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Queer spaces to check out in Philadelphia
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IANSlife ( IANS) |
Published on
Thu, Jan 21 2021 13:12 IST |
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New Delhi, Jan 21 : In 1965, four years before the Stonewall Riots in New York ignited the worldwide modern gay rights movement, a group of protesters began an annual July 4th pride march in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
These annual reminders were demonstrations designed to remind the American people that many American citizens were denied the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness promised in the Declaration of Independence. What started at Independence Hall evolved into a civil rights movement and since then, Philadelphia has been a seat of progress and activism for the LGBTQ community.
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Jewelers Row in the 700 block of Sansom Street as a demolition crew makes way for a new condo tower on Jan. 22, 2020. (Emma Lee/WHYY)
Demolition work in Philadelphia dropped by more than half in 2020 cheering preservationists but forecasting a possible slowdown in development projects heading into the New Year.
Records from the city’s Department of Licenses & Inspections said that demo permit requests have fallen 54% from 2019. Although construction activity overall remained relatively strong in 2020 despite the pandemic, many analysts expect that economic blows linked to COVID-19 are taking longer to manifest in the construction trades.
“We typically lag an economic recession by 12 to 18 months,” said Ben Connors, president of General Building Contractors Association. “This is a little bit different, so we do think there’s potentially a slowdown coming.”
By Jason Villemez
PHILADELPHIA The mural on 204 S. 12th Street honoring the legacy of LGBTQ pioneer Gloria Casarez was painted over on Dec. 23. The building and the surrounding complex, which includes the former 12th Street Gym as well as the Henry Minton House (a former home to Black abolitionists) is being demolished to make way for a 31-story residential building.
A coalition of activists from the LGBTQ community, African-American community, and allies and neighbors had been petitioning the developer, Midwood Investment & Development, to save or preserve the mural, but the efforts were unsuccessful. The mural was created in 2015 by artist Michelle Angelina Ortiz and Briana Dawkins of Mural Arts. According to several community sources, no advance notice was given regarding the erasure.