It's hard to imagine a game cooler that pool. Everyone from Tom Cruise to the Rat Pack have famously chalked up. But for a sport known for scotch, suits and smoke, Philadelphia's billiard halls instead attract the young college set to brightly lit amusement centers or back-room, quarter-vended tables. A
new project from architecture/interior design firm
DAS Architects looks to bring billiards center stage, giving the game's classic cool the home it deserves.
On Friday, the
Philadelphia Historical Commission approved a proposal from Philly developer Paul Giegerich to redesign the former Beneficial Bank building at 1200 Chestnut Street into an upscale billiard hall. The project would feature a circular, second-floor bar overlooking the action below, board rooms transformed into banquet spaces and a rooftop lounge with a retractable glass roof. The proposal goes before the Center City zoning board this week, trying to sink the 8-ball on this high-concept development.
"A lot of vagrants have used the porch as a place to hang out," says DAS principal David Schultz of the long-vacant building. "Everybody is, I think, excited that there is going to be a positive use for the building, that we are bringing life back to the building and will help improve the neighborhood."
1200 Chestnut is a historic space, designed in 1916 by famous Philadelphia Museum of Art architect Horace Trumbauer, so architects are limited in their alterations. DAS will add LED light fixtures and green roof elements like reflective roof tiles for the outdoor lounge, but hope to bring understated design elements from its last bank building renovation,
Union Trust steakhouse, to the stately design of Trumbauer, an achievement Schultz says he wouldn't change if he could.
"One of the benefits of this space is that it doesn't require any meaningful changes," says Schultz. "We will beautify the existing space while maintaining its architectural elegance."
Source: David Schultz, DAS Architects
Writer: John Steele