Health System unable to save Convention Hall in expansion

Convention Hall has been the site of many historically significant events, hosting political national conventions, concerts and Penn commencements.

But soon, the hall -- located near the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania -- will be demolished, and in its place will be a state-of-the-art cancer center operated by the Penn Health System.

After undertaking a major study, officials say the building cannot be used in its current form. Both Penn and city officials believe the demolition needs to go forward to make way for the growth of UPHS, one of the top medical research bodies in the region.

"It is a landlocked institution with world-class health care facilities and research and development facilities," said Sam Rhoads, senior vice president of the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation -- the organization that recently brokered Penn's purchase of the site from the city. This site offers the "obvious piece of land that will allow them to grow."

An architectural firm was brought in to assess the site with University architect Charlie Newman and Senior Vice President of Facilities and Real Estate Services Omar Blaik. After studying the site for a year and a half, the conclusion was reached that preserving the building would not be feasible.

The cost to save the building was more than $80 million.

The findings showed that the Civic Center Museum, located next to the Convention Hall, has a wooden structure that would is not likely to support any clinical efforts.

Convention Hall itself is in better shape, but is too small to accommodate the cancer program, UPHS spokeswoman Susan Phillips said. With its curved roof and interior seating, the building's roof is actually held up by the seats, architects found. So, even if the building were gutted, the roof would collapse, and building another structure inside would not help.

"It's a higher use" as a medical facility, Phillips said, adding that radiation therapy requires very large pieces of equipment that need to be rooted underground.

There is also a need for underground parking. "There is no way to go underground in that building," Phillips said.

Yet, some historic preservation activists are still distraught, and several people showed up last month to protest the demolition.

"We're very sad to see it go," said Sharon Pinkenson, executive director of the Greater Philadelphia Film Office. "It was a great place to make a movie. It's a disgrace that a historical building like that should be demolished, even for something like a cancer center."

Penn's study, however, has convinced even some of Philadelphia's most staunch preservation advocates. Executive Director of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia John Gallery said that his organization had examined Penn's studies and agreed with them.

"We felt that Penn had really investigated in a serious way the possibility of saving [the building] and concluded that it is not feasible, which is a sound conclusion," Gallery said.

In 1936, Convention Hall was the site of the Democratic National Convention that nominated Franklin Delano Roosevelt for his second term in office. In 1964, the Beatles performed there, and the Rolling Stones appeared there in only two years later, in 1966.

After the completion of the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Center City, the hall served exclusively as a soundstage, where such movies as Beloved, The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable were filmed.

"The real historic significance is not so much the building as much as the events that took place there," Gallery said, which "is a valid reason for preserving buildings."

Penn officials have worked to ensure the preservation of the artifacts that are representative of the building. Many artifacts have been removed and will be installed in the new building as well as around campus. A large pipe organ, bigger than the one in Irvine Auditorium, has been removed and saved.

"The buildings themselves are not on the list of historical treasures in the U.S. or in Philadelphia," Phillips said, "but we treated the approach as if they were. ... [That is the] higher bar we held ourselves to."

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