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Sacred Places / Civic Spaces
  • Home
  • About
    • Background
    • Partners & Collaborators
    • Precedents
    • Resources
  • The Sites
    • Building Blocks
    • Community Cornerstone
    • Corridor Connections
  • Design Challenge
    • The Teams
    • The Process
    • The Results
    • Final Publication
  • Media
  • Community Design Collaborative
  • Partners for Sacred Places

Arch Street Presbyterian Church St. David's Chapel Restoration & Reuse

Philadelphia PA | 2017 | Completed

Consultant Team:
Mark B. Thompson Associates LLC. | Design and Planning

At the outset of the new millennia, Arch Street Presbyterian Church entered into development discussions with the Comcast Corporation about Comcast’s desire to create a new tower immediately to the east of the church. These discussions led to a development project in which Comcast converted the church’s service access entrance on Cuthbert Street into a pedestrian walkway.  As time passed and the second Comcast Tower was constructed, Arch Street Presbyterian’s 1855 building is now nestled between Comcast’s ‘town square’ and ‘winter garden’, presenting a significant opportunity for the church to reintroduce itself to a new population and re-engage with Philadelphia. With it’s historic entrance on Arch Street the Church would essentially have to be turned completely around to take full advantage of the new circumstances.  The change was masterfully accomplished by Mark B. Thompson Associates Constructing a new entrance with three welcoming doors on the Cuthbert Walkway leading into its sanctuary entrance and new community activity space. Now positioned on an active and sunlit entrance plaza, Arch Street Presbyterian Church has both retained its valued fabric and given new vitality to its fast-growing congregation.

Photo credit: Mark B.Thompson Associates LLC

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