Philebrity Cribs Update: Anonymous Asshole Says, “Whatever, I’m Tearing This Shit Down,” Finds Comfort From Other Anonymous Assholes
Remember when we told you about La Ronda, that awesome (and possibly of historic value) Spanish-style manse out in Bryn Mawr, which some anonymous jerkface wanted to raze to the ground? Welp, it looks like ol’ Moneybags McPlateO’Dicks is getting his way. But what of the protests? The historical concerns? Future generations? Whatever. In Bryn Mawr, new money talks and all that other civic-minded bullshit walks. Enter the apologists via that robust center of high-minded debate, the Action News comments section:
I saw this report yesterday on the news and saw those extremely LAME “residents” holding the signs of “Save LaRonda”….At first I thought Who is LaRonda…you know thinking that it was some kid who got turned down at the swim club and that Tyler Perry was going to wisk her away on down to Disney World to save the day.Then,when I came to my senses,that’s when I realized that it was about some behemoth property in the middle of wealth.Well,boohoo!!
Oh, I see what you did there: You made it like La Ronda had something to do with #racistpool. That’s pretty good. But I just keyed your car in the parking lot of Food Source. So there’s that.
Read about more Philebrity Cribs here.
September 2nd, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Some things just can’t be saved, sadly.
http://www.serianni.com/wh0.htm
September 2nd, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Whatever winds up being built there can’t even begin to match what’s been destroyed. You really can’t muster this level of craftsmanship and materials together today at any price. It’s just impossible.
Humiliating.
September 2nd, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Philebrity. Always on the side of NEVER CHANGE ANYTHING ANYWHERE.
The 50 well-heeled patrons of the arts or whatever at the protest could have each canceled their Golf Club membership for a year and bought the damn thing outright. But none of them did because they know as well as anyone that the reason this is being torn down is that a giant un-airconditioned, no-place-to-hang-a-flat-screen house in Bryn-fucking-Mawr is no place anyone wants to live.
September 2nd, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Aw, Webkist, you just know that isn’t true. What about the Reading Viaduct, for starters?
September 2nd, 2009 at 2:47 pm
@lord_whimsy…actually, that’s a common misconception. Do not confuse new mansions being built on the Main Line with McMansions being erected on every available plot of farmland in the tri-state area. Ultra-top-of-the-line homes contain materials and craftmanship to rival that of any era and include features undreamt of by the Montogomery-Scotts.
http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2005/03/21/story8.html
September 2nd, 2009 at 2:49 pm
I believe the owner of the property has a right to do with it as he pleases, however, I am extremely saddened that anyone blessed enough to own such a treasure would be so ignorant as to demolish it.
I can picture the replacement now: faux-divided light windows, applied stone, gable ends within gable ends, a chimney construct with a window punched through it. Very sad.
September 2nd, 2009 at 2:54 pm
tips: fair enough.
September 2nd, 2009 at 2:58 pm
@Chuck63
As exquisite as the interior of Glencoe appears to be, it still doesn’t look too different from a McMansion on the outside: http://glencoeestate.com/
September 2nd, 2009 at 3:01 pm
Actually somebody HAS offered to buy it, and also will pony up the cash to move it to the lot next door. Negotiations were progressing, but now it’s come out that the former owner refuses to give up the salvage rights, so the deal is dead in the water. AND said former owner is piously stating that he wants to donate many of the architectural elements to the PMA, where they can be “preserved for future generations.” Because, obviously, selling the house to someone who will see it placed on the historical register wouldn’t do that. And it’s always so much more historically and aesthetically edifying to view artifacts out of context. The Elgin Marbles would SUCK ASS if they were returned to Greece, right?
September 2nd, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Chuck63:
There are exceptions, yes, but they only prove the rule. Exquisite craftmanship/materials and aesthetic sensitivity are an exceedingly rare combination, and aren’t something I see coming together in Glencoe, sadly. Despite its expense and level of workmanship, it lacks art: it looks like a second-rate imitation of a historical manse. It’s better to live in a modernist-style house with contemporary materials.
La Ronda was the real thing, built at a time when such houses were deemed contemporary. It’s a historical treasure, and that’s why some people are upset.
This class issue people bring up is a cliché, and a red herring. By this rationale we should rip down all the castles in Europe, along with the cathedrals. Stupid argument.
Yeah–not everything lasts forever. But this city is unique in its wealth of historical architecture. People come from all over the country to see it. It’s part of what makes Philly special, and we’re diminished when something like this is destroyed.
September 2nd, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Nyeah, Spanish-poser highsociety private residence. Knock it down. Put a 100 Brazilian carpenters’/plumbers’/electricians’ kids through Temple by building the new place. Just stay the hell out of the city proper. Sure, go to food source, browse the land-rovers-r-us, whatever. Next guy, do the same thing, and the next.
September 2nd, 2009 at 4:15 pm
lord-whimsy:
I’m with you all the way, I was just saying that there is a difference between what gets built on the Main Line and what gets built in Medford or Montgomeryville.
As for housing, I’m a Richard Neutra-kinda-guy myself.
September 2nd, 2009 at 5:06 pm
Despicable. I’ve watched over the last year as the city demolished the entire block across from the Academy to make way for the Convention Center. It is impossible to re-create buildings like this today. Heartbreaking.