News odds and ends

June 3

Bloomberg: casino bonds are biggest losers

CONVENTION CENTER EXPANSION UPDATE
End of the Road for Odd Fellows Temple

The Odd Fellows Temple (above) looks more like a ruined Mayan temple, seen here at the final stage of its demolition on Friday for the Convention Center Expansion. The 10-story building on North Broad and Cherry was erected in 1893 as the Philadelphia HQ of the Odd Fellows, a fraternal organization founded in 18th Century Britain whose members committed to “visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educate the orphan.”  Costing $1 million, the building’s dedication 1895 ceremony drew several thousand spectators. The architects, Hazlehurst & Huckel, also did the Bachelor’s Clubhouse on Boathouse Row, among other major projects.

Odd Fellows in better days

Below, gargoyles have been removed for preservation from the soon to be demolished Race Street Firehouse.

                                                        – Matt Blanchard 

Inquirer Architecture Critic Inga Saffron on Comcast Center