Category Archives: Historic Preservation

Advocacy, Historic Preservation

All That Philly Jazz Joins Coalition to Protect Section 106

The National Historic Preservation Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on October 15, 1966. Section 106 of the NHPA requires recipients of federal funding to review whether their actions will have an “adverse effect” on a property eligible for or listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Section 106 review mandates that agencies consult with State Historic Preservation Officers, Tribal Historic Preservation Officers, community organizations, and the public. The goal is to identify potential historic resources, assess adverse effects, and explore ways to avoid or mitigate harm before a project proceeds. Section 106 protection applies to housing, transportation, infrastructure, federal properties, community development, and other projects.

Section 106 review saved from complete demolition Carman Gardens (here and here), a 1920 building that started out as a silent movie house and was later converted into a roller skating rink. Roger Lloyd bought Carman Gardens Roller Skating Rink in the mid-1970s. Under Lloyd’s leadership, the rink became a safe space for North Philadelphia’s Black community. He kept the rink open for 46 years.

I was a Section 106 consulting party for the Philadelphia Housing Authority’s Sharswood/Blumberg Transformation Project. I objected to the proposed demolition of 2125 Ridge Avenue, one of the few extant buildings associated with Philadelphia’s golden age of jazz. 2125 Ridge Avenue was home to the Checker Café, an afterhours jazz club. In the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s, the Checker Café was the place to be and be seen. The State Historic Preservation Officer agreed with me that 2125 Ridge Avenue is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

If 2125 Ridge Avenue had been demolished, we would have lost a building that holds stories of jazz legends like Billie Holiday and Pearl Bailey. We also would have lost the Ridge on the Rise mural painted on the south-facing wall of the Checker Café site.

Section 106 review is under attack by President Trump. The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation has proposed a major rewrite of the regulations governing Section 106 that would narrow the scope of review of federally-funded projects and reduce public participation.

A new coalition of nearly 700 organizations and Tribal Nations, including All That Philly Jazz, is fighting back. We signed an open letter urging Congress to protect and strengthen Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The national coalition is spearheaded by Cultural Heritage Partners. We asked that Congress:

  • Reject the Advisory Council for Historic Preservation’s proposed regulatory gutting of Section 106.
  • Record your opposition during the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs’ review and the public comment period, now underway.
  • Reject statutory changes that weaken Section 106, whether advanced independently or as part of a
    broader permitting package.
  • Defend Congress’s constitutional authority against executive efforts to narrow, circumvent, or evade the preservation laws Congress enacted.
  • Seek genuine improvements to Section 106 based on facts and data to make review more valuable and efficient without trading away the rights, voices, and protections that make the process meaningful.

Read the full letter here.

Advocacy, Cultural Heritage Preservation, Historic Preservation, President Trump

Section 106 Matters

On July 24, President Trump’s bootlickers on the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation voted to gut Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. For six decades, Section 106 has required the federal government to examine whether federally funded, licensed or permitted projects would have an “adverse effect” on properties listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The protection applies to housing, transportation, infrastructure, federal properties, community development, and other projects.

The proposed changes would dismantle public safeguards by:

  • Silencing public and community participation;
  • Weakening consultation with state and local preservation agencies;
  • Limiting consideration of alternatives that could prevent or minimize damage to historic places;
  • Giving federal agencies greater power to approve projects with far less public accountability.

The public review process was written into the law because Americans understood that once a historic building is demolished, a community’s cultural heritage is erased and there is no bringing it back.

Section 106 has never been about stopping progress. It is about ensuring that development does not come at the expense of history, culture, and community voices. It guarantees that the public has a seat at the table before the wrecking ball arrives.

Brent Leggs, President and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, said in a statement:

The ACHP’s proposed changes to Section 106 will eviscerate the preservation of our shared civic and cultural heritage in the United States.

In 2017, I used the Section 106 review process to block the Philadelphia Housing Authority from demolishing 2125 Ridge Avenue, the former location of the Checker Café. The property is one of the few extant buildings from Philadelphia’s golden age of jazz.

The Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office agreed with me that 2125 Ridge Avenue is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. PHA was forced to stabilize the structure.

In the intervening years, PHA has let the building further deteriorate. Even in its dilapidated state, 2125 Ridge Avenue has more character than the cookie-cutter apartment buildings that now line Ridge Avenue from the former location of the Blue Note to the Checker Café.

The Blue Note and Checker Café are stops on the upcoming Neighborhood Jawnts Tour Series: Jazz in North Philly. I will lead the trolley tour the weekend of August 14-16, 2026.

The trolley tour is free and open to the public. Registration is required. To register, go here.

Advocacy, Historic Preservation, President Trump

Trump’s Planned Sculpture Garden Strikes A Discordant Note

President Trump and his sycophants have eliminated diversity, equity and inclusion programs, gutted the Voting Rights Act, undermined public education, attacked Black studies, and erased Black history at National Park Service sites.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth removed the portrait of Daniel “Chappie” James Jr., the nation’s first Black four-star general, from the Air Force Art Gallery. UFC fighter Josh Hokit made a racist comment about Michelle Obama on the White House lawn.

During his recent appearance on The View, Whoopi Goldberg asked Vice President JD Vance: “What did Black people do to this administration that has allowed it to, really, stigmatize folks of color?”

For Black people whose descendants were brought here in the bowels of slave ships, our cardinal sin is in our skin.

Black historical figures, who fought for everything that Trump is dismantling, are included in his proposed “National Garden of American Heroes.” Trump’s garden would feature statues of notable Americans, including Muhummad Ali, Crispus Attucks, Frederick Douglass, Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Rosa Parks, Jackie Robinson, Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Phillis Wheatley.

Earlier this month, a coalition of advocacy, conservation and historical preservation organizations, including the National Parks Conservation Association, DC Preservation League and the Committee of 100 on the Federal City, filed a lawsuit to halt the project. The Washington Post reported:

A coalition of Washington-area preservation and cultural heritage organizations on Monday sued the Trump administration over President Donald Trump’s plan to remake national parkland with a massive statuary garden.

The groups said that Trump’s planned “National Garden of American Heroes” — which the president has said would feature life-size statues of roughly 250 Americans and be built in West Potomac Park — must be halted until Congress authorizes the project.

[…]

“Congress put clear laws in place to safeguard the National Mall from new construction and to ensure the public has a meaningful voice in decisions about landscapes that belong to them, as space open to all,” Tiernan Sittenfeld, president and CEO for the National Parks Conservation Association, said in a statement.

The sculpture park would also feature nine Black musicians.

Aretha Franklin sang at Barack Obama’s first inauguration.

There “ain’t no way” Aretha would want to be included in Trump’s vanity project. The Queen of Soul “would rather drink muddy water, sleep out in a hollow log.”

Like Aretha, Ray Charles supported the Civil Rights Movement. In a tribute to Brother Ray at the White House, then-President Barack Obama said:

Now, in those days, Black musicians were expected to play in the Jim Crow South. But in 1961 – the year I was born – Ray refused to play for a segregated audience in Augusta, Georgia. He was sued for breach of contract, but he continued boycotting segregated venues and became an active supporter of the Civil Rights Movement.

The Genuis of Soul didn’t suffer fools. Ray Charles would tell Trump to “hit the road Jack.”

Advocacy, Cultural Heritage, Cultural Heritage Preservation, Historic Preservation

Black Music Month 2026

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Established in 1979, Black Music Month celebrates the profound impact and global influence of African American musicians, songwriters, and producers on the cultural fabric of the world. It is also a celebration of the places that hold their stories.

Philadelphia’s Uptown Theater was one of the premier music venues in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s. It was a stop on the “Chitlin’ Circuit,” the network of performance spaces that provided opportunities for African American entertainers during the Jim Crow era. Opened on February 16, 1929, the 2,040-seat Art Deco theater began life as a movie palace.

During its heyday, the Uptown rivaled Harlem’s Apollo Theater as the place to hear good music on the East Coast. Jazz legends who graced the Uptown stage included Miles Davis, Count Basie, Sarah Vaughan, Gloria Lynne, Cannonball Adderley, Nancy Wilson, Ramsey Lewis, Oscar Brown Jr., Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, and Jimmy Smith.

The Uptown was where jazz, blues, rhythm & blues, and soul music met.

In 1958, legendary disc jockey and civil rights activist Georgie Woods, “The Man with the Goods,” began producing shows at the Uptown with future legends, including Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Wilson Pickett, Smokey Robinson, Jackson 5, Patti LaBelle and Gladys Knight.

The final curtain was in 1978. The Uptown Entertainment & Development Corporation (UEDC) is breathing life into the historic landmark. In commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, UEDC will take us on a trip down memory lane.

Join UEDC for a journey through music, culture, and North Philadelphia history. Explore a pop-up museum featuring artifacts and stories from those who experienced the Uptown firsthand. Highlights include a drone virtual theater tour, film screenings, songwriting and recording workshops, and a mini-concert.

The event is open to the public but reservations are required. To RSVP, go here.

Advocacy, Hercules Posey, Historic Preservation, The President's House

Preservation Month 2026

May is Preservation Month, an annual celebration dedicated to promoting the importance of preserving historic places and cultural heritage. This year’s theme, “all people are created equal,” focuses on places that tell the full American story.

As the nation marks 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, preservation demands urgency, honesty, and accountability. The words “all people are created equal” did not include Black people. The built environment carries the evidence of that contradiction.

At its core, historic preservation is about storytelling. At my upcoming walking tour, Hercules Posey’s Philadelphia, we will visit historic landmarks to tell the story of President George Washington’s enslaved chief cook. Places like Independence Hall, Congress Hall, Old City Hall and Christ Church.

We will stop at sites that hold Hercules’ story. Sites such as Ricketts Circus and the High Street Market. We will also stroll down the 100 block of Black Horse Alley which was added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places’ Historic Street Paving Thematic District in 1998. Some of the granite blocks date back to Hercules’ time in Philadelphia.

Walking in Hercules Posey’s Footsteps will be held on Saturday, May 16, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. The event is free but reservations are required. To reserve a spot, go here.

Advocacy, Cultural Heritage, Cultural Heritage Preservation, Historic Preservation

The inaugural North Philadelphia History Festival, a celebration of African American and Puerto Rican heritage through art, music, film, history and culture, will be held July 24-27, 2025.

Events and activations will take place throughout North Philly. The festival will feature photo exhibitions, visual installations, film screenings, panel discussions, a walking tour, and live performances curated by scholars, artists, cultural workers and community members, including Diane Turner, PhD, Leslie Willis Lowry, Jacqueline Wiggins, Christopher R. Rogers, PhD, and 1838 Black Metropolis.

All events are free but space is limited. To learn more and RSVP, go here.

Advocacy, Cultural Heritage, Historic Preservation, Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Voices of the Community: Local Black Preservation

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania will unveil a new exhibit, Voices of the Community: Local Preservation in Philadelphia, on June 12, 2025. The exhibit explores the history and preservation of Black communities in Philadelphia and Lawnside, New Jersey. I am one of the community curators, along with Shamele Jordon.

The exhibit focuses on four themes:​

  • ​Black Joy: Development of Lawnside, the only historically African-American incorporated municipality in the Northern United States​
  • Sounds of Freedom, Resistance and Resilience​
  • Fulfilling America’s Promise: Founding of the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History (ASALH)​
  • All Power to the People: Local community efforts to preserve and restore Black Philadelphia

With the “Sounds of Freedom, Resistance and Resilience,” I use archival materials to tell the story of Black music from the 1770s to the 1970s.

Voices of the Community: Local Preservation in Philadelphia will be on view June 12, 2025 to September 26, 2025. To be added to the mailing list for the exhibit opening and my gallery talk, send your name and email address to phillyjazzapp@gmail.com.

Historic Preservation, Moses Williams

May is Preservation Month

Preservation Month is an annual celebration dedicated to promoting the importance of preserving historic places and cultural heritage. This year’s theme is “The Power of Place.”

I kicked off the celebration by walking the streets of Old City, the same streets that master silhouette artist Moses Williams walked.

Moses died on December 18, 1830. If he were to come back from the dead, he would recognize many of the places in his old neighborhood, including:

  • Independence Hall
  • Philosophical Hall
  • Christ Church
  • Christ Church Burial Ground
  • Free Quaker Meeting House
  • Arch Street Meeting House
  • Loxley Court
  • Elfreth’s Alley
  • St. George’s Methodist Church

Moses lived at 10 Sterling Alley (now Orianna Street). Once paved with cobblestones, the granite blocks of Orianna Street were added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places’ Historic Street Paving Thematic District in 1998.

On my upcoming walking tour, “Moses Williams’ Neighborhood,” I will share undertold stories and breathe new life into Old City. The tour will begin at the State House (Independence Hall) and end at Sterling Alley.

The walk and talk will be held on Saturdays in October and November 2025. To be added to the mailing list for updates, send your name and email address to phillyjazzapp@gmail.com.

Advocacy, Cultural Heritage, Historic Preservation, Lee Morgan

West Philly’s Main Street: A Walk Through Time

Join us in October and November for a walking tour of West Philadelphia’s 52nd Street, aka “the Strip,” a historic commercial and cultural corridor. The 52nd Street Stroll will uncover the Strip’s hidden past as an entertainment destination for African Americans.

Points of interest along the Strip include:

  • Nightclub frequented by celebrities such as Muhammad Ali, Cab Calloway, Joe Frazier, Teddy Pendergrass and Stevie Wonder;
  • Restaurant where President Bill Clinton ordered soul food;
  • Historic landmark where then-candidate Barack Obama held a campaign rally;
  • First-ever Walk of Fame memorializing African American artists of stage, screen and television;
  • Jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan’s historical marker;
  • Oldest Black-owned bookstore on the East Coast;
  • Free Library branch designed by a Black architect who was also a jazz club proprietor;
  • Sites featured in the 1972 Blaxploitation film “Trick Baby.”

The 52nd Street Stroll will be led by All That Philly Jazz Director Faye Anderson. The walking tour will begin at Malcolm X Memorial Park (52nd and Pine Streets) and end at the Nixon Theatre (.06 mile).

There will be a bonus stop at the jazz club where John Coltrane met McCoy Tyner.

The 52nd Street Stroll was held on October 5, 2024. Check out West Philly’s Forgotten Main Street: A Walking Tour With All That Philly Jazz.

Historic Preservation, Jazz Landmarks

The Bainbridge Club

The Hotel Brotherhood USA was a benevolent and mutual aid society founded in 1883 by African American hotel workers. A precursor to the labor movement and Civil Rights Movement, the Hotel Brotherhood advocated for equal pay for Black hotel workers and provided members with healthcare, life insurance, and death benefits. The historic union hall moved to its current location in 1906.

A historical marker was unveiled in 2016.

The Bainbridge Club, the social arm of the Hotel Brotherhood, opened in 1924. Membership was open to the public. The Bainbridge Club was jumping during Philadelphia’s golden age of jazz.

The Hotel Brotherhood USA was added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places in August 2023.