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Temple U. Plans $21M Landmark Transformation

PHILADELPHIA-Having saved the 115-year-old Baptist Temple from near collapse, the university taps Hillier to convert its interior shell into a multi-purpose event center.

By Marita Thomas | Updated on November 27, 2006

PHILADELPHIA-Temple University has hired Hillier Architecture to transform the historic Baptist Temple, one of the earliest and oldest buildings on its campus, into a performance and event venue. The new asset will house the school’s Boyer College of Music and Dance. The hard construction cost for what will become Baptist Temple Event Center is estimated at $20.9 million.

Temple’s founder, the Rev. Russell Conwell, commissioned construction of the 36,000-sf Romanesque revival structure in 1889 for his Grace Church congregation. He named the university after the temple, which was completed in 1891. It remained in operation until 1974 when the congregation relocated to Blue Bell, PA and, according to published reports, sold the building to the university for $550,000. It lay vacant, suffering severe deterioration, for nearly 30 years.

It is a registered historic building, which Temple initially planned to demolish substantially while keeping some elements intact. However, the historic commission denied its demolition plan, and a new president, David Adamany, pushed to have the structure redeveloped. Jim Garrison, an associate principal of locally based Hillier and head of this project, tells GlobeSt.com that Temple invested approximately $4 million to shore up the structure, “which was in danger of collapse. It’s now stable and the work was done to a high standard.”

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