Rescuing Philadelphia’s historic houses of worship

Hour 1

Among Philadelphia’s architectural treasures are the hundreds of places of worship built in the late 19th and early 20th century that were a vital part of a community’s well-being.  But with age and changes in neighborhood demographics many of these magnificent buildings are now in a state of crisis.  Like most large cities, Philadelphia finds itself with a huge inventory of decaying and crumbling sacred places. What happens when a church no longer has a congregation large enough to support it and keep its structure safely maintained?   We talk about the challenges facing Philadelphia’s nearly 1,000 historic religious buildings — nearly a third of which are desperate need of repair.  Our guests include ROBERT JAEGER, president of Partners for Sacred Places, and Philadelphia architect CLIVE COPPING.

Listen to the mp3

Listen:
[audio: 052611_100630.mp3]