Eden Hall Chapel

Bet you didn't know that the Fairmount Park Commission has a French Gothic Revival style church in its repertoire of historic buildings. Frank Wills designed Eden Hall Chapel in 1852 as part of a boarding school operated by the Sisters of the Sacred Heart.

The Chapel, with its interior details, beautiful stain glass windows, and furnishings intact, survived the demolition of the school complex in the late 1970s. But time is running out. Vacant since the 1970s, the Chapel's survival requires $1 million of immediate structural and roof repairs to save the building and attract a new user.

Location:
Fluehr Park
4800 Grant Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19114
http://www.fairmountpark.org/Buildin...optionList.asp


A LIST OF ENDANGERED HISTORIC STRUCTURES IN THE GREATER PHILADELPHIA REGION

Fairmount Park Historic Structures: The Park has hundreds of historic structures, most of which are not the famous twelve mansions and most of which are not in East and West Parks. Many of these structures are threatened because of the absence of maintenance funding and the lack of a long term and appropriate use. A few examples of endangered structures in Fairmount Park are as follow:

• Logan House in Hunting Park, an 18th Century structure that is in desparate need of repair
• Eden Hall Chapel , dating from the 1840's, is all that remains of the a former Catholic convent and girls school which is now Fleuhr Park.
• Verree Road House in Pennypack Creek, the last of an historic grist mill village, "Verreeville," dating from the late 17th and early 18th Centuries.
• The Music Pavilion, this 19th Century structure at Strawberry Mansion is one of the last of the music shelters that once graced the park.

Not anymore. Things for their budget just got better:

Fire Demolishes Historic Church in NE Phila.

by KYWs Al Novack
A three-alarm fire has destroyed Eden Park Chapel located in Torresdale's Eden Community Park.
There were no injuries. However, It took firefighters over two hours to control the blaze which was discovered Saturday just before midnight.
George Biggins is a neighbor to the city-owned Eden Park Chapel. He lives on the park's perimeter and he's shocked:
“I see a tragedy like this happen. I’ve been reading articles in the paper about intentions to restore it but it doesn't seem like this is going to happen now with this fire.”
Walls covered in graffiti remain standing but the inside of the historic chapel has been gutted and the fire ravaged roof appears ready to collapse.
Fire officials are reserving comment until the fire marshal concludes an official investigation but just about all the neighbors suspect arson.
(end)


Like so what - Right? It was just another old building - Right?

No!!!

It's just Fairmount Park being run according to the city budget.

Most of us will live long enough to see at least a few more of our national landmarks and treasures destroyed in this or a similar fashon.

What's next? Ryerrs Mansion at Burlholme Park?

Was this post over most of your heads? Or perhaps you just missed it:

"The real object (and danger) of dismantling Fairmount Park and it's Commission is to obtain access to the first crown jewel, Burlholme Park.

If the Fairmount park Commission goes, Burlholme park goes with it. The rest of the park system will not be far behind. I believe the real rats in the wood pile are real-estate developers are in bed with politicians. The demi-god mayors, and Donald Trumps of the world just keep getting fat at our expense. This is the harbinger of things to come...." (more)

Read it again:
http://www.phillyblog.com/philly/sho...6&postcount=23

I have been after Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia since last year to do something.

Well they did. We all did. We watched it burn.

Funny.. we had been visiting it for years.

Didn't seem like anyone was concerned.

The had already pipmed the park out for thos homes...especially the guy who gets a lake out back courtesy of the park.

When you're in the park taking in the lake you can see this idiot on the couch. Those houses reek of back door dealing...

At least Fox Chase is providing jobs.

__________________
"

Unbelievable justice for this punk POS!!

Mercy mission
for a church arsonist

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

Burning down the old Eden Hall chapel was just the start of Nicholas Lawrence’s problems with the law last summer.
While facing numerous felony charges, including arson, and free on bail, Lawrence was arrested twice more — once on charges of beating his 7-month-old daughter and again for supposedly punching the mother of his twin daughter and son.
He was just 19 at the time of all three incidents.
On June 19, a Philadelphia judge decided to spare Lawrence of having to serve state prison time.
Although a prosecuting attorney was seeking a sentence of two and a half to five years in the state pen for the defendant, Common Pleas Court Judge Pamela Pryor Dembe instead gave Lawrence five to 23 months in a city prison work-release program. Lawrence will be able to spend most of his days outside the confines of jail.
A reporting-probation period of five years will begin upon Lawrence’s release from custody of the Philadelphia Prison System.
According to Assistant District Attorney Namratha Ravikant, the standard sentencing range for the most serious crime that Lawrence committed, causing or risking a catastrophe, is 22 to 36 months in jail, plus or minus 12 months.
Lawrence, of the 1000 block of Hoven Road in Bustleton, had no prior criminal record and pleaded guilty or no contest to charges stemming from all three incidents, thereby allowing the court to supercede trials in the cases.
His trouble with the law began on July 8 when he and several other teens broke into the boarded-up, 157-year-old Eden Hall chapel and set two fires that effectively ended a local family’s attempt to restore the historic landmark to its former glory. The chapel is within city-owned Fluehr Park in East Torresdale.
At one time, the Gothic-revival house of worship was the centerpiece of an elite Catholic boarding school for girls operated by the Society of the Sacred Heart, a semi-cloistered order of nuns. The parents of St. Katharine Drexel, the Philly banker’s daughter whose decades of religious service led to her canonization, helped finance its construction and once were buried on the site.
At its peak, the institution featured several buildings, including a house and gymnasium. After the sisters left in 1969, the property ended up in the city’s hands and became a park, largely in tribute to advocacy by the late Joseph C. Fluehr Sr., a local resident and real estate professional after whom the park is named.
Several fires, including a large blaze in 1979, destroyed most of the buildings, but the chapel survived.
Early last year, Fluehr’s children and other descendants created a non-profit organization and began to explore the idea of restoring the chapel. They tried to improve security on the oft-vandalized site with fencing and were paying for an architectural assessment when Lawrence and his co-conspirators torched the place.
Lawrence’s five accomplices were juveniles at the time and have not been named publicly. All were charged in the case and pleaded delinquent to the offenses.
Two fires were set inside the chapel shortly before midnight. Investigators believe that the vandals used vodka to start one blaze in the basement and fuel from an overturned generator to start the other on the first floor. The arsonists then fled.
The fire soon spread to the roof, forcing firefighters battling the flames to leave the building for safety reasons. It was classified as a three-alarm fire.
Later, Lawrence allegedly bragged about the crime to an acquaintance, who told authorities about the conversation.
On Sept. 6, less than two weeks after Lawrence was ordered to stand trial for the chapel fire, he was arrested again for allegedly beating his daughter.
According to Ravikant, the prosecutor, the twins were in Lawrence’s care for about five hours. When he returned the children to their mother, the girl had a "handprint on her face," bruising and lacerations, Ravikant said.
Lawrence was charged with assault, reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child.
On Oct. 19, Lawrence was arrested a third time and accused of violating a protection-from-abuse order held by the mother of his children and also assaulting her. He punched the woman, Ravikant said.
In January, Lawrence pleaded guilty to several felonies in the arson case, including causing or risking a catastrophe, conspiracy, criminal mischief and criminal trespass. He also pleaded guilty to possessing an instrument of crime, a misdemeanor.
Last week, he pleaded guilty in the case involving his ex-girlfriend and no contest in the case involving his daughter. Legally, a no-contest plea is punishable the same as a guilty plea.
Lawrence’s punishment in all three cases is included in the sentence of prison work release and probation imposed by Judge Dembe.
The Eden Hall chapel, meanwhile, is gone for good. After assessing the damage caused by the fire, leaders of the restoration effort and officials with the Fairmount Park Commission, which controls the site, concluded that the chapel is essentially unsalvageable. However, no funding has been allocated to raze the building, which is missing much of its roof and is exposed to the elements. ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews

__________________
"I'll vote for him if he's the nominee, but I'll continue to think he's a complete phoney." BrooklynCat 3/23
http://www.phillyblog.com/philly/pol...r-race-11.html

That is so lame, right out of the "obnoxious Obama supporter" playbook 3/17
http://www.phillyblog.com/philly/pol...r-race-37.html
RE-ELECT DAVID OH COUNCIL AT LARGE 2011

I was privledged to visit Eden Hall as a young girl and to enjoy the angelic beauty of the grounds and buildings. I can remember the ethereal quality of the nuns voices as they sang at afternoon prayers. Pure beauty and magic lifting this city girl's heart, mind and soul beyond all mortal bounds. It was by way of the Philadelphia Department of Recreation (Whitehall Playground) that I, and many other "city children" were brought to Eden Hall (so many years ago) to enjoy a day of relay-racing/broad-jumping etc.. What we all took home that day with our various 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place token ribbons was a true sense of serenity and beauty. Prayer in its purest form.

I don't know what else one should expect from a city run by 'one of the brothers'. You remember Street's now famous quotation, "now the brothers are in charge". Yes, this was done on purpose so as not to allocate funds to save Eden Hall. Those running the city aren't interested in preserving 'white' relics such as Eden Hall. A simple survey of black phillians would tell you as much. The city budget is little more than a 'grab bag' for those appointed to 're-color' the once great city. The greatness is gone, the future of philly is bleak.