Author: Gil

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Frank Furness and the Art Holiday

Art Holiday? What has the Art Holiday got to do with Frank Furness? So who is Frank Furness? I know absolutely nothing about architecture – zero. I grew up in the 1950s, the age of Penn Center downtown. When I got my first job downtown I did a lot of walking and always found myself not interested at all in the building that were being built at that time but some of the old ones were definitely striking. They had character and were interesting. Even when they were dirty and in disrepair they were far more attractive to me then the boxes going up along Market Street.

I later found that Frank Furness was the architect of many of those old interesting buildings. This link will take you to the Wikipedia entry for Frank Furness. A sample of the buildings still standing by Furness are the old Girard Trust bank building, now the Ritz Carleton, Knowltown mansion at Rhawn and Verree, and the Fisher Fine Arts library at the U of Penn.

Frankford was home to at least 2 building by Furness. This is the Philadelphia and Reading railroad depot which was situated on Main Street (Frankford Avenue) about where the PGW office is now. It was a busy spot for a number of years and provided rail service to downtown Philadelphia as well as all points on the Reading system

So what does this have to do with the Art Holiday? Well let’s keep going it should come out here in a minute or two.

The other building that was designed by the Furness firm still stands in Frankford today but is easily overlooked. If you ride down Bridge Street to the Mount Sinai cemetery at Cottage Street you will see a small chapel building just inside the gates. It is a Furness building. Lots of things to see and well worth a walk to have a look.

Now what does this have to do with the Art Holiday? It is remote but the acclaimed 20th century theater designer William Harold Lee was a Furness protege and it was Lee who did some redesign work on a silent film house in the 1930s called the Windsor theater which was later renamed the Ace and ended up as the Art Holiday in Frankford.

It would be nice to see the old Art Holiday transformed into something that would be an asset to the community.

Reader comment:

Actually, it’s unknown whether Frank Furness designed the (now
demolished) Philadelphia & reading railroad depot in Frankford.
According to Preston Thayer, who wrote his PhD thesis on Furness’s
railroad depots, “the building may have been designed by Furness,
but it was the Frankford & Southwark Railway’s depot, built in 1858
as two single-story stone buildings, which were joined in 1878 by a
one and half story brick building with a clock tower on the corner.
It was located at the intersection of Frankford Ave, Oxford pike,
arrot street and margaret street.”

Sincerely yours,
Steve Dorfman

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Frankford year in Review 2007

This is just our take on it. I am sure there are some things that should be included here but have been overlooked.

  • We had a councilman representing us once again. Dan Savage took over the seat held by Rick Mariano. Although he lost the primary to Maria Quinones-Sanchez, he continued to represent us and worked on his agenda for the remainder of his term.

  • The Art Holiday closed. This cesspool was a blight on the neighborhood and deserved to die long before the end came. Shame on us for tolerating it.

  • Sale of the Third Federal Bank building to NIT caused a tremendous uproar. So far nothing on the Avenue has changed as a result.

  • Demolitions of properties throughout the neighborhood began again this year. The removal of the blighted properties improved the blocks where they had been and creates future opportunity for development.

  • Frankford’s Gambrel recreation center was highlighted on national television with an extreme makeover.

  • Deni playground once again saw organized baseball for kids thanks to councilman Savage.

  • The Prisoner re-entry program has continued to be a political issue.

  • Northwood Civic Association leadership twas urned over to a new team

  • East Frankford Civic Association also found new leadership and was rechristened the Frankford Civic Association.

  • Frankford Creek Greenway Master Plan was published.

  • Frankford Business and Professional Association leadership was turned over to Elizabeth McCollum-Nozario.

  • Councilman Savage re-established and reorganized the Frankford Special Services District.

  • Councilman Savage introduced a bill designating Frankford as a Transit Oriented Development District for the purposes of the rezoning of the City. This is a fundamental part in planning for the future of Frankford.

  • Mozaic, restaurant and Jazz venue closed on December 7th.

  • The Frankford Gazette appeared on the web one day in May.
Happy new Year from the Frankford Gazette.

Anonymous comment:

Thank you for all your hard work.

January 4, 2008 1:44 PM

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Welcome to Frankford

On Wednesday, December 27, 2007 on the 4800 Block of Frankford Avenue, Councilman Daniel J. Savage unveiled the new “Welcome to Frankford” and “Historic Frankford” Banners for the Frankford Avenue Business Corridor.

The new banners are part of Councilman Savage’s plan for streetscape improvements for the Frankford Avenue Business Corridor. Councilman Savage said, “Revitalizing business corridors are key to revitalizing our neighborhoods. These banners will add a touch of warmth and class to the Frankford Avenue Business Corridor.” Before cutting the ribbon Councilman Savage said, “This is my Christmas present to Frankford.”

Anonymous comment:

Wouldn’t the money be better spent on trashcans, increased lighting, or something that would make shoppers feel more comfortable while patronizing the Avenue’s businesses? I hope these banners are not indicative of how the 1 million dollar grant will be spent.

December 31, 2007 2:34 PM