Will the Hickman Raze Its Own Historic Buildings?

Thanks to a Daily Local News story published on March 3rd, local residents now know about a building proposal of the Hickman, the well-known senior living community surrounded by shade trees in the borough’s “Quaker Block.”

The project calls for the complete razing of two buildings built within a few years of the Hickman’s founding in 1890. It was established by two female Friends, one name Hall and the other, Sharpless, hence the structure became known as the Sharpless-Hall Building after they were connected together.

Today, the 1890s brick structure stands at the corner of N. Walnut and Marshall partly encased in siding but otherwise is  an elegant reminder, with its two-story porches, and underground tunnel, that a Quaker community once thrived here. In fact, officials seemed to have overlooked the Great Depression when they built an adjacent Colonial Revival building in 1935, now leased by the Hickman from the nearby Friends Meeting. 

The Hickman plans to dismiss this history by razing its1890s buildings to make way for a new facility that could be at least four-stories high.   As the Daily Local reporter put it, it will be “complete with an underground parking facility,” and its actual height will depend on “the setback they are required to leave. “

 Perhaps residents can look to the massive Mary Taylor House to envision the quality and scale of the proposed Hickman building at N. Walnut and Marshall.  That building,  built only a few years ago -  complete  with an above street passage  locals now mock as  the “Bridge of Sighs” –  called for the demolishment of a former homeopathic hospital (Paoli Hospital’s origins) converted from a Victorian mansion. (I wonder how long it will take before people forget that West Chester once had two hospitals. )

 My first thoughts: Will the Hickman join in the annals of borough history as the first Quaker organization that destroys its own cultural  legacy?

Will the Hickman be like the borough of 1966 and raze an important example of early Quaker culture? 

The borough razed the East Chestnut Street Meeting solely to meet a perceived public need – to create another municipal parking lot.  How is that different from the Hickman’s plans to raze a structure  - one that dates to a time when West Chester was nearly 90 percent Quaker –  reportedly to meet a need for a modern facility (ironically, one with an Alzheimer’s unit) ?

Judging from the Hickman’s web site, its officials promote the idea that they are dedicated to a continued tradition of community goodwill and charity established by their Quaker founders.  Yet, with no real public input, no claim that other options were considered, the Hickman hired an architect to draw up extensive plans. These plans were then shown to the handful of residents who attended a recent borough meeting.  

It seems reasonable that we can judge the proposed project as depicted in these full-scale  architectural plans.  The plans may not be set in the proverbial stone – indeed Hickman officials used the  term “sketches” at the meeting – but even so, it’s clear that the entire project hinges on the Hickman’s ability to ignore complex   zoning restrictions and to built what they consider to be an economic gain for them  - a new modern complex made of vinyl siding and composite brick that will capitalize on current healthcare trends.

It is also clear, from the architectural plan that the Hickman wants to disregard any notion that the c. 1890s building might be restored and adapted, as public spaces,  so that one can sit on the front porch and use the rooms, perhaps as a library or lobby, just as residents did a hundred years ago.  The plan makes it clear that  Hickman officials have shockingly little imagination . They have given no thought to preserving their founding buildings as a historic tribute and as a rare example of 19th century  civic architecture, built by Quakers, specifically for working class and indigent women.

 Catherine Quillman