Ok, so this isn’t exactly anything new (I learned). BUT, I’ve lived in Philly my whole life and I always just assumed this church at 22nd and Chestnut streets in Center City was just that…a church.
However, after recording an interview with Na’eem Douglas for his new Brookladelphian podcast series (more on that when it’s out!) inside a very stylish store called Stars & Stripes, we were invited to explore the building and its adjacent structure – the church – which is now a beautiful little office building.
Some quick history: Robert & Jan Chevalier own the property. They own CFI (Corporate Facilities Inc.) as well as Stars & Stripes… They’ve owned the property for 10 years now! Mark B. Thompson was the architect hired to design the renovation in the late 1980s.
The church itself was originally built in 1881 in a Gothic Revival style for the Swedenborgian faith. It was designed by Theophilus Parsons Chandler Jr., the founder of the School of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. It is now protected by the National Register of Historic Places.
All this info, I should mention, was given to me by the AMAZINGLY kind people who work at Stars & Stripes, namely Anne Marie Parente. Thank y’all so much for the tour and all this incredible history about the church!
MORE photos below…
Now if you liked this, you’ll LOVE this Fishtown church reno here!
Streets Dept 
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