Cornerspotter is a Curbed Philly feature in which we show you a historical image of the city and you identify it.
This is at Broad and Green, and is the second location of Central High School. It wasn't an easy photo to identify, necessarily, because of the lack of current landmarks, and because Central has moved since then. But Central alums are a proud crew.
Central's third building was rather grand:
The fourth location is the one you're most likely familiar with: the school at Ogontz and Olney:
We mentioned upcoming construction at the site as a hint because Rodeph Shalom, the synagogue there, has a 28,000-square-foot KieranTimberlake addition planned, which will be attached to the original building erected in 1927.
Inga Saffron has her doubts about that project, in particular its proportions:
While the original synagogue is an assertive, vertical structure, rising up from Broad Street's surface lots like an acropolis, the addition is low and meek, burrowing into the ground. It seems to shrink away from the old synagogue as if the two had no familial relation. Placing the entrance in a low building on Green Street, with a driveway and drop-off, completes the impression that a suburban-style synagogue has invaded Broad Street. The location of the one-story chapel on Broad Street is also troubling. The need to cocoon worshipers from the noise of the street means that the chapel will have a largely blank, windowless wall on Broad Street. Its low-slung proportions also recall the auto-supply stores and car dealerships that once lined the avenue.
You know there's trouble when a synagogue gets compared to a car dealership. So we shall see.
· Public Education in Philadelphia: Central High School [Philly History]
· Synagogue expansion brings challenges [Inquirer]
Loading comments...