Grassroots campaign under way to ‘Save the Roundhouse’

In Philadelphia, the Roundhouse has always been a square peg.

Officially named the Police Administration Building, the concrete behemoth from the 1960s is one that many Philadelphians love to hate. Now, city planners are sketching out a near future that would wipe it off the map.

The police department is bursting at the seams inside the Roundhouse, and there are plans move to a stately 87-year-old insurance building in another part of town.

There’s no timetable for the move, but fans of the Roundhouse have already started a grassroots campaign to preserve the modernist landmark.

There’s a “Save the Roundhouse” group on Facebook, and the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia has placed the building on its endangered properties list. They say it’s architecturally and historically important.