Recently residents gathered in the Community Room to celebrate with cake and fellowship and stories.
Long-time residents, a few who have lived here almost from the very beginning, shared their experiences and memories. Everyone talked about how we all love it here and what a fabulous place it is to call home. Around Philadelphia these buildings are known for a sense of community where people are so friendly in the elevators and around the grounds.
The Society Hill Towers are 3 residential condominium buildings located on the east side of Philadelphia near the Delaware River at Penn’s Landing. Each of the 3 buildings has 31 floors, with units characterized by floor to ceiling windows and gorgeous views in every direction.
Construction started in 1963 as part of the historic renovation of Society Hill and there was an official dedication held in the fall of 1964. At the time, the Society Hill neighborhood was very run down, with many vacant crumbling townhouses and outdated infrastructure. Suburbs were growing and the downtowns of many cities across America were experiencing decline. No one wanted to live near polluted rivers and industry.
However, many people began to recognize that the architectural gems from Philadelphia’s bustling colonial and American revolutionary past were being left to go to ruin and should be saved. So the “redevelopment era of Society Hill” was born. People could buy the “vacant shells”, as they were called, at rock bottom prices and low interest federal government loans (similar to FHA loans of today) were made available to finance the projects.
The Towers, as they are euphemistically called, were originally conceived as rental units. The idea was to give those enterprising young artists, engineers and other professionals, who were buying the townhouses in the redevelopment program, somewhere nearby to live while working on their homes. Over the years, many residents rented without buying a house in the neighborhood to restore.
I am not sure of the year, but have an early childhood memory of going to an open house when the Towers were still under construction. Our Dad was a civil engineer at the then RCA plant (now Lockheed) in Moorestown NJ. Our parents bought their first Society Hill townhome to restore in 1965 and since we were living in NJ, they ultimately had no interest in purchasing in the Towers. Several years later, our family did move into that first one after construction and rehab was done.
(I believe that some of those early memories spawned my interested in real estate, because my siblings don’t really have some of those same recollections. But that is another story.)
At the 60th celebration, a few of the early residents and board members, shared memories of when, in 1980, the Towers converted to a condominium, as it remains today. Others shared memories of combining the small units, originally designed as rentals, as they became available. Today, the Towers is known as a luxury building with many amenities to be enjoyed.
Residents are very proud to live here, proud that the Towers established the first PAC (Political Action Committee) in America to support condo owners rights, and proud to live in what is called the most historic square mile in all of America.
Residents of the Towers are also very proud of our famous “rock-star” architect I.M. Pei (1917-2019). He visited for the Towers for a 40th celebration in 2004. This quote is taken from page 1-2 of a document prepared in honor of the occasion:
“I.M. Pei was born on April 26, 1917, in Canton (now Guangzhou) in Southern China.
His family also spent much time at their ancestral home in Suzhou, a city in the Yangzi River basin near Shanghai that is famous for its beautiful gardens and canals.
The Pei family always returned to Suzhou for vacations and festivals. Many other
members of the Pei extended family also had homes there, and they all made pilgrimages to
the shrine for their ancestors in the nearby hills. The Pei family garden in Suzhou,
called the "Garden of the Lion Forest," is on a site where a monk had built a temple to
honor his late master during the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368). Pei's granduncle eventual-
ly owned the site and restored the grounds and buildings.
Typical of gardens in Suzhou, this 2-acre site appears to be much larger because of the
careful design of the low buildings and gardens. It has ponds that represent lakes, and
large volcanic rocks that were hammered and chiseled and eroded in water to repre-
sent mountains. Doors and windows "frame" the "pictures" of nature that evoke large
natural landscapes. As a young man, I. M. Pei spent long hours in the garden with his
young relatives, as the family hired a tutor to educate them during their vacations.
The complex design of "Lion Forest" and other Suzhou gardens, and the way these gardens
handle light and shadow and natural forms, had a lasting influence on the future architect.”
I.M. Pei went on to design many other famous international projects including:
· Lourve Pyramid in Paris
· East Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.
· John F. Kenedy Library, I Boston, MA.
· Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong
· Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar.
In addition, Pei also designed the townhouses at the base of the Society Hill Towers and the Bingham Court Townhouses at 3rd & Spruce in Society Hill, Philadelphia
To learn more about the Towers:
Herman Baron et al, (2004, May), (revised 2024, Dec 16)
“I.M. Pei and Society Hill: A 40th Anniversary Celebration”, IM-PEI-SocietyHill.pdf
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-g-tyn9KNPsHV8yHmn-Ii88ztqScjp9e/view
Photographs by Bonnie Halda [email protected]
