Three Chestnut Hill projects reimagine old spaces while keeping history alive

A new way to walk the Wissahickon

The Lida Way Pedestrian Bridge in Wissahickon Valley Park, which opened December 10, 2024, is one example. The 200-foot span was the result of years of work between the Friends of the Wissahickon (FOW) and Chestnut Hill-based firm Krieger + Associates Architects.

Jeff Krieger, president of Krieger + Associates, explained, “We had primary design responsibilities for the stone plaza at the head of the bridge. We shifted from just replacing the collapsed boardwalk, to creating this bridge that actually crossed over Valley Green Run and crossed back again. It’s a completely different visitor experience.”

Pauline Berkowitz, director of capital projects for Friends of the Wissahickon, said, “A storm in 2004 collapsed the streambank and footpath, at which point our volunteer structures crew built a wooden boardwalk. It lasted about a decade, and in 2014 another storm came through and wiped out part of that boardwalk.”

She said the new bridge is a long-term solution to the problem. “The current bridge is not load-bearing on the streambank.” The streambed was restored and the streambank reinforced, built by Resource Restoration Group with design work completed by Skelly and Loy, Inc., who also served as the project’s general contractor. “We shifted the centerline of the stream away from the road and graded it so that with native plantings establishing root systems, it would support the hillside.”

“One of the important things was to be as sustainable as possible,” Krieger said. “We found a decking material—black locust—which is super hard, long-lasting, and patinas to a soft gray color.” Black locust is grown and harvested sustainably in the United States.

The bridge includes features that allow visitors to linger. “We included a viewing platform made of aluminum grating that looks toward Wissahickon Creek. It’s a cantilevered platform that makes you feel a little bit suspended, and yet it connects you back to the water,” Krieger said.

Berkowitz noted the bridge’s strength, which was designed and built by CVMNEXT Construction. “The superstructure of the bridge is galvanized steel. A tree has already fallen on it and there was not a blemish on the handrails,” she said.

The $3.5 million project had broad support. Berkowitz said the name “Lida Way” is a portmanteau of the first names of major donors Linda and David Glickstein.

Expanding Woodmere Art Museum

Across Chestnut Hill, a summer mansion-turned-convent built around 1857 is being reborn as the Frances M. Maguire Hall of the Woodmere art museum. Krieger, working with lead architect Matthew Baird Architects, is helping shepherd the transformation.

“Woodmere will have two different sites,” explained William R. Valerio, director and CEO of Woodmere. “Maguire Hall will be primarily galleries for 20th-century and contemporary art.” Woodmere’s current home, Charles Knox Smith Hall, will continue to host special exhibitions and galleries for 19th century art.

Inside Maguire Hall, the original stone walls and elaborate woodwork remain, while interiors have been recalibrated with partitions removed, accessibility achieved via a new elevator and ramps, and the basement repurposed into a gallery.

A standout feature is a jewelry display in the basement floor. “There was a big hole in the floor and it was going to be filled in,” Krieger explained. “And Bill [Valerio] said, ‘Why don’t we just put a display case in the floor?’ You’ll walk over top and look down through the structural glass and there’ll be a mannequin inside adorned with jewelry. That was a fun and interesting challenge.” Asked how staff will change the display, Krieger replied, “It’s a trade secret!”

“One of the exciting things for us,” Valerio said, “is we’ve built a gallery purposefully shaped to display a series of large-scale murals by Philadelphia artist Violet Oakley. We’ll be able to show them in a gallery that mimics the space she made those murals for. That’s something I’ve always dreamed of being able to do.”

The $20 million project is funded by a campaign with a lead gift from the Maguire Foundation and contributions from many others. It’s scheduled to open November 1, 2025.

Maintaining the fabric of the avenue

Less than a mile from Maguire Hall is the former Hiram Lodge at 8425–27 Germantown Avenue, a late-19th-century building destroyed by a fire on August 16, 2022, and currently being reimagined for modern use.

The former Hiram Lodge at 8425–27 Germantown Avenue was destroyed by fire on August 17, 2022 and is currently being reimagined for modern use. Its reconstruction should be complete in 2027. Photo by Clark Perks

Developer Michael Young opted against demolition, wanting “to maintain the fabric of the avenue.” The facade is a restoration project and the first-floor retail spaces and second-floor condominiums will be updated in a style suitable for today.

Though interiors were a total loss, the project is guided by “adaptive reuse,” which Krieger explained as, “Taking an old building and repurposing it for a new use. It would be a loss to the urban fabric if it had been knocked down. The architecture is really first rate. That stone defines the architecture of Chestnut Hill.”

Having worked with Krieger for more than 20 years, Young brought him on board for the restoration. Construction is to begin in fall, with completion expected in 2027.

Editor’s note: This piece was developed and published thanks to a partnership with the Chestnut Hill Local.