SOCIETY HILLMaggie Lloyd

Topics in Modern Architecture: War, Disaster

and the CitySeptember 30th 2008

Society Hill is a neighborhood established in the center city of Philadelphia. Originally named as a location for the Free Society Traders, this area has been a historically rich area since the beginning of the city. However, with industrialization came a mass emigration to suburbs, leaving the center city with a change in demographics. In response to this change, the City Planning Commission was created and tackled the redevelopment of Society Hill. This project’s goals were to preserve the area to its historic character. The process used a unique process that exchanged ownership of such building for a restoration of its character. Because this process used private resources to rehabilitate the buildings, public interest was not considered. The place faced displacement as well as physical reconstruction. The first map, from 1848, shows the ideals of the City Planning Commission, as it is the conditions and physical form in the 19th century. The map from 1942 shows the environment preceding the redevelopment. Finally the 1962 map shows the immediate changes after the process. An analysis of street layout, blocking and building typology of these maps show how through rebuilding the urban scale has changed.

MAP #1: MAP OF PHILADELPHIA, CIRCA 1848

MAP #2: 1942 LAND-USE MAP OF PHILADELPHIA BY THE WPA

MAP #3: 1962 LAND-USE MAP OF PHILADELPHIA BY THE WPA

Street Layout

1848 STREET LAYOUT

1942 STREET LAYOUT

1962 STREET LAYOUT

1848 STREET LAYOUT

The grid pattern laid out by William Penn remains strong.

The dominant streets are regular and create geometric block

shapes. These are only cut by secondary streets, largely

irregular and organic.

1942 STREET LAYOUT

As the city becomes more and more industrialized, we see the

streets taking on a more irregular shape. More secondary streets

have established themselves through time, but the primary streets largely stay the same (and still adhering to Penn’s

original grid plan).

1962 STREET LAYOUT

After the redevelopment, the street grid becomes more

regular gain, and secondary streets have been swept away with large blocks. There have

also been an increase in primary streets, largely around the area where the Society Hill Towers

and adjacent developments are placed.

Blocking

EXISTING BUILDINGS (relative to previous map)

NEW BUILDINGS (relative to previous map)

1848 BLOCKING MAP

1942 BLOCKING MAP

1962 BLOCKING MAP

1848 BLOCKING MAP

In the 19th century, buildings were close together. Here Society Hill is a dense neighborhood, with no room between each building on one block. There is little open space outside of the streets

themselves

1942 BLOCKING MAP

A lot has changed since 1848 in this area. Buildings have begun to take

new shapes, opening up the area with more private and public open spaces.

This area is still a high density area with minimal space between building

on each block.

1962 BLOCKING MAP

In this post-development stage, we see a large change in the northern region, adjacent to Dock street. Here three

large towers were put in, and a restructuring of the block was done to create higher-income condos. These changes disrupt the old blocking, as it has the “towers in a park” ideology,

high buildings with a lot of open space. This restructuring of the blocks is a

clear change.

Building Typology

1942 ELEVATION, SEEN FROM DOCK STREET

1962 ELEVATION, SEEN FROM DOCK STREET

The buildings are low-mid rise buildings, rarely surpassing three stories. These as well maintain their historical character through the design (colonial) and materials used (brick). This place was dense, with little to no space between buildings on one block.

The redevelopment largely sought to maintain the historical character of the place. However, private interests played a large role, and along with a change in street layout and blocking, new types of buildings were also introduced. This section shows the introduction of 31-story towers to the space, adjacent to the traditional low-rise condos.

Society Hill Today