You are cordially invited to a Funeral for a Home

Here's the unfortunate news: Every year in the city of Philadelphia, some 600 homes — most of them ruined and crumbling beyond repair — are demolished, never to be brought back to life. It's business as usual in the residential real estate industry.

But when Temple Contemporary started investigating Philadelphia's deteriorating housing stock, the galley's director, Robert Blackson, began thinking differently about the emotional weight carried by the destruction of surplus homes. The poignant memories of a family and its internal life were being bulldozed and turned into so much dust by a demolition crew.  
 
Blackson eventually discovered the work of local artist Jacob Hellman, who had participated in housing demolition work through Mayor John Street's Neighborhood Transformation Initiative. Hellman had held a memorial service of sorts for the era's destroyed homes.

“That led me to think about making [Hellman's memorial] into a larger occasion,” explains Blackson.      
 
That “larger occasion” soon became Funeral for a Home. Both an acknowledgement of the local community and an art project, the project's intention is to “celebrate the life of a single Philadelphia row house as it is razed,” according to a statement on the group's website.  
 
Beginning at 11 a.m. on May 31, a two-bedroom rowhouse at 3711 Melon Street in Mantua will be laid to rest. This “funeral” will feature speeches from community members, a street procession, a gospel choir and a family-style meal, while helping participants reflect on the challenges of a city overflowing with unused housing.

“I feel [this is] definitely a project that's indicative of our human nature,” says Blackson. “To have a kinship with our shelter.”
 
The funeral service is free and open to the public. For more on Funeral for a Home, check out this feature from last November.  
 
DAN ELDRIDGE is news editor at Flying Kite Media and the author of Moon Pittsburgh (Avalon Travel). His work has appeared in The New York Times, Columbia Journalism Review, and The Daily Telegraph. Follow him on Twitter at @YoungPioneers.