In today's Inquirer, their architecture critic Inga Saffron, has an article about a proposal to add an apartment tower atop what was once the Reading RR's grain elevator at 20th Street in Philly:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/home_des ... z0rE1DAzTD
The article includes this bit of history about the structure:
"... the 20th Street granary was rescued quite effectively three decades ago by the visionary interior designer Kenneth Parker. That was years before mainstream preservationists began to appreciate America's industrial past. A flamboyant party-giver, Parker was attracted to the derelict granary because he sensed its high-ceilinged spaces would make fabulous entertainment venues. He bought the building from the Tidewater Grain Co. in 1977 for $122,000 and spent $250,000 converting the top floors to apartments. He installed his company's offices on the ground level. The functional remnants of the granary's operation - pulleys and pipes - were treated as pop art and painted white. The fact that the granary's midsection was unusable didn't bother him a bit. Eventually, Parker moved on. Pearl Properties picked up the granary three years ago as part of a deal to acquire the more valuable surface parking lot on Callowhill Street, kitty-corner from the new Barnes site and opposite a planned addition to the Free Library. At the time, the granary was occupied by an architectural firm. But when the financial meltdown doomed Pearl's plans for a 35-story tower on the parking lot, the company turned its attention to the old grain elevator..."
--rkb
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/home_des ... z0rE1DAzTD
The article includes this bit of history about the structure:
"... the 20th Street granary was rescued quite effectively three decades ago by the visionary interior designer Kenneth Parker. That was years before mainstream preservationists began to appreciate America's industrial past. A flamboyant party-giver, Parker was attracted to the derelict granary because he sensed its high-ceilinged spaces would make fabulous entertainment venues. He bought the building from the Tidewater Grain Co. in 1977 for $122,000 and spent $250,000 converting the top floors to apartments. He installed his company's offices on the ground level. The functional remnants of the granary's operation - pulleys and pipes - were treated as pop art and painted white. The fact that the granary's midsection was unusable didn't bother him a bit. Eventually, Parker moved on. Pearl Properties picked up the granary three years ago as part of a deal to acquire the more valuable surface parking lot on Callowhill Street, kitty-corner from the new Barnes site and opposite a planned addition to the Free Library. At the time, the granary was occupied by an architectural firm. But when the financial meltdown doomed Pearl's plans for a 35-story tower on the parking lot, the company turned its attention to the old grain elevator..."
--rkb
