A Guide to Your Philadelphia Home’s History

Posted on November 30, 2020December 2, 2022 by Solo Team

Does your home have an intriguing history? Would you like to know who were its first tenants? If so, the City of Philadelphia makes it easy to trace your house’s past via maps and archival documents, including deeds that go back to 1683. Below is a list of local resources you can use to find more information about the history of your home.

Philadelphia City Archives

If your house was built prior to 1955, start with Philadelphia City Archives at 548 Spring Garden Street. There, archivists will conduct a detailed search for historical materials relating to the address you provide and present you with the appropriate files. You never know what you will find. The records may contain handwritten deeds, transfers of property, or architectural renderings. If you are a fan of Finding Your Roots, the PBS program that delves into genealogy, you will love the City Archives. To schedule a visit, call 215-685-9401.

Besides recording deeds, the City Archives maintains a Photo Archive of two million photographs, dating from the late 1800s, including images of the City’s architecture, industry, and culture. Tap into this fascinating resource to trace the changes in your neighborhood.

Philadelphia Department of Records

If your home was constructed between 1956 and the present, go to City Hall Dept. of Records. Since this office also contains records of births, deaths, and marriages, it may involve a longer wait than the City Archives. However, if you are nimble with technology, you can access digital property deeds online from 1683 through 1974 at the Philadelphia Dept of Records. Be prepared to buy a subscription to conduct a search and wade through a complex system of deed books.

These deed books provide a wealth of information regarding the ownership and use of real estate in Philadelphia. The standard deed includes information on the date of the transaction, the names, residences, and occupations of the buyer and seller, the sale price, a survey description of the property usually with an indication of whether there is a building on the property, a description, called a recital, of how the seller acquired the property.

Free Library Interactive Digital Mapping Tool

If you want to see how your block or neighborhood has changed over the years, the Free Library offers an interactive digital mapping tool, dating back as far as 1843. These are no ordinary maps! They include 19th-century maps of whiskey warehouses, Fairmount Park, horse car routes, and atlases of the City by wards.

Philadelphia Historic Commission

To find out if your property is registered as historic, to nominate a property, or apply for a historic plaque, contact the Philadelphia Historic Commission. Besides designating individual properties, the Commission also lists Historic Districts and offers manuals for homeowners in those neighborhoods. Besides the usual suspects, Philadelphia’s Historic Districts include West Girard Avenue, Diamond Street, Parkside, and many other architecturally significant areas.

Looking for a home with a history? 171 Poplar Street is an 1843 Federal-Style Townhouse in Northern Liberties available for sale through Solo Real Estate. — *171 Poplar Street is an 1843 Federal-Style Townhouse in Northern Liberties available for sale through Solo Real Estate.*

Philadelphia Architects & Buildings

Philadelphia Architects & Buildings is also a helpful online tool to learn about the architect who designed your home. Hosted by the Atheneum, you simply enter the property’s address or the name of the architect. If there’s a match, you will have access to the architect’s resume, along with the locations of other properties he designed with dates and photos. To gain access without signing up for a subscription, sign in as a guest.

Whether you have an old home or are looking to purchase a new place to call home, researching the property’s history can be an important step in determining its value and preserving its architectural integrity.

Agent Stories: Exploring Philly Arts Spaces With Niki Cousineau

Posted on April 17, 2018 by Solo Team

Niki Cousineau approaches real estate the same way she approaches her practice as a dancer and choreographer – it’s all about space. Niki, a new agent with Solo, appreciates space in all of its forms. She brings this appreciation to her work as a realtor. Who better to help you find your next home than someone who sees the beauty in a whole range of unique spaces?

While the connection between dance and real estate might not be readily apparent, a deep emphasis on the spaces we inhabit is something shared by both. Recently Niki took us on a tour of some remarkable arts and performance spaces that most Philadelphians might not have access to normally. Take a look at our insider’s peek at Philly’s cool performance, arts, and practice spaces!

The Glass Factory

The first place Niki showed us is tucked away on a quiet side street in Brewerytown. From the outside you would never guess the amazing, cavernous space that lies within. Niki first discovered this space with the company she co-directs, Subcircle. Subcircle came to the Glass Factory with their show Hold Still while I figure this out in June 2016. That piece was more recently performed at FringeArts this past fall.

One thing that really stands out in the Glass Factory are the raw materials. While the space is simple, the signs of it’s past life as an auto shop give off a raw, edgy vibe. The exposed brick with phrases such as “Cars Washed” and “Brakes” painted on and the iron beams fit in with today’s popular post-industrial vibe. Meanwhile, the spacious stage and skylights add lightness and grace to the room.

While Niki discovered the Glass Factory through her dance and choreography work, the space hosts a wide array of events including music performances, martial arts classes, and art installations.

Subcircle performing at the Glass Factory

MAAS Building

The second location that Niki gave us a behind-the-scenes glimpse of was the MAAS Building. This brewery turned trolley repair shop in Olde Kensington is, coincidentally, just two doors down from our project Kensington Yards. Now the building is home to two offices on the ground floor, an events and practice space, a recording studio, a large garden courtyard behind the main building, and a private residence.

When owners Ben and Catherine first acquired the MAAS, it hadn’t been used since its days as a trolley shop. It’s because of this that so much of the original industrial workshop character is preserved. A floor was built to divide the building into two stories, and this diverse practice, performance, work, and home space was born.

While one of the most common uses of the upstairs space is actually weddings, Niki and her company Subcircle host their works in progress series and rehearse there. Other local groups that take advantage of this gorgeous, open space are Almanac Dance Circus Theatre and New Paradise Laboratories.

Subcircle in the second floor of the MAAS Building

Crane Arts

The last space Niki showed us was Crane Arts. Crane Arts is a well established place for artists’ studios and rental space in Olde Kensington. In more recent years they transitioned their Icebox Project Space to having a more structured public presence as well. The Icebox already existed as rental space in the Crane Arts building, in fact, Subcircle did their piece Still Unknown there in 2006. Now they host more regular performances, installations, and shows. With this expanded programming, Crane Arts moves beyond its role as a rental space. The directors are interested in expanding their scope and joining the conversation in Philly’s art community.

Believe it or not, the Crane Arts building used to be a plumbing warehouse. After that a seafood packaging plant called the enormous building home. Between the shuttering of that business and its 2004 purchase, the building remained vacant. The Icebox, which we spent most of our visit in, was actually a giant walk-in freezer back in the days of the packaging plant, hence its name. Some of that original character is still noticeable in the large, blank space suitable for all sorts of performances and installations.

An edited photo from a Subcircle performance in the Icebox

How Kevin Bacon’s Dad Changed Your Life

Posted on January 16, 2018November 10, 2022 by Solo Team

You might not think about Kevin Bacon very often, but if you live in Philadelphia, his dad likely influences your life nearly everyday. Edmund Bacon and his wife, Ruth Hilda Holmes, raised six children, including Kevin Bacon, in the city of brotherly love. Besides his role as a father to the future star, Edmund Bacon, architect, educator, urban planner and author, served as the Executive Director of the City Planning Commission from 1949-1970. During this tenure, he oversaw numerous large- and small-scale design ideas that shaped today’s Philadelphia.

Bacon, born to a quaker family in West Philadelphia in 1910, trained as an architect at Cornell and later at Cranbrook Academy. While at Cranbrook, he studied under renowned Finnish architect/planner Eliel Saarinen. Saarinen worked extensively on major planning projects in nearby Flint, Michigan, and enlisted the young Edmund Bacon to assist. Bacon quickly grew into the role and in the late 1930s served as Flint’s planning commissioner.

These early experiences in Flint as well as international travels greatly influenced Bacon’s approach to urban planning. In the late 1940s, he became the City Planning Commissioner of Philadelphia, bringing both vision and practical experience to the job. Because of his design background, Bacon not only served as an administrator, but also conceived physical concepts.

The following projects are some of those most closely associated with Bacon.

Society Hill

In the 1950s, Society Hill was a fairly rundown, dodgy neighborhood. Bacon, seeking to preserve the historical, colonial quality of the area, worked with the Redevelopment Authority, to invest brick sidewalks, period lighting and streetscaping. This included a network of walkways called the Greenway System to tie the neighborhood together. While most of the 18th and early 19th century houses were restored, late 19th century houses were demolished to create high-density housing. The resulting Society Hill towers designed by I.M. Pei are now symbolic of the neighborhood.

The Far Northeast

In the early 1950s, the far Northeast section of Philadelphia (north of Pennypack Creek), was largely undeveloped farmland. With growing pressure to create more affordable housing, Bacon conceived of a concept for a new type of urban neighborhood that used dense rowhouse blocks, but sited them along a curved street network, based around retail and recreation hubs, connected with bus lines. The intent was to maintain the existing streams and open space. While the resulting neighborhood did not match Bacon’s initial vision, the streams and parkspace remain remarkably intact.

Penn Center

In the early 1950s, the Pennsylvania Railroad committed to demolish a long-defunct section viaduct which cut through Center City and redevelop the land. Bacon worked with architects and planners to conceive of a new use for this central urban space as a transit connected office and retail environment. Again, the resulting development differed dramatically from Bacon’s original proposal, but Penn Center remains a transit and office hub, and has become the core of Center City’s business district.

Earle Barber (left) of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, Edmund Bacon (center) of the City Planning Commission, and architect Vincent Kling consider 1950s projects to follow the removal of the Pennsylvania Railroad viaduct. (Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries)

In addition to this notable work as City Planning Commissioner, Edmund Bacon also served as a professor of urban design at the University of Pennsylvania during the 1970s and 1980s. Owner Deborah Solo studied under him while pursuing her Master’s in Architecture. Here at Solo, we’re just two degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon!

References:

https://planningpa.org/in-memoriam/in-memoriam-of-edmund-bacon/

https://www.philadelphiacfa.org/programs-and-exhibitions/edmund-n-bacon-prize-lecture/about-edmund-n-bacon

The Secret Life of Buildings: Common Philadelphia Brick Styles

Posted on September 25, 2017September 22, 2022 by Solo Team

Philadelphia is a city rich with architectural history, with many private residences dating back to the colonial era. And while homes have changed significantly since the city’s founding in 1662 (we’re particularly fond of indoor plumbing and electric wiring), one element of Philadelphia rowhomes remains little changed in over three hundred years: brick.

It’s no coincidence that homes throughout the city, from stately properties in Old City to more humble rowhomes in Kensington are clad with the same material. Due to a stroke of geographical good fortune, the city rested atop a bed of high-quality brick clay just below the surface. This resource was so extensive that even after two centuries, it still provided enough clay to produce more than 200 million bricks a year by the end of the nineteenth century.

However, brickmaking declined in the 20th century, due to both automation of the manufacturing process and diminishing clay resources. Concurrently, concrete blocks were developed. Less expensive to manufacture and construct, concrete blocks quickly began to displace bricks in foundation walls and as backup for wall facings.

Yet despite the loss of brick manufacturing, brick remains an emblematic element of Philadelphia architecture.

The following brick bonds are representative of the common styles seen in Philadelphia’s historic neighborhoods.

ENGLISH BOND

Generally regarded as the oldest of bricklaying styles, the English bond is characterized by alternating courses (each horizontal row of bricks is a course) of stretchers (the long side of the brick) and headers (the narrow side).

FLEMISH BOND

This style became popular in the 17th Century and can be seen frequently throughout Philadelphia’s older neighborhoods. In a Flemish bond, headers and stretchers alternate continually within each course. Often, bricklayers used burnt headers, creating a visually engaging facade with a mix of red and black.

RUNNING BOND

Frequently used for veneer, running bond uses only stretchers. It’s counterpart, the Common Bond (sometimes referred to as the American Bond) uses 5, 6, or 7 courses of stretchers, interspersed with a row of headers. These headers tie the wall to the backing masonry material. As it’s name implies, Common bond is commonly used, especially in historic Philadelphia rowhomes.