I.M. Pei's Society Hill Towers at 60: The Legacy of Urban Renewal

The Society Hill Towers are marking their 60th anniversary as a neighborhood landmark, with three 31-story Modernist concrete towers rising over low-rise colonial Society Hill. This talk will trace the evolution of Society Hill, from the early site of the Free Society of Traders, to the mid-20th century site of the Washington Square East Urban Renewal Area and the present day.

In the 1960s, Ed Bacon, the Director of the City Planning Commission, and emerging Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei teamed up to redevelop the aging Dock Street Market. Together, they led the preservation and restoration of colonial-era row houses and added the Society Hill Towers, new row houses, and neighborhood greenways. Pei also drew inspiration from his childhood visits to his family’s ancestral classical gardens in Suzhou, China. Society Hill’s redevelopment transformed the neighborhood, and became a nationwide symbol of how urban renewal could be largely a force for good. Society Hill continues to evolve, with the development of the Park at Penn’s Landing, and plans for the Korean War Memorial park.

Steve Baron is an urbanist who grew up in and currently lives in the Society Hill Towers. He is currently a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Analyst for the City’s Department of Aviation, and a member of the Central Delaware Advocacy Group (CDAG) and Association of Philadelphia Tour Guides (APT). Steve holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Urban Studies from New York University, and a Master’s degree in GIS from Temple University.