Part of the challenge of recognizing sites of more recent cultural significance is that the traditional preservation framework isn’t always well-equipped to recognize sites of modest or low architectural significance, not to mention buildings that don’t meet the standard 50-year age mark, which is where advocacy efforts can step in. Modest architecture, but cultural significance The low-slung, stone-clad circa 1955 restaurant building might have been a good contender for landmark status, but in 2014 it was demolished and replaced with condos. WHYY thanks our sponsors - become a WHYY sponsorĪnother 24-hour Dewey’s diner on the corner of 13th street and Chancellor was also a well-known gathering place for the LGBTQ community, a popular late-night spot in close proximity to the clubs in the Gayborhood. In 2018, a historical marker commemorating the event was installed outside, but the lunch counter is gone forever. It sat beneath an open-deck parking garage, which undoubtedly helped generate support for its demolition, but a broader discussion around its historical significance was never raised by the local preservation community. The beloved diner wasn’t architecturally notable. The event is recognized by historians as a significant precursor to Stonewall, though two years ago when news organizations covered the pending demolition, only LGBTQ publications made the connection. In 1965, at the Dewey’s Lunch Counter Sit-In, protesters stood up to the restaurant’s policy against serving LGBTQ patrons. Just two years ago, a demolition permit was pulled for Little Pete’s Diner, a popular 24-hour spot on 17th Street, which also happens to have been the location of one of the first direct-action protests for LGBTQ rights. While the city has a number of strong connections to LGBTQ history, pairing those stories and events with existing physical buildings can be challenging in a rapidly developing city.
On April 12th, the Philadelphia Historical Commission will vote on whether or not to award landmark status to the Baths, a former Jewish schvitz that turned a blind eye towards gay patrons and became an underground “safe space” for white, gay men as early as the 1930’s.Īn ad for the Camac Turkish Baths printed in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Sunday, March 15th, 1936.Īs we approach the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, there are still no landmarked buildings in Philadelphia recognized explicitly for their association with LGBTQ history. Back when homosexuality was illegal in Philadelphia, the Camac Baths offered a safe place for queer subculture to exist.