Downtown gentrification threatens to displace skilled artisans in a district where workshops go back five generations. Some of the jewelers own their premises, but the rewards for building pricey condos are tempting.
Inga Saffron writes, "Maybe because working factories have virtually vanished from the urban landscape, we rarely think of Philadelphia - never mind Center City - as a place where stuff gets made. Yet, right in the shadow of Washington Square's pricey high-rise condos, dozens of workshops [...] have somehow managed to survive on the upper floors of historic Jewelers' Row."
Philadelphia's Jewelers' Row is one of the last "maker spaces" still operating in a major American downtown. Calling to mind an age of local manufacturing and distribution, the area is ripe for development into luxury housing.
The jewelry business encourages vibrancy and a mix of uses that might disappear once the standard downtown gentrification narrative takes hold. Building owners connected to jewelry face a choice between tradition and profit.
From the article: "If [building owner David Perlman] is tempted to build high-rise apartments there, the city will lose an important makers space. The term still conjures up a room full of hobbyists learning to rewire old lamps, but such small manufacturing-friendly centers are actually crucial to helping cities bring back industrial jobs, says Ilana Preuss, whose company, Recast City, advocates for makers."
Read the full story: Changing Skyline: Jewelers' Row: A space for makers at a crossroads
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