Our Lady of Good Counsel

The mailbag rings anew:

Do you happen to have any info about our Lady of Good Counsel in South Philadelphia? I know it closed but thats about it. I can't find a photo of the structure anywhere. By the way...I love the site.

Thank you kindly.

Re: Our Lady of Good Counsel. Most of what the Project has comes from histories obtained from St. Nicholas of Tolentine and the Archdiocese itself. To briefly summarize:

Our Lady of Good Counsel (OLGC) was founded around 8th & Christian streets in 1898 to minister to Italian-Americans in the area; a church was constructed and dedicated the following year. In 1912, the parish established the mission chapel of St. Nicholas, farther south at 9th & Watkins, to minister to families who moved farther and farther from OLGC.

By the 1920s, the parish population dwindled so much that the Archdiocese closed it in 1932; any Italian ministering could be done by other local parishes, including St. Nicholas, and the nearby presence of territorial St. Paul made OLGC extraneous.

Some of that doesn't really make a lot of sense, especially the point about the mission chapel surviving while the main parish dies. It's especially galling because, from what we've heard, OLGC was a much nicer building than St. Nicholas. Project reader Terry Callen opines that OLGC "had it all over St. Nick's."

Such is the life of Archdiocesan parishes.

The PAHRC probably has the best surviving pictures of the building, so there are none we can readily reproduce here. If anyone has any, though, or any additional information you wish to share, please do.

UPDATE 9/29: Melissa at the Historical Society of Philadelphia provided a photo and some additional history.


Nice looking building. All over St. Nick's indeed.

From one closed parish to another. As I first wrote around a year and a half ago, Holland's St. Bede the Venerable is sort of becoming the new Most Blessed Sacrament, thanks to an infusion of much of MBS' ornamentation.

If you can suppress your gag reflex long enough, The Catholic Standard & Times provides an update:

Renovation Turns Past Intro Present
St. Bede the Venerable Parish reaches out to Most Blessed Sacrament’s parishioners — through art

Not much to write home about yet, although we now have a timetable of next year for completion of the renovations. The Project will almost certainly pay a visit when the time comes.

Brownstoner Philadelphia

Another perspective on Assumption BVM, as if you needed one.

Brownstoner - Philadelphia: Farewell to Philly's Church of the Assumption

More photos, plus they quote the Project. Can't argue with that!

But even if they didn't, it's still a really cool site about development in and around the city; after Philly Skyline packed it in, it's next best thing. Check it out.

Assumption BVM Interior Photos

Any more posts on this topic, and I may have start calling this the Assumption BVM Project. This one, however, is too good to pass up.

From Project reader Thad:

In March 2009, I had the opportunity to take photos of the interior of the Assumption of the BVM Church. (With permission, no trespassing.)

I'm sure you'd be interested in seeing them, here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/contrabass/sets/72157616239414392/

Truly a tragic situation. I fear it really may be beyond any reasonable attempts to repair it at this point. That interior is entirely of plaster, and it's all been heated, frozen, and wet for 15 years now. Stabilizing the structure and roof etc would only be the beginning... I have other interior shots if you're interested in seeing more.

Regards from a fan of Philly Church Project

Click on the link for the rest. Top-notch stuff. Abandonedamerica.org super photographer Matthew Murray is still supposedly working on his set, but this will more than tide you over until then.

The End for Assumption BVM

"What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing."

--Oscar Wilde

Assumption's nine lives have officially, finally run out. From Andrew Paleswki:

In spite of our efforts, The Historical Commission ruled in favor of awarding hardship to the owner of the Church of the Assumption on Spring Garden Street. A number of people testified over the past week including myself, John Gallery of the Preservation Alliance, Amy Hooper and Sarah McEneany of the Callowhill Neighborhood Association, Alex Generalis of M&G Real Estate, David Traub of Save Our Sites, and numerous others. Some very strong and convincing arguments were made in support of saving the building. In the end, the Commission was deadlocked in a 5 to 5 vote. Sam Sherman, Commission Chair, cast the deciding vote to allow demolition.

Here is the latest, from the Inquirer, on yesterday's decision:

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/front_page/20100911_Historic_Philadelphia_church_to_be_torn_down.html

I want to thank everyone who supported the preservation of this church over the past 18 months. We'll see what happens next.

Andy Palewski

There's nothing more I can say at this point, really. You just have to shake your head at a system where a church's original owners abandon one of their most historic properties for no good reason; where the new owners wantonly mutilate the building and get rewarded it for it; and where a developer is able to cast the deciding vote in whether to allow demolition.

A sad fate, made even sadder by the fact that none of it was necessary. And no one involved in this mess comes out looking good. Not the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, not Siloam Wellness, and not the Philadelphia Historical Commission.

We'll keep you posted on the demolition.

The Bells of St. John the Baptist

According to a September 9 article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the city of Philadelphia has issued a formal warning to Manayunk's St. John the Baptist that their 3 1/2 ton clocktower bell, installed and in use almost consistently since 1906, is too loud. The warning originated from a complaint of a neighbor of the church, who wants the bells--which currently chime three times a day, at 7 a.m., 12 noon and 6 p.m.--silenced because they're "disrupting her quality of life." Failure to comply could carry a $700 per day fine.

In a second article in the Inquirer, dated September 10, Councilman Jim Kenney, whose district includes Manayunk, called the warning and threat "silly," and said he would draft legislation to amend the current noise laws to exempt churches and schools.

The Project: It was barely two days ago that I stated I had seen it all. Now, a mere 48 hours later, I'm forced to retract that statement. Complaining about church bells? That's cold.

There's understandably a lot of reaction to this incident, and a lot of opinions being bandied about. This isn't a Roman Catholic issue or even a religious issue. What this is really is about is entitlement--the sense of self-importance that comes from some people believing that the world should suit their needs and kowtow to their whims, regardless of how ridiculous they may be.

The Project, naturally, sides with St. John the Baptist. You don't like the bell? Fine, move. But you don't get the right to move in and suddenly destroy something that's been around far longer than you have. The parish is nearly 170 years old; the church itself is 106, and the bell 104, and it's been ringing ever since with nary a complaint. It's earned the right to do whatever the hell it wants, you haven't, so shut the $@#% up and deal with it.

The city's involvement does complicate things, and we can only hope Councilman Kenney's involvement is more than just hot air. City Council's general incompetence isn't encouraging, but they do tend to excel at weird and sometimes trivial things. Hopefully this is one of those times.

And really, in an area that gets far more disruption from constant bar fights, public urination, heavy traffic and other general rowdiness, the fact that a church bell upsets you really says something about your priorities.

Ring it loud and ring it proud, St. John.

Final hearing for the Church of the Assumption

Hot off the presses, courtesy Andrew Paleswki:

RE: Church of the Assumption at 12th & Spring Garden Streets

As most of you know, I, and several neighbors placed the Church of the Assumption on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places last year. The owner, Siloam Ministries, had been very secretive about its plans to demolish the building but we found out in time to save it and the Historical Commission stopped the building from being torn down.

Now, Siloam is applying for “hardship” with the Commission, claiming that they don’t want the church, can’t afford to fix it, and that no one wants to buy it. Several people have tried to buy the church in the last year but the owner has been tactful in dissuading them from following through (e.g. they destroyed many of the interior elements just before one buyer was about to purchase the building in July 2009).

The Historical Commission hearing will be held on Friday, September 10, at 9:00 AM at 1515 Arch Street, Room 18-029. It is open to the public.

I strongly encourage anyone who wants to see this building survive to attend this hearing. A decision will be reached that will determine the fate of the landmark.

Recent press coverage:
http://planphilly.com/without-buyer-historic-church-remains-limbo
http://planphilly.com/historical-commission-committee-oks-owners-request-demolish-historic-church

Thanks for all of your support.

Andy Palewski

A New Level of Devotion

You think we love churches? Just read this letter from Project reader Melissa:

Just perused your site -- I absolutely love it. Thank you so much! I came across it because I need a good pic of Nativity B.V.M. in Port Richmond. That's my parish and I think it's one of the most beautiful churches. I have never been in Our Lady Hope of Christians, and it was heartbreaking to see the sad state that it is in. I am planning a tat for my back of Nativity - just trying to find a good pic with a good angle! Thanks again, I will def. check out more of your churches!

Yes, that's right. She's getting a picture of Nativity BVM tattooed on her back. Not this exact picture, evidently, but a picture.

I think I can now safely say I've seen it all.

Godspeed, Melissa. And if you do happen to use one of our photos, feel free to also tattoo a photo attribution on as well. If there's a better advertising opportunity for the Project, I can't think of it.

The Philadelphia Church Project's Bottom 10: #1

Happy Labor Day to all those in Projectland! As we celebrate our workaholism by actually taking a day off, let's mark the occasion by finally getting around to naming church #1 on our Bottom 10 list.

That's right. The pretenders are gone, and one very, very unlucky church has the indignity of being named the very, very worst church we've seen. Without further ado--drumroll, fellas.....


The Worst Church: St. Nicholas of Tolentine

Why They're Here: It's modern, through and through. Shag carpeting, ugly psychedelic windows, and a complete absence of anything the Project would deem passable. This is one bad church, and what's left of the original exterior can't save it.

Why They're #1: Ah, here's the rub. Modernist architecture, while abhorrent, isn't enough to put you at the top of this list. But it does in the case of St. Nicholas, for two very important reasons:

1. They did it to themselves: That's right, none of this was needed. Unlike most Tabula Rasa churches, which repair and renovate only as needed, St. Nicholas went above and beyond. Actually, it's pretty much almost Pimp My Church territory.

Some repairs are necessary over the life of a classic church, and some, while tragic, are understandable. But this was not a case of necessity--this was a case of hubris coupled with poor taste. And now those renovations are hopelessly dated and hopelessly ugly.

2. It's still housed in the old building. You want to be modern? Fine. Tear down your church and start again. But don't take your classic shell and butcher it. It's a bad idea because you end up plastering over important stuff and blocking up the old windows and basically making a mockery of the place. But it's especially bad because it fools people. (cough, the Project, cough). You see an old building, you expect an old interior. Not a modernist nightmare. The only thing worse than new church architecture is new church architecture that masquerades as something far better.

3. They have delusions of grandeur. Did I say two? I meant three. Also damning is the attitude of the parishioners, who have so bought into the renovations that they can't see just how hideous this is. I've been harsh to many a church, but this was the only one that spawned angry letters berating me for my lack of sensitivity, good manners, breeding, etc. Get over it, and yourselves, people.

I could rant endlessly about this place, but the more I say the angrier I get, so let's just cut it here. St. Nicholas of Tolentine, for these crimes against ecclesatical architecture, you are hereby named the Philadelphia Church Project's #1 Worst Church.

Congratulations!!!