EDMUND BACON (1910 - 2005): Sadly, the man more responsible than any other (okay, other than William Penn, whose grid design for Center City has held to this day) for the contemporary look of Philadelphia passed away today at the age of 95. (Obit #2.)
Society Hill, Penn Center, LOVE Park (which he skateboarded in protest in 2002), the replacement of the "Chinese Wall" with JFK Boulevard, the development of the Far Northeast where I grew up . . . all Bacon. "It's almost inconceivable to think of what Philadelphia would be if Society Hill weren't there," Bacon said in a 2004 interview. "I had a long-range view of what I was doing, and I held in total contempt anyone who opposed it."
One has to admire that attitude. Also, he raised a good kid (and five others).
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