What a fantastic house! I’m swooning here.

Are you going to see it Saturday?

I love the exterior colors (that reindeer is so cute). And I see a few pieces of furniture and a floor lamp I want in the old pics. :D

Thank you for sharing! Sure glad this house was saved.

No, didn't get a ticket & it's sold out. Hoping more pics will come out along w/ more info. Don't know if they are going to live in it or make it an Airbnb.

Philadelphia could learn a lesson from this. The historical commission lets things be demolished all the time. If it's not early 19th c. they barely give a cr_p and even then.

This is a rant, so you can skip it if you want.

A very significant house in Philadelphia (It had built-in pieces by Wharton Esherick and Paul Evans --which, at least, were stripped out) was demolished by two prominent restauranteers.

Their excuse? They had already spent $400,000 on architectural plans for a New House on the property, so it would be a "financial hardship" to save the house.

1) You bought an architecturally significant house by an early female architect, and you were aware of it. (It was sold as such)

2) You spent money on plans for a new house knowing full well there would be efforts to try and save it.

3) You are going to build something expensive and probably quite banal on the site.

Was this literally the only buildable lot or house that could be torn down in the vicinity? No.

You spend the money as Leverage in order to claim "hardship", which is something our local commission falls for all the time.

If you had $400,000 to spend on PLANS, you had the money or probably still have it, to have restored the house.

I am all for the property rights of owners but this was a complete "power move" and a real D_ck move at that. You did it because you have the money to do it and people with money frequently think they can do whatever they want including intentionally destroy something

I will not, and I know a bunch of people who will never again eat in one of their restaurants. Like they care really--but I know people who unsubscribed from all emailing from all of their restaurants and in the "Tell Us why you Unsubscribed" wrote "Because you are a--h---s for tearing down that house."

Pal - what a horror story. But you are so right about Philly's historical commission and the permitting process in general. If we still went to Center City to dine I'd ask for more hints so that I could avoid their places but we only go a few times a year now.

Never mind - found it - and it was a beauty! At least I've never been to any of their places.