Thomas Hall
Some History, Part 2
Written by Gerry Wilkinson
At 8 am on Tuesday, July 7, exactly 112 years to the day of the ground breaking for Thomas Hall, the Facilities Management people from Temple University removed a small, rectangular box from the 1886 cornerstone of Thomas Hall. An e-mail from George Ingram, Associate Vice-President for Public Relations for Temple University said....
On a visit to Temple on July 2, 1998, Gerry Wilkinson talked with the people from Winslow Stained Glass Company, the firm that was sub-contracted to remove all stained glass. According to them, all stained glass was removed, boxed and stored by the University. Removal of the windows took 5 days. The University also saved a double arch from the Sunday School segment of the building, which was added to the main sanctuary in 1900. The arch is planned to later be used as a decoration in an University garden. The new dormitory, over 21,000 square feet, will be four stories high on the Park Avenue side with an extra floor on the Broad Street front. It will house 507 students in dormitory styled suites.Tom Dinardo says Facilities Management did take the cornerstone. It was filled with water and some old newspapers. They are waiting until it dries out.
Later, an e-mail was received from Tom Dinardo of the Facilities Management Department of the University....Bad news. There is nothing to see in the box. The paper or bible or whatever it was, is totally destroyed and looks like sludge. The box is in Facilities Management at 10th and Montgomery. You are welcome to see it if you like. The box is in Andy Riccardis' office.
On Friday, September 18, 1998, Gerry Wilkinson was back on Temple's campus. Tom Dinardo has arranged for Gerry to examine and photograph the contents of the 1900 cornerstone from Thomas Hall. While the box was sealed with metal and had to be cut open, its contents was badly damaged by water. It contained the September 21, 1900 issue of the Philadelphia Public Ledger (a daily newspaper), a Bible and an one to two inch layer of muck under the Bible. Gerry didn't want to disturb the muck for fear of destroying whatever is in there, if anything.
On September 22, 1998, Gerry Wilkinson went to the main branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia and looked at the entire September 21, 1900 issue of the Public Ledger. In the news was the Presidential race, strife in China and a central Pennsylvania coalmine strike that Gerry's great grandfather participated in. There was nothing about the church or its membership. It must have been included in the cornerstone just a momento of the time. Gerry searched for a few weeks after that date in both the Public Ledger and Philadelphia Inquirer to see if there was a dedication or some such event, but found nothing.
Thomas Hall wasn't the only thing to be destroyed to build the new dorm. During prep work to demolish Thomas Hall, a small (about 10 weeks old) gray striped kitten, "nicknamed Thomas (after Thomas Hall)" died. Thomas was a stray, wild kitten who would run whenever someone walked near him. In the beginning of July, he fell into an open grate and broke his paw. Workers not knowing he was there, reinserted the covering, trapping the animal. Even though the SPCA showed up, they couldn't get the grate covering removed. After about a week, the cat died. He was buried in the ground located between Mitten Hall's garden and the location of the new dorm.
Temple had also asked and has received permission to demolish six red brick row houses. These buildings are located across from Speakman Hall. The houses, 1820 to 1830 North Park Avenue were previously called Wiatt Hall, named after Hattie May Wiatt, a little girl in Dr. Conwell's congregation. Wiatt Hall served as a dormitory and later as a student activities center. The buildings have not be in use for a decade. This will leave 10 row houses standing on the 1800 block of North Park. Behind the remaining brick row homes is a VIP University parking lot. If the University demolished more than 6 houses, some VIP will lose a parking space. So the number stands at six. These homes are actually the oldest buildings on the Temple campus dating from 1873. However, they are not free-standing but inner-connected. After the demolition pf Thomas Hall, this honor fell to the Baptist Temple, where the ground was broken in 1889. Replacing the six row houses will be a garden.
Temple University had been waging a campaign to demolish Thomas Hall since at least December of 1997. On Friday, June 26, 1998, victory was theirs. The Philadelphia Historical Commission voted in favor of Temple's application for demolishing Thomas Hall by a vote of 7 to 2.
Testifying is Bob Thomas (no relation), a commissioner of the Philadelphia Historical Commission. Behind him, waiting to testify are (left to right) Bob Cirillo, Fran Odyniec and Gerry Wilkinson.
Voting in favor of saving Thomas Hall were Dr. David Brownless, an Architectural Historian and Member of the Commission and Shelly Merhige, the Designee of the Office of City Council President John Street. Thomas Hall is located within Street's home district.
Dr. Brownless proposed and it was adopted into the vote that by demolishing Thomas Hall, the University agrees to seek viable uses for "The Baptist Temple," located at Broad and Berks. Erected in 1891, it was the second church building for Dr. Russell Conwell's home congregation, "The Grace Baptist Church." The original church located where Gladfelter Hall now stands was demolished by the University in 1969.
Temple University throughout this process has pointed out "with pride" how they preserve old historic buildings. Their example, "College Hall," built in 1893, was the first building erected solely for University use. The property is next to "The Baptist Temple." In 1986, Temple applied to the Philadelphia Historical Commission to demolish both College Hall and The Baptist Temple. The commission denied their request. Thus the University was forced to keep both buildings. If this action was not taken by the Commission twelve years ago, College Hall would not have been restored, but destroyed.
Read the details in the Saturday, June 27 issues of the Philadelphia Inquirer, written by Suzette Parmley and the Philadelphia Daily News, written by Dave Davies. Attending from "the Old Gang" were: Attending from the University were:
Gerry talked to Jay Falkenstein of the University about the possibility of placing a plaque where Thomas Hall or where the old WRTI stood. Jay thought that it was a good idea and something that should be done.
Jay Falkenstein on behalf of the University invited all of us associated with the WRTI Old Gang Web Site back for one last visit to the interior of Thomas Hall. It took place on Tuesday, June 30, 1998 at 12 noon. The founder of WRTI, Professor John B. Roberts was there to lead us through the building where WRTI was born a half century ago. It also happened to be the 10th Anniversary of John Roberts' last day at Temple. After our tour, we ate at New Station pizza on the SW corner of Broad and Norris Streets. Professor Roberts paid the tab for the lunch. Gee, the University pension must be better than we would think. This was the last time we'll ever get to go inside Thomas Hall. Check out the 60 photos. Elliott Paul took a few pictures on this day. They are included in the above link.
Ed Cunningham
Mike Muderick
Fran Odyniec
Elliott Paul
Professor John B. Roberts
Ed Sciaky
Shaney Waldman
Gerry Wilkinson
Tom DiNardo
George Ingram
Jamie Johnson
We appreciate the University's efforts in allowing us one last visit through the Ol' Girl. Tom, George and Jamie were there to make sure we had a pleasant visit. Thanks, guys.
Read the articles in the Tuesday, June 23, 1998 issues of the Philadelphia Inquirer, written by James O'Neill and the Philadelphia Daily News, written by Jeremy Moore. These are different than the ones from Saturday.
While most of our dialogue with the Philadelphia Historical Commission was ad lib, on one occasion, Bob Cirillo and Jerry Klein spoke from prepared statements.
Here's 3 Photos of Harold Thomas, janitor for so many years at Thomas Hall.
Photo 1
Photo 2
Photo 3
From Mike Biel....I looked at the Temple building descriptions and I think it is great. Add that I also had been down to the old Thomas Hall studios. They are offices and pracatice rooms for the Percussion Dept of the Music school. They are all much the same as they were except that the windows are mostly covered with plywood. You really need to go down and document it on videotape. I think I did tape of it but now I am not too sure. I have to check it out. Looking at the color picture of Thomas Hall, it really is more beautiful than I had even remembered it. It would be a crime to tear it down.
From Gerry Wilkinson....On April 3, 1998, a group of ten from the WRTI "Old Gang" revisited the basement of Thomas Hall and gained access to our old studios. We uploaded many, many photos.
Here are the thoughts of Gerry Wilkinson about Thomas Hall. It's just a memory now. The stones, mortar, wood and glass that made up the original home of WRTI are gone. Removed to the dump. It's a sad ending to such a glorious and grand structure.
From George Ingram....Here's a letter from George Ingram dated from before the demolishment. It gives the university's side. George was an old WRTIer and at the time he wrote the letter, a Vice-President of Temple.
This photo was taken over 100 years ago. Note on the left side of the photo, attached to the main sanctuary is the ORIGINAL Park Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church which was built in 1873. When the larger main sanctuary was added in 1886, the older structure found use as a chapel. In 1900, the original chapel was demolished, according to one source, because of a structural problem. The new addition was then used for Sunday School classes. Adult study was on both the first and second floor with the children's lessons taught in the basement, the future home of WRTI.
Original structure dating from 1873.
This photo was taken in 1894. The picture has been electronically augmented to give a more real portrait of what the building really looked like.
This photo was taken within months of the building becoming the property of Temple University. It was called Thatcher Hall.
This photo dates from before June of 1947. It was still called Thatcher Hall at that time.
The sketch is from the yearly report from the Conwell School of Theology. It was printed is several issues dating between 1965 to 1969. The actual date of the original sketch is not yet known.
Photo inside the main sanctuary of Thomas Hall in 1968.
This picture is from a 1968 publication of "The Conwell School of Theology."
Freshman Orientation day picture
Cpurtesy of Temple University
This photo, taken in February of 1998 by Gerry Wilkinson, showed the corner of the building at Watts Walkway (formerly Ontario Street) and Norris Street.
This photo, taken in February of 1998 by Gerry Wilkinson, showed the corner of the building at Park Avenue and Norris Street. It was the same corner as in Photo #1 but from a slightly different location.
This photo, taken on April 3, 1998 by Jerry Klein, showed the building from the Watts Walkway side.
Photo of Thomas Hall (exterior cement stairs' entrance)
This photo, taken in February of 1998 by Gerry Wilkinson, showed the steps that led to the doorway between Studio A and Studio B. This entrance was on the Watts Walkway, about 70 feet south of Norris Street.
Photo of Thomas Hall's original cornerstone from 1886
This photo, taken in February of 1998 by Gerry Wilkinson, showed the structure's original cornerstone. It was located on the Park Avenue side of the building on the corner of Park and Norris Street.
Photo #5 of Thomas Hall (a lighted night shot)
This photo, taken in February of 1998 by Gerry Wilkinson, showed Thomas Hall at night. It was snapped from Broad Street where the old Red Brick Row Houses that contained the Communications and Journalism offices were located in the sixties. The structures have been removed and it was at that time a large, grassy enclosed area. (You could not gain entrance to the "cleared" surface.)
Courtesy of Temple University
This is a series of dozen of pictures taken in 1998 before demolition started.
Dozens of photos showing exactly how and when the building was demolished.
