THE LIMITS OF MYTHOLOGY: THE OLD PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION AND THE MAKING OF MARKET STREET EAST, 1956-1977

Abstract

This thesis discusses the Old Philadelphia Development Corporation (OPDC), a public-private redevelopment agency, and its work in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s promoting the redevelopment of several areas and neighborhoods located in the Center City district of downtown Philadelphia. Leading up to and during its involvement in the planning of the Market Street East (formerly, East Market Street) and The Gallery mall projects, the OPDC imposed on its ventures a set myths about the city's place within the American legend, Market Street's history as a majestic shopping corridor, and the centrality of Philadelphia's downtown to the metropolitan region. It did so as a means for controlling various aspects of Center City urban renewal and for bringing suburbanites back downtown to shop and enjoy leisure time. This thesis argues that although these myths remembered East Market Street as the domain of middle class and affluent whites, the OPDC ignored the realities of changing metropolitan economic, cultural, and population trends in favor of adherence to its self-created narrative, leading the corporation and its redevelopment cohort to make many miscalculations and missteps in its attempts to revitalize the area.