Things I’ve Learned From the Free Library of Philadelphia Art Department’s Archival Research Collection
There was a huge fire in the primate house of the Philadelphia Zoo on Christmas Eve of 1995. Twenty-three primates, including a prized family of gorillas, died of smoke inhalation. At the time the tragedy was considered the worst zoo accident in US history, though I’m not sure if that remains true today. The Adelphia Building, where my friend once lived, used to be a hotel. Philadelphia’s Art Commission is or was notorious for rejecting pretty much every proposed work of public art. At some point in time there were things called the Transitrons somewhere on Chestnut Street. They looked like futuristic traffic lights and I don't know what purpose they served. Apparently when I originally wrote this I had found a folder about them but the folder did not contain a lot of information. There is a tradition in the construction industry of attaching an American flag and an evergreen tree onto the final beam of a building. The Sameric Theater was saved. That's all I wrote at the time a