NORRISTOWN, PA — Officials in Norristown are reaching out to the public to get feedback on how to best utilize the historic Airy Street Prison, an iconic aspect of the Norristown streetscape and skyline which has been rescued from demolition.
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A band of concerned citizens and activists prevented the scheduled demolition late last year.
The development must fit in with the municipality’s town center zoning district, which aims to promote uses “compatible with the historic character” of the area as well as uses oriented towards walkability.
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A castle-like structure built in 1851, the prison is representative of what supporters call a “Golden Age” of vanished architectural thought.
“In a time of prefab and drywall, cold glass and steel rarely are seen such public structures with the depth of character and timeless stark beauty that one sees in such a building as the old prison,” Russell Rubert, the president of the Norristown Preservation Society which is leading calls to protect the prison, wrote to Patch last year. “If the Old Airy Street prison is destroyed it will be a shameful, horrific loss to the skyline of Norristown. A gaping wound in its side that can never be healed. “
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Montgomery County is currently at work on a Request for Expression of Interest (RFEI), a document meant to serve as a guideline to prospective developers.
The county’s RFEI for Airy Street “encourages a combination of architectural preservation, private development, and additional county facilities,” according to officials.
Some have pointed to the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, which was the site of the Bucks County jail for decades before it was transformed into an art institution in the 1980s.
Airy Street remained a functional prison up until the 1980s. After it was closed the structure was not actively used, and it fell into disrepair.
The county’s survey for public feedback is available online here.
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