WHO WE ARE

Friends of 2125 Chestnut Street exists to preserve and improve the buildings and grounds of the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia, located at 2125 Chestnut Street.  With a generous initial grant from a long time friend of the church, we formally launched as a 501c3 non-profit organization on January 27, 2019.

A Smashing Success: We celebrated the return of “Isaiah” the great LaFarge Rose Window on September 26, 2021

First Unitarian Church and Friends of 2125 Chestnut Street have received a 2022 Preservation Achievement Award from the Preservation Alliance of Philadelphia for the restoration of the LaFarge Window.

WHAT WE DO

In 2020 Friends of 2125 Chestnut Street engaged Digsau, an innovative Philadelphia architectural firm, to undertake an assessment and planning process that will shape the conservation, preservation, and renovation of our landmark building. The outcome will be a long range plan that will preserve the building and at the same time bring the functionality of the building up to present day standards for the needs of its congregation and the myriad groups and tenants who use the building. With a master plan in hand the main task of Friends of 2125 Chestnut Street will be to raise funds to support the work. We will engage in a capital campaign that will reach within and outside the congregation. The work on the building will be a multi-year process that will commence immediately and continue in phases subject to fundraising.

OUR WORK CONTINUES

Digsau completed the initial assessment phase of their work with us in 2021, identifying key building structural and mechanical concerns. The most pressing large-scale effort will be the replacement of the roof, which has reached it’s 30-year lifespan. After decades of a historically inappropriate surface, we will restore the roof to its original distinctive character. Friends of 2125 Chestnut has engaged preservation architects patterhn ives, llc to prepare construction documents and permit applications, and to supervise roof replacement.