Philadelphia's Society Hill is widely regarded as one of the most innovative
and successful urban renewal legacies of the postwar years. At this event,
William Whitaker, Curator of the University of Pennsylvania's Architectural
Archives, speaks about the "surgical" nature of Ed Bacon's plan, and the
remarkable architectural examples situated therein by designers
Mitchell/Giurgola, Adolf DeRoy Mark, John Bower, B/JC Knowles, and IM Pei,
among others--several of which we will tour the interiors of. The tour will
begin at the northwest corner of 5th and Market Street's and will include
stops by buildings and landscapes surrounding Independence Mall as well as
numerous residential works in the Society Hill neighborhood. The tour will
conclude with drinks on the Stratus Rooftop Lounge at the Hotel Monaco (cash
bar). Participants should expect to walk for an hour and a half on level
ground.