Starr Herr-Cardillo

freelance journalist and historic preservationist based in Philadelphia

Hidden City Philadelphia •

Digging Deep

Editor’s Note: A version of this story was published in the Spring 2022 issue of Extant, a publication of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia. When archeologists began excavating at 6th and Market Streets in 2007, they weren’t certain they would even find any remnants of the 1767 house where George and Martha Washington famously once lived. It was likely, they believed, that any substantial physical evidence of the President’s House had been obliterated by development in the 19th
Hidden City Philadelphia •

A Prison Reformed: Eastern State Penitentiary Confronts Injustice

Editor’s Note: A version of this story was published in the Winter 2022 issue of Extant, a publication of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia. I love taking visitors to Eastern State Penitentiary, in part because it is a great historic place to see in Philadelphia (something people expect when visiting me, a historic preservationist), but also because it is such a reliably satisfying experience. It starts with a little chuckle when they hit “play” on their audio tour headset and

A city initiative and a State Senate bill show promise for retrofitting homes, but not without big challenges – Grid Magazine

Philadelphia’s built environment is responsible for about 70% of its carbon footprint, making it a key sector to tackle in order to meet climate goals. Building new, efficient buildings is part of the solution, but experts say there’s a practical need to work with buildings that already exist, a large percentage of which are individual homes. “Housing is an enormously intersectional issue,” says Rabbi Julie Greenberg of POWER Interfaith,

A city initiative and a State Senate bill show promise for retrofitting homes, but not without big challenges

Philadelphia’s built environment is responsible for about 70% of its carbon footprint, making it a key sector to tackle in order to meet climate goals. Building new, efficient buildings is part of the solution, but experts say there’s a practical need to work with buildings that already exist, a large percentage of which are individual homes. “Housing is an enormously intersectional issue,” says Rabbi Julie Greenberg of POWER Interfaith, which she describes as a “multi-faith, multi-racial organ
Hidden City Philadelphia •

The Ordinary Extraordinary: Making History Tangible at the Colored Girls Museum

Editor’s Note: A version of this story was published in the Winter 2021 issue of Extant, a publication of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia. In her long history, the 130-year old Victorian twin at 4613 Newhall Street in Germantown has taken on a variety of roles. A home through most of her history, she is now both home and museum, a museum of living history, containing a shifting assortment of objects, mementos and artworks belonging to and created by “ordinary colored girls.”
WHYY •

The burial ground of Marian Anderson crowdfunds to preserve Black history

Joyce Mosley has been volunteering at Eden for about six years, primarily helping protect the aging records and books by creating an Excel database. She’s also been deeply researching her family history and suspects she has nearly 100 relatives at Eden, including Celestine Cromwell, the first person interred there. “I’ve actually traced my family back to the 1600s in the Philadelphia area,” Mosley told PlanPhilly. She’s related to Humphry Morrey, the first mayor of Philadelphia, Hiram and Eliza
Hidden City Philadelphia •

Legendary Philly Soul Studio and Brutalist Icon Go Before Designation Committee

Two cultural heavy-hitters—Sigma Sound Studios, the birthplace of Philadelphia soul, and the Brutalist icon International House—are on the agenda for this month’s meeting of the Philadelphia Historical Commission’s Committee on Historic Designation. The public meeting will be held virtually at 9:30AM on Wednesday, August 19th and is streamable via Zoom. See instructions on how to attend the meeting HERE. Sigma Sound Studios was founded in 1968 by Joseph Tarsia and played a key role in launching
Hidden City Philadelphia •

Mt. Airy Couple Seeks to Create Community Space “For Us, By Us” in Philadelphia Sun Building

Antoine and Samantha Joseph are crowdsourcing funds to renovate the former Philadelphia Sunday Sun building in Mt. Airy. The couple, who have been married for six years, owns a house around the corner. They have watched the steady rise in profit-driven real estate development–much of it initiated by private developers from outside of the community and Philadelphia looking to cash in quick–that has been carving up the neighborhood with new construction.
WHYY •

Opinion: How one of Philly's richest neighborhoods is gaming the system

This Thursday, City Council will vote on a zoning proposal for Society Hill designed to restrict development and exclude new residents in the name of preservation. As a preservationist both familiar with Philadelphia’s architectural history and who believes in the field’s ability to do good, this bill is bad, NIMBY-driven policy that hinges on a misrepresentation of the area’s past. Catering to wealthy residents of Philadelphia’s most storied unofficial gated community, the measures outlined in
Hidden City Philadelphia •

Attention to Detail: From Ironwork to Neon Signs, Historic Building Crafts Are Thriving in 21st Century Philadelphia

Editor’s Note: A version of this story was published in the Spring 2020 issue of Extant, a publication of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia. The beauty of historic architecture lies not just in a building’s forms and spatial configurations, but also in material details. Artisans’ skilled hands have shaped and enriched Philadelphia’s built environment...
Hidden City Philadelphia •

Finding Adolf DeRoy Mark & His Adobe in the Sky

Architect Adolf DeRoy Mark’s incongruous “adobe” penthouse sits perched atop the southern end of the Touraine, an historic hotel that’s recently been renovated into luxury apartments at 1520 Spruce Street. You can catch a good view of it looking northwest from Hicks and Pine Streets. The flat-roofed structure seems to have just dropped from the sky, its exaggerated chimney, a Mark trademark, projecting dramatically against the backdrop of the Center City skyline.
Load More Articles