Posted by Jerry Klein on August 29, 1998 at 23:34:08:
In Reply to: Thoughts on the demise of Thomas Hall posted by Gerry Wilkinson (posted by Jerry Klein) on August 09, 1998 at 23:08:54:
Here's an excerpt from an article in the August 26, 1998 issue of the Philadelphia Weekly, entitled "The Trouble with Temple." The article is generally critical of Peter Liacouris' record as president of Temple.
"Nothing better symbolizes Temple's problematic relationship with its past than the Baptist Temple. A grand and ungainly pile of Romanesque granite, it is the very temple that gave the university its name, built by Russell Conwell himself in 1891 so that 4,000 people at a time could hear his Sunday sermons.
"A university might want to embrace such a precious relic of its founding days. But Baptist Temple is structurally unsound, functionally obsolete and for a decade Temple has been trying to tear it down. Only recently did the university acquiesce, cutting a deal with the city's historical commission to preserve its namesake, despite objections that it has no need for the structure and no money for repairs. In return, however, Temple was permitted to tear down Thomas Hall, an older, far more beautiful church at the corner of Broad and Norris. In its place, construction is underway for a 500-bed dormitory, which, say University planners, is key to turning the main campus into 'Temple Town.'"