Urban Archives (Paley Library, Temple University)

10/17/2017

09/29/2017

We rarely get to show off color Bulletin photos so having to pull some this week was exciting and worth sharing. The couple of photos we've posted are of Robert Indiana's iconic 'Philadelphia LOVE' statue. It was installed in June of 1976 and on loan ahead of the Bicentennial festivities. The city passed on buying it at the time but public outcry convinced F. Eugene Dixon Jr, owner of the Philadelphia 76ers and chairman of the Philadelphia Art Commission to purchase it in 1978 for $35,000 bringing it back to what's become its permanent home in John F. Kennedy Plaza. It's one of many 'LOVE' statues Indiana created but the first that included violet, originally a mistake that the artist came to like. In a 1978 Bulletin interview, Indiana pitched a 24 foot high 'LOVE' statue with internal stairs so 'you could be in LOVE, not just stand beside it. It didn't come to fruition but Philadelphia still found itself with a statue that's become a landmark and common meeting and photographed spot. The statue is currently being restored as 'LOVE Park' is being re-envisioned. We haven't found much 70s footage of the statue but still may before our October 19th screening at Lightbox Film Center. These great photos have inspired us to check!

In spring, Philadelphia will have to endure a season without love this year.

09/08/2017

In early July, right around the 90th anniversary of the Ben Franklin Bridge we began work digitizing a 1926 photo album documenting construction of the then 'Delaware River Bridge.' The album belonged to nationally prominent suspension bridge engineer, Leon S. Moisseiff, who also served as engineer on Delaware River Bridge construction. The 100+ photos document various stages of construction, inspection and the immediate environs at the base of the bridge in Camden and Philadelphia. We put a few samples up in our Friday Photos album, but all of the photos are up in our Digital Collections page. Have a look!

09/06/2017

Urban Archives turns 50 in October! Part of our programming to celebrate includes a screening at Lightbox Film Center on October 19th (save the date!) We have more than a few great finds, but would love to hear what types of things you'd love to see?

Here's the program description.....

"Temple University Libraries' Special Collections Research Center celebrates the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Urban Archives with 'Unedited Philadelphia: Urban Archives at 50.' The latest in the Unedited Philadelphia screening series highlights recently preserved and long-time favorites from the CBS3/KYW and WPVI6/WFIL news footage collections. 'Urban Archives at 50' draws on raw news footage, nightly broadcasts, outtakes, and Public Affairs and feature based programming to depict vignettes of life in the Philadelphia region from the 1940s through 1990s. Everyday and landmark moments in neighborhood life, art, music, politics, religion, and more will be included. Audience participation is encouraged throughout and after the screening."

03/27/2015

In the last two months, one of Center City's most distinctive and instantly recognizable structures, the Visitors Center ('the saucer'!) has been in the news. As the city gears up to redevelop John F. Kennedy Plaza, aka Love Park there has been some question to how the 50+ year old mid-century structure will fit into the future re-imagining of one of Philadelphia's most central public spaces. Current plans include the structure but by no means guarantees its preservation. Our friends at the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia recently circulated a petition to advocating for the building and Hidden City published a post outlining its history and some of the dialogue surrounding the structure (in the comments). There are a lot of great photos of the center over time in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin Collection. We've selected a few for Friday Photos this week.....

Fans of midcentury modern architecture are rallying to save the former Philadelphia Hospitality Center from possible demolition after the City of Philadelphia announced plans to redesign Love Park with or without the quirky flying-saucer-shaped building in place. Public support for keeping and reusi…

03/27/2015

Just a quick 'mark your calendar'. On April 11th we're partnering with our friends at Beech Companies, the Wagner Free Institute of Science and the Philadelphia Public History truck for a day celebrating the North Philadelphia community immediately surrounding the Wagner. As part of the event we're rescreening news footage from last falls Unedited North Philadelphia event. Save the date, read more and register here. More info on the way!

Temple University Libraries' Special Collections Research Center, The Beech Companies, and the Philadelphia Public History Truck

03/13/2015

Throughout the 20th century, the strip of Market Street running east from City Hall to Independence Hall has been an area in a state of constant planning flux. It's been the site of some of Center City's most sweeping and dramatic developments, where huge tracts of land have been cleared for redevelopment projects often seen as mixed or limited in their success. Planners, government officials, developers have employed a wide variety of strategies to cater to changing populations, uses or planning trends only to wind up back at the drawing board a decade or two later. Despite the anchors of past and present governmental structures, historic buildings, transportation hubs and major points of commerce, many have felt east Market Street seems underutilized, lacking in cohesion and unwelcoming to tourists and residents alike.

The recently installed electronic signage atop the former Lit Brothers, demolition of Girard Square and planned overhaul of the Gallery all signal that yet another dramatic era of development is upon us. This week the Philadelphia Inquirer published 'Mall to the Hall' an article outlining some of the forces and strategies that have shaped Market East for better and worse, along with some of what the future holds.

We're posting a few Friday Photos of landmarks along this ever evolving stretch.....

Mall to the Hall CHRIS FASCENELLI / Staff Photographer An eight-block stretch of Market Street from Sixth to City Hall is on the cusp of a renaissance. One big uncertainty: The Gallery. The corridor from Independence Mall to City Hall has long defied redevelopment hopes. Now, the area looks to take…

11/14/2014

Posted a few Friday Photo stills from Tuesday's (November 18) 'Unedited North Philadelphia' screening at the Wagner Free Institute of Science. More info and registration in the link below. Hope to see you there!

Special Event: UNEDITED NORTH PHILADELPHIA: GIRARD TO LEHIGH A screening of unedited news footage from the Urban Archives along with a community discussion Presented by the Wagner Free Institute of Science, Temple University Libraries' Special Collections Research Center, and Beech Companies Photo…