Funeral for a Home

Temple Contemporary celebrated the life of a single row home before it was razed. The chosen home, 3711 Melon Street, in the Mantua neighborhood of Philadelphia, was one out of 500 slated to be torn down in Philadelphia in 2014. In May 2014, the home received a "funeral" to mark its passing: a free public event that included a procession of local residents and clergy, youth orchestra and gospel choir performances, and a remembrance service at which neighbors and family members of the home's residents paid their respects. The Funeral for a Home project served as a direct response to years of widespread demolition in sections of Philadelphia, in an effort to generate critical thinking, discussion, and action around issues of housing redevelopment and preservation. Project staff collected personal stories about the home and transformed them into archived public art and history in related events and a culminating limited-edition art book full of archival material, essays, and ephemera. As a result, participants became co-authors and lay historians in the preservation of Philadelphia's history.