projects
The Roosevelt Charrette
In June 2008, in collaboration with thew School District of the City of Erie and Preservation Pennsylvania, the ECDP co-sponsored a day-long design charrette centered on the rehabilitation of Roosevelt Middle School. Architects worked alongside ECDP board members, school board members, and Erie citizens to generate three possible designs for the rehabilitation of Roosevelt. The designs and the complete charrette report may be viewed here.
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Villa Chapel
West 9th and Plum
www.villachapel.com
PAST
Widely admired for its ornate woodwork and geometrically-patterned stained glass, the Villa Chapel was built a century ago by citizens of Erie for the Sisters of Saint Joseph. Their ecclesiastical compound still includes the original structures: a K-12 school and college, a convent, garden, and shrine. Since the Sisters were not permitted to leave the grounds for family events, many ceremonies and weddings took place in the chapel.
PRESENT
In the 1990’s, with their population aging, the Sisters moved to a single story structure in Millcreek, PA. While the former convent and school were renovated as apartments, the chapel sat idle and unheated. In 2005, news of the chapel’s impending demolition led to the formation of the Save the Villa Chapel committee This group raised funds and made temporary roof repairs to the chapel. Now a part of the ECDP, a 2009 memorandum of understanding was negotiated between all three owners and the ECDP. Fundraising is underway to pay for a study of structure, the market, reuse options and a fundraising program for the chapel.
FUTURE
Reuse ideas include a novel meeting place, a dance space, a film space, concert hall, a yoga and meditation studio, restaurant or a wedding chapel.
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Front Street Stack
100 block of East Front Street
PAST
Originally built in 1917, the coal-fired Penelec Front Street Electrical Generating Station sent steam underground to heat hospitals, City Hall and the library on Perry Square. The temperatures produced kept library patrons in shirtsleeves and prevented snow and ice from building up on State Street. The smoke stack, built in a 1952 expansion of the plant, was designed to withstand the occasional 100 mph winds on the waterfront.
PRESENT
Much of the generating station was demolished in 1991. The oldest building was converted into the Maritime Museum. The 200’ boiler smokestack is one of the bayfront’s few remaining industrial structures.
FUTURE
Many cities have embraced their industrial heritage and benefited from civic pride and historic tourism. Artists like Jonothan Park create light art to showcase these gritty structures. (See British light artist Jonathan Park’s installation in Emscher Park, Duisburg, Ruhr District, Germany.) While the stack itself could become a powerful downtown landmark, the grounds around the base could be developed as a tiny interpretive park documenting the history of Erie’s industrial bayfront. The stack’s 15 foot wide interior may permit the construction of an observation deck. The top of the stack could house a powerful lamp with a beam lit for celebrations that could be visible from a distance of 20 miles.
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