The Architectural Committee of the Philadelphia Historical
Commission met on Tuesday, June 24 to discuss the concept for construction of
an addition to one of Philly’s historically significant buildings.
Standing since 1946, the building in question was for many
years a film distribution center for Warner Brothers. It was designed by
architect William Harold Lee and received Individual Historic Designation in
2008 and remains largely unchanged to this day. It is located on a busy city
block bordered by Broad and 13th street, one block away from Philadelphia’s
convention center.
The meeting took place to discuss the Foundation For Bbbsa's
(Big Brothers Big Sisters) proposal to build a nine-story tower on top of the
existing building, to create an 11-story hotel.
The committee reviewed the plans for the addition, and found
that the tower’s design would likely “overwhelm” the historical building due to
its large scale, making the historic building appear to be an irrelevant facade
on 13th street. On these grounds, the committee ultimately denied the
applicant’s proposal, with the understanding that the applicant could
reevaluate their design to something more appropriated to the historical site.
Source: PlanPhilly
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