Anderson Hall, located on South Broad Street, used to thrive as a vibrant space filled with classrooms, art studios, libraries, a printmaking studio, and a woodshop at the University of the Arts.
However, since the university’s closure last year, the nine-story building has turned into a ghost town, now bustling with construction crews and salvage teams.
Recently sold for $8.5 million to Dwight City Group, LLC, the structure is set for redevelopment into a mixed-use residential and commercial tower.
As the building undergoes this transformation, a team from Thunderbird Salvage has been carefully extracting items left behind — a treasure trove of art and artifacts that once filled the halls of the institution.
George Mathes, owner of Thunderbird Salvage, leads a crew of ten, working diligently to salvage anything they can before it is discarded.
“There was so much stuff in here. Nobody got all of it. Nobody was willing to take all of it. It was too much,” Mathes remarked.
He described the vast array of artistic works still in the building, ranging from monumental-sized paintings to intricate portraits, and even original graphic design posters.
Mathes noted, “There’s stuff from the 1980s and 90s that I found in some drawers. That was in the drawers since that time period. Nobody opened it to look.”
As they sift through the contents, Thunderbird’s crew has uncovered thousands of abandoned pieces of art and other artistic materials.
They’ve found numerous letterpress printing trays containing blocks of letters in various fonts, a room abundant with anatomical drawing models, and a significant amount of aluminum printing plates.
In the woodshop, they are hopeful of retrieving drill presses and a woodworker’s jointer table, navigational challenges permitting.
Thunderbird Salvage has previously tackled cleanouts in numerous homes across Philadelphia, as well as notable buildings such as the Bok Building in South Philadelphia and the mansion of Father Divine in North Philadelphia.
Looking ahead, the team will also be clearing out Hamilton Hall, another building from UArts that has been sold to the redevelopment group Scout.
Mathes anticipates another extensive collection of abandoned artwork waiting to be rediscovered in Hamilton Hall.
The overarching mission of Thunderbird Salvage is to find enduring homes for all the items they recover.
Some of the salvaged pieces will be available for sale at Thunderbird’s store in Kensington, while others will be directed to various local auction houses.
Mathes expressed appreciation for the history encapsulated in these items, emphasizing their artistic significance.
“There’s a lot of art and artifacts from the past that people spend a lot of time making. To be able to have the opportunity to save all this stuff, we’re going to put our time into it. It’s really cool to go through it,” he said.
Moreover, Mathes is offering former UArts students and faculty a chance to reclaim their abandoned artworks.
Those able to prove ownership of a piece can take it back, reigniting connections with their past works.
In a recent social media initiative, Lucca Voltoio posted videos showcasing the interior of Anderson Hall on Thunderbird’s Instagram account, which sparked intense interest.
In just half an hour, the post received 100 comments, and as it gained traction over the following days, the videos collected over 350,000 views, along with 7,000 likes and 700 comments.
Voltoio noted, “A lot of people here didn’t get a good farewell when it closed down and they were probably just reminiscing on that.”
He continued, “It blew up because they’re sending it to their friends who were a part of the community.”
The synergy between history, art, and community is palpable in the efforts to recover and reconnect as Thompson and his crew work diligently to bring the past back to life, piece by piece.
image source from：whyy
