Forgotten Philadelphia by Thomas H Keels
How does a landmark become, after just a few generations, a landfill? In Forgotten Philadelphia, Thomas Keels takes the reader through a lavishly illustrated journey through three centuries of Philadelphia's architecture: what was built; how the public perceived the value of certain buildings; and why those buildings were eventually demolished? Keels does not simply lament the loss of buildings. Instead, he argues that in some cases there were good reasons to demolish places like the Broad Street Station; while some people today see this as a loss on par with the destruction of New York's Penn Station, at the time its demolition was to many a symbolic liberation from political corruption. In writing that celebrates Philadelphia past without ever being sentimental, Keels describes a city that was always reinventing itself, filled with people who always had a very measured view of the worth and beauty of its public architecture.
For the first time, Forgotten Philadelphia places the lost architecture of the City of Brotherly Love into the widest possible contextKeels draws on the rich political, social, cultural, and intellectual history of the city in ways that explain the forces that created the lost buildings and the forces that led to their demise. In the process he illuminates the history of Philadelphia architecture at the same time that he uses its lost architecture as an important source for understanding the evolution of the city. David Contosta, Chestnut Hill College, author of Suburb in the City: Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia 1850-1990 a luscious collection of drawing and black-and-white photos of building s that no longer exist with lively description of what they were like when they did...anyone with a stake in the city's future should have a copy of this book by their bedside...it's a must. Philadelphia Weekly For architecture, history and Philly buffs, it's an indispensible volume...[T]he 'Projected Philadelphia' chapter [may be] the most compelling...Looking at these beautiful architectural drawings is like walking directly into the province of dreams, and their pure optimism - the sense of their rightness - provides this book with a melancholy-tinged but fitting finale. The Jewish Exponent A handsome volume...Not for nearly half a century...have we seen such a compilation of great departed buildings... There are good, important stories with good, familiar pictures. Nineteenth Century This is a lavishly illustrated, tightly written coffee-table book, full of fascinating nuggets...Thanks to Keels' efforts, those lost buildings won't be forgotten. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette This book joins a small collection of architectural histories, useful for preservationists...which shift the focus from a building's conception to an examination of the forces that led to its death. A cautionary reminder that a culture is remembered for both what it creates and what it destroys. Summing Up: Recommended. Choice The second half of Forgotten Philadelphia makes an important contribution to our appreciation of what Philadelphia recently lost... General readers with an interest in Philadelphia and preservationists alike will be turning to this book for years to come. Also unlike many books of photographs and postcards that have appeared in recent years, Forgotten Philadelphia is well organized and attractively formatted. It is also thoroughly indexed, and the repositories holding the original photographs, prints and drawings reproduced here are clearly identified--a lesson yet to be learned by many publishers. The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography Encyclopedic in scope and brimming with narrative detail, Forgotten Philadelphia presents a fascinating...account of significant Philadelphia buildings that have fallen to the wrecking ball...The book will be of interest not only to historians of Philadelphia, but also more generally to architectural historians, preservationists, and geographers...[T]he book is engagingly written and brings together an impressive array of evidence and detail. Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies Spring 2009
Thomas H. Keels is a local writer and historian. He is the author of Philadelphia Graveyards and Cemeteries and co-author of Chestnut Hill.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781592135066 |
| ISBN 10 | 1592135064 |
| Title | Forgotten Philadelphia |
| Author | Thomas H Keels |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Temple University Press,U.S. |
| Year published | 2007-09-15 |
| Number of pages | 320 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |