The watch ad's words came back to me last month as I listened to a nonprofit group make a pitch to the Philadelphia Historical Commission for permission to tear down the landmark Church of the Assumption on Spring Garden Street. Designed in 1848 by Patrick Charles Keely, the Roman Catholic sanctuary played a role in the lives of two Philadelphia saints, John Neumann and Katharine Drexel. The delicate, copper-clad points of its Gothic Revival spires serve as a compass across North Philadelphia. Yet the familiar landmark is being written off by a group that has owned it all of four years.
Not that there aren't extenuating circumstances. The nonprofit, Siloam, is a largely volunteer group that provides free medical care to poor people with AIDS. Only a hard heart would insist that Siloam tap its meager budget to care instead for the magnificent, but needy, church. Accepting the arguments, the Historical Commission approved a hardship waiver Sept. 9, allowing Siloam to tear down the burdensome property.
Granted, Siloam was able to make a credible case for financial hardship - unlike the prior owner, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, which virtually dragooned the nonprofit into buying its surplus real estate. But is demolition really a logical way to deal with this unfortunate situation? It hardly seems like the response we want from a city agency charged with protecting Philadelphia's historic inventory.
The decision is being appealed by the Callowhill Neighborhood Association, which got the church certified as historic in the first place. The group believes that Siloam viewed demolition as a first resort, and never made a serious effort to sell the distinctive ochre-colored church to someone who could afford the repairs.
