Taking a journey to 'Forgotten Philadelphia'
The crowd that packed the hall at the First Presbyterian Church in Springfield last week snapped up copies of Tom Keels' new book as though they were holiday cookies.
Keels, a resident of Wyndmoor and an historian, autographed his latest book, "Forgotten Philadelphia," after a talk before the Historical Society of Springfield Township.
The society offered several of its books and prints for sale at reduced prices, but Keels' volume — at $35 the most expensive item on the menu — was by far the most popular. The line of buyers stretched across the back of Fellowship Hall.
The book, a richly illustrated review of Philadelphia buildings that have succumbed to the wrecking ball, struck a chord in a township where the forces of preservation and development are often at odds.
"If it spurs interest in historic restoration, it's a great benefit," Charles Zwicker, a board member of the historical society, said after Keels' presentation.
Rather than summarize his entire book, Keels focused on four vanished structures, each of which typified Philadelphia's attitudes toward its past: the Slate Roof House at Second and Chestnut streets, where William Penn wrote the Charter of Privileges for the Pennsylvania colony; the Jayne building, a proto-skyscraper on the 200 block of Chestnut Street; the Broad Street Station, the Pennsylvania Railroad terminal beside City Hall; and the pavilion that housed the Liberty Bell from 1976 to 2003.
All four disappeared because they did not fit an ever-changing vision of what Philadelphia should be.
The Slate Roof House, torn down in 1867 and replaced in the 1870s by the nondescript commercial exchange building, came down because it was too old-fashioned.
"America at that time was firmly fixed on the future," Keels said. "Whatever was new was invariably better."
Ironically, a century later, the Jayne building, eight stories of offices dating from 1850, was demolished because it was not old-fashioned enough. It simply did not harmonize with the vision of the urban planner Edmund Bacon, who wanted to turn Society Hill into a showplace of restored 18th-century architecture.
Doug Heller, township commissioner-elect from Ward 1, said the pull-and-push of restoration and change is still at work in Springfield Township, as seen in the long debate over the Black Horse Inn and a newer controversy over the World War I-era apartment building on Stenton Avenue, Erdenheim.
"Historic buildings are being destroyed all over," he said. "We've lost some wonderful historic buildings in our own township. It was only through the perseverance of the neighbor groups and the commissioners that, cooperatively, we were able to preserve the Black Horse."
Sam Commons, a resident of Flourtown, was one of the few members of the audience to set foot in the old Broad Street Station, which was demolished in 1952. Commons, a veteran of World War II, recalled taking a train from the station in 1942 on his way to Indiantown Gap and his military service.
For Katie Worrall, a director of the historical society, Keels' slide show was reminder of her long absence from Philadelphia, even though Springfield Township shares a border with the city.
"I didn't know Center City as well as I thought I did," she said. "I don't get there enough. I should be able to picture Second and Chestnut, but I can't."