Murals Rank at Number 29 on Philly YIMBY’s First Anniversary Countdown

Philadelphia is famous for its astounding collection of outdoor murals, which count in the thousands. Philly YIMBY does intentionally seek them out as subjects of articles (unless, at some point in the future, we hear an announcement of a particularly notable mural planned somewhere in the city). However, given the pervasive presence of outdoor wall art all around the city, especially near sites with vacant lots, it inevitably makes its way into our content in one way or another. Some murals are located near planned development. Of these, some are in danger of being entirely obscured or torn down. Others are planned to be painted on freshly proposed buildings. In either case, when the opportunity arises, we try to track these murals. Over the past, we have made 29 such tags, earning the category the 29th place (the numbering is coincidental) on Philly YIMBY’s First Anniversary Countdown. Today we look at a few standout examples.

Location: Mural Lofts, 523 North Broad Street

Featured in: articles relating to Mural West

Mural West site looking northeast. Photo by Thomas Koloski

The most notable mural, which is featured on the article cover, is the one that gave the name to Mural West, painted on the blank wall on the west side of eponymous Mural Lofts, which are housed in the former Thaddeus Stevens School of Practice. Built in 1926, the building boasts a dazzling, singular design, where Romanesque meets Art Deco as paired window bays leap through the beige-brick facade toward a double inset arcade by the parapet.

The effect is as delightful as a cheery classical music composition, and it appears that the artists that painted the mural on the building’s blank wall took notice. The mural uses a trompe l’oeil effect to paint fake architectural elements on the side of the building that resemble the real thing, and fill them with a delirious tableaux of characters that draw in equal measure from Renaissance archetypes, Colonial settlers, and the city’s contemporary African-American community.

Strengthened by the supreme quality of the art, stylized yet near-photo-realistic at once, the artwork lifts the spirit of anyone who happens to see it from Broad Street, which is separated from the building by a vacant lot. The aforementioned lot is the reason the mural figured several times at Philly YIMBY, as it is about to make way for a 363-foot-tall, 32-story mixed-use tower, located at 523 North Broad Street.

Mural West. Credit: Atkin Olshin Scade Architects

On its own merits, the proposal, designed by Atkin Olshin Schade Architects and developed by Precision Realty Group, is one of the finest of any on the drawing boards in the city. The elegant, svelte tower rises in gentle setbacks. Its slender form is further broken down into vertical sections, which, despite varied facade treatments, harmonize rather than clash with one another. The glassy surface wall that adorns the intersection-facing corner is accented with a crisp, chamfered white band, which both adds dimension to the otherwise flat surface and cleanly delineates it from the rest of the tower. The remaining tower facade is clad in vertical window modules reminiscent of the 1S1 building at the site of the Domino’s Sugar Refinery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. At the lower levels, the base, plaza, and adjacent low-rise building make for one of the most attractive public features of the kind in North Philadelphia.

The increase in density will animate the centrally-located, subway-adjacent site that currently sits forlorn.

Mural West. Credit: Atkin Olshin Scade Architects

However, the development’s salient feature is also its greatest weak point. Named Mural West, the building capitalizes on its proximity to the mural, which it leaves ostensibly unobstructed and even provides with a sightline from the street via an angled plaza. Renderings show the tower top imitating the mural’s central figure, yet the actual artwork itself will be all but obstructed by the skyscraper, aside from a neck-craning, extremely close-up view and another oblique one down the slanted promenade, neither of which offer a satisfying vantage point for the dramatic art piece.

Mural West site plan. Credit: Atkin Olshin Schade Architects

We do not call for the cancellation of the development, which is bound to become a focal focal point for lower North Broad Street both at the pedestrian and at the skyline level. However, we would also rather avoid seeing the mural nigh-obstructed as it would be in its present configuration.

The solution is (at least conceptually) simple: move the tower from the north to the south corner of the site, and rotate its base at a 90-degree angle along Spring Garden Street. The resulting configuration would shift the public plaza to the north side of the side, centering it upon the mural and preserving a direct sightline from Broad Street.

Gloria Casarez Tribute Mural

Location: 204 South 12th Street

204 South 12th Street looking northwest. Photo by Thomas Koloski

Despite having room for improvements in terms of site planning, the team behind Mural West deserves much credit for their motion to reconcile their development with the artwork. On the other hand, no such opportunity was available at 204 South 12th Street in Washington Square West, Center City, where the Gloria Casarez Tribute Mural was torn down along with the low-rise structure that has made way for a 445-foot-tall, 32-story residential high-rise.

Designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and Bower Lewis Thrower Architects and developed by Midwood Investments and Development, the building’s 448 residential units will offer a significant density boost to the site, while the red-and-white tower will make for a notable presence on the skyline.

Rendering of 204 South 12th Street. Credit: BLT Architects.

Rendering of 1204 South 12th Street. Credit: BLT Architects.

The destruction of the mural was a necessary, if still regrettable, sacrifice, as the utilitarian, near-windowless structure at the site, an eyesore if not for the mural, held no preservation-worthy qualities, shunned the pedestrian realm with a solid wall, and would had been exceedingly difficult to incorporate into the new structure.

Even still, however, we will miss the warm-hued artwork, which pleasantly spruced up the street.

204 South 12th Street looking northwest. Photo by Thomas Koloski

Location: 673 North 52nd Street

Featured in: article covering 667 North 52nd Street

Not every mural covered at YIMBY is a dramatic tour-de-force located in the central part of the city. Communities throughout outlying neighborhoods also feature a wide variety of outdoor art, which is frequently more low-key yet is nevertheless impressive. One among these is the tromp l’oeil mural painted on the long blank wall at 673 North 52nd Street, Mill Creek, West Philadelphia, which will be partially blocked from direct view by the building proposed at 667 North 52nd Street.

667 North 52nd Street. Looking east. Credit: Google

The mural at 673 North 52nd Street. Looking northeast. Credit: Google

Location: 627 North 52nd Street

Featured in: article covering 625 North 52nd Street

A worse fate awaits a smaller outdoor painting just down the street, where a memorial mural at 627 North 52nd Street will be entirely obstructed by a new building proposed at a vacant lot next door at 625 North 52nd Street.

623 and 625 North 52nd Street. Looking east. Credit: Google

Memorial mural at 627 North 52nd Street, which will be obstructed bynew construction. Credit: Google

Location: 709 West Dauphin Street, the Village of Arts and Humanities

Featured in: Grandeur And Desolation

Not every mural we covered is is in imminent danger of obstruction or destruction. Some entries on the roster simply happen to be in the vicinity of a recent proposal, which we try to include to give a more well-rounded understanding of the area to the reader. For instance, the murals we covered in our recent Grandeur and Desolation feature were included for this exact purpose, so that they may give more flavor to a seemingly commonplace yet truly unique district of North Philadelphia East, which is currently at a turning point towards significant revival.

The mural at 709 West Dauphin Street. Credit: Google Maps

Village of Arts and Humanities. Credit: Google Maps

Village of Arts and Humanities. Credit: Google Maps

Location: 801 North 19th Street

Featured in: articles pertaining to the new development, the Francisville feature

We also note instances where new developments will bring new wall art along with them. One such mural will go up on a blank wall at the massive complex planned at 801 North 19th Street, which we discussed in detail in yesterday’s Francisville feature.

Rendering of 801 North 19th Street. Credit: NORR.

For better or worse, street art tends to be transient, and blocking and destruction of murals is often a necessary trade-off for the city’s continued growth. However, as the process goes on, the least we can do is document it as we cover the city’s ongoing revival.

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