The Philadelphia Historical Commission gave the house at 4649 Umbria Street an historic designation on August 14, 2020.
Under threat of demolition, the hard work of RPCA has postponed the building’s removal.
We thank near neighbors, Mary Spross and Bob Malin, for testifying at the meeting today, and we appreciate the efforts of the other neighbors and friends who sent e-mails to the Historical Commission in support of this nomination. Oscar Beisert, our architectural historian, did a wonderful job of writing the nomination. This is a very special accomplishment for our neighborhood, and we hope this is the first of many such nominations.
We are still awaiting confirmation of the newly-designated building’s fate. Philadelphia’s L&I is processing whether or not the developer’s demolition permit application from April is valid. The house was built in the late 1800s and was once a single family home. Preserving our neighborhood’s history is important to us, so we are certainly crossing our fingers.