Philadelphia's Failure to Preserve Sacred Architecture

THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
By Inga Saffron

The interior of the Church of the Assumption has been trashed recently. Last rites may be near.

PENNSYLVANIA---In 2009, the future of the North Philadelphia landmark looked, if not exactly rosy, then quite hopeful. The 19th-century church where the Catholic saint Katharine Drexel was baptized had just earned a place on the commission's selective Historic Register, the strongest safeguard against demolition. An art dealer had expressed interest in purchasing the complex to use as her office. By most accounts, the ornate Gothic interior, with its ribbed arches and stained-glass windows, was still intact. Just three years later, last rites are being said for the Church of the Assumption, the oldest building on the once-elegant Spring Garden Street. [link]