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PHILAPHILIA: Vacant lot of the week - George W. Childs Lot
For 42 years, this shitty lot has reigned supreme over what should be an awesome intersection. It becomes even worse when you find out what used to be there: a cool-ass historic mansion owned by one of the biggest-balled motherfuckers in Philadelphia history.
PHILAPHILIA: Vacant lot of the week — George W. Childs Lot
A weekly series of foulmouthed investigations into empty lots, dead-ass proposals and other development and design phenomena in Phlladelphia. Find more stories like this at philaphilia.blogspot.com.
Goddammit!
Southeast Corner of 22nd and Walnut. This lot is pitiful. This part of town has no damn excuse to have an empty hole like this at such a high-traffic corner. For 42 years, this shitty lot has reigned supreme over what should be an awesome intersection. It becomes even worse when you find out what used to be there: a cool-ass historic mansion owned by one of the biggest-balled motherfuckers in all Philadelphia history.
The story of this lot begins with Philaphile and Generalized Badass George W. Childs. This guy was born in poverty in Baltimore in 1829 and stopped at nothing to become a Master of the (Philadelphia) Universe. He got his first job when he was 12 and joined the U.S. Navy at 13 (!!!). At 14, he came to Philadelphia, worked for a book shop and was trusted with buying new books from auctions. Now just think about how lazy and entertainment-distracted today's useless teenagers are.
While they obsess about tweeting and posting kissy-face photos on Facebook, this guy was actually accomplishing shit. By the time he was 18, he was running his own publishing firm from an office in the old Public Ledger building. Ironically, a guy who never went to high school published the best-selling high school science textbook of the period.
Anthony Drexel and Jude Law... I mean George Childs.
By age 35, he OWNED the Public Ledger (along with his manz pots an' panz Anthony Drexel) and turned it into one of this biggest papers in America. It was about this time that Childs decided he needed to build a kick-ass mansion for himself. In the mid 1800s, the area by 22nd and Walnut was completely undeveloped. Then, all at once, buildings started going up there all over the place. The beautiful Church of St. James and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's second location popped up overnight. Captains of Industry and old-time trustafarian families started building stately homes in the area. The neighborhood was so nice that even the Schuylkill waterfront nearby, everywhere else an industrial mess, had multiple high-end marbleworks that served all the fancy construction that was going on.
The rich-ass George Childs wasn't going to let those other rich assholes have nicer houses than him, so he got John MacArthur Jr., the crazy motherfucker that would later design City Hall, to create a humongous mansion at 2128 Walnut St. that would be the most badass house in the 'hood.
The oldest picture of it is from 1892, all boarded up. Childs moved to the country by this point. From Phillyhistory.org, a project of the Philadelphia Department of Public Records.
Apparently having one of the coolest houses in town and running the biggest paper in the country wasn't enough for him. He and his pal Anthony did a few more little things, like starting a school called the Drexel Institute and putting together a plan for a residential area for rich folks outside the city that they would name after the train that went there ... the Main Line. I wonder how all that stuff all turned out?
The mansion was so kick-ass that parties for politicians, famous war heroes and foreign dignitaries were held there. McArthur would go on to design Childs' new Public Ledger Building and his country estate out in that little Main Line he created. When Publisher Real Estate Mogul University Founder Philanthropist George W. Childs died in 1894, J.P motherfucking Morgan was one of the pallbearers at his 1,500-mourner funeral, which completely covered the corner of 22nd and Walnut between the Church of St. James and the Childs Mansion.
After that, things started going badly for the big-ass house. A slew of different owners rented out space inside to various companies and organizations. At some point, an addition was thrown on. Notable tentants/owners were the Bachelors Club of Philadelphia, the Hedgerow School, and WPEN Radio.
The Childs Mansion (with addition) in 1933.
In 1970, the building was unceremoniously torn down and the George W. Childs Mansion became the George W. Childs Empty Lot. Ever since, this surface parking lot has sat undeveloped, mocking everyone who passes by. This lot sorely needs to be developed into ... well, anything! A crappy one-story strip mall would be better than a 42-year-old empty lot. The next time you walk or drive by this empty mess, make sure to pay homage to George W. Childs, Badass of Philadelphia.
The Childs Mansion going down in 1970, to create...
...this ugly-ass empty lot. Pics from Phillyhistory.org, a project of the Philadelphia Department of Public Records.
My full name is George William Childs McCarter, and I am researching the life of Mr. Childs. I am delighted to find my namesake described as "one of the biggest-balled motherfuckers in all Philadelphia history." Thanks for the useful information on this page.
— billmccarter
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