Frank Furness-designed South Philly church on track for demolition

Photo by Melissa Romero

A 150-year-old Frank Furness church in South Philly could be the next Philly church to be torn down.

Landmark Architectural Design, a firm working on behalf of the 19th Street Baptist Church, just received a permit to demolish the historically registered building last week, PlanPhillyfirst reported. The church, which sits off 19th Street, between Wharton and Titan streets, has started falling into a state of disrepair in recent years, with its green serpentine stone facade crumbling into the street.

The permit gives permission for a full demolition, and states that the site will remain an empty lot following that, PlanPhilly wrote. Before tearing down the building, the firm would need to obtain a building permit and permission from the Historical Commission.

The fate of the church, which was designed in 1874 by Furness and George Hewitt, has been up in the air for years. Back in 2011, the building was on the brink of demolition, but remained safe for the next few years. Then, in September, church leaders started looking for a buyer, and announced plans to move their congregation out by the end of the year. At the time, they hoped to find someone who would preserve the historic building, The Philly Tribune wrote.

If the 19th Street Church is demolished, it will be the latest in a series of Philly-area churches that have suffered the same fate over the past couple of years. One of the most talked-about churches last year was the Christian Street Baptist Church, another South Philly structure that was torn down amid controversy in the summer.

It would also mark the latest of Furness’s works to be eradicated. Since the architect’s death in 1912, many of his Philly-based buildings fell into disrepair, and faced the wrecking ball—largely over the first half of the 20th Century.

https://philly.curbed.com/2019/2/26/18241437/frank-furness-designed-south-philly-church-demolition-historic