hadn't heard of it before this article. I would go visit it in it's current location, but seeing as they are planning to relocate it, it may be best to hold off until after it's moved

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DippyMagee555 t1_j9b4jds wrote

If the building fell apart during transit, nobody would give a damn. That should tell us something.

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Past_Cartographer230 t1_j9ani57 wrote

They could use this a small newsstand like shop which they can charge rent which will pay for the cost of maintenance of the building.

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[deleted] t1_j9as21m wrote

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justanawkwardguy t1_j9aur8z wrote

Or even further up the SRT closer to East Falls where there's already a good amount of local foot traffic (Not that the boathouses don't get foot traffic, but a lot of people seem to turn around before that point)

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snake_w_arms t1_j9b1i6r wrote

Would be cool if they plopped it by the grandstands near the one parking lot. In my mind thats always the “halfway” mark between Phila/East Falls on the SRT.

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huebomont t1_j9ap27c wrote

historic preservation can be incredibly dumb.

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no483828 t1_j9h16do wrote

But if this building could one day be gone and completely forgotten, what about me?!.....

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AbsentEmpire t1_j9cp921 wrote

It usually is.

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DeltaNerd t1_j9g8pra wrote

Sadly it's being abused for nimbys. I love historic parking lots and parking garages. SO MUCH HISTORY!

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citycat215 t1_j9hme9y wrote

I thought this was getting moved to Aviator Park - across 20th from the Franklin Institute?

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[deleted] t1_j9b85c8 wrote

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[deleted] t1_j9crxno wrote

[deleted]

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ImaginaryRoads t1_j9dmdsp wrote

> Because of the paywall. [...] Not everyone views on the app with a reader option…

I don't use the app. But then, I've also googled "bypass paywalls" which turned up over a dozen options to get around them ...

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