Over the summer, we broke the news that the Church of the Assumption, the classic structure built over 150 years ago, was under contract with developer John Wei. The church is architect Patrick Charles Keely‘s oldest remaining building, and the subject of its demolition has tied up in the courts since it was approved for demolition by the Historical Commission a couple of years ago.

The church

Two months ago, Judge Idee Fox ruled against L&I for overturning the Historical Commission’s permission to demolish the church, paving the way for the destruction of one of the oldest buildings on Spring Garden Street. At the time, the new owner of the property insisted to Plan Philly that he didn’t know what he was going to do with the building, suggesting the possibility that the property could yet survive.

Today

Closer look

Today, however, an eagle-eyed reader spotted ‘Notice of Demolition’ signs affixed to the church, dated November 30th, 2012. This suggests to us that Mr. Wei has, in fact, made up his mind on what he wants to do with the property, and that decision involves the church’s demolition.

It truly will be a shame for Spring Garden Street and the city in general to lose this historic landmark. While our readers have suggested possible adaptive reuses like a brew works or a book store, we’d imagine that the developer will look to construct a large, mixed-use building on the site, taking advantage of the burgeoning Spring Arts neighborhood development and the growth along this part of Spring Garden Street as well. Time will tell what will ultimately replace this gorgeous building, but there’s no doubt that whatever it is will not compare to what we’ve got right now.

Sigh.