Grandiose Malls

Peterson entered more freely into the life of the city, in which he immediately felt very much at home. He accepted Lewis's invitation to stay at the Union League Club and was delighted that Lewis "invited me to everything that was going on and introduced me to everybody.'' Philadelphia was quick to seek him out as a public speaker. His most important public statement was delivered at the annual dinner of the American Philosophical Society on April 25, 1947, and incorporated into his report to the director of the National Park Service. Asked to comment on Simon's sketches of the Shrines Commission's plans, he expressed some personal opinions. Although he did not directly attack the commission's scheme, he clearly opposed its grandiose malls. Eschewing formal axes, he urged retention of the city's historic street patterns and the sense of enclosure provided by groupings of buildings. To bolster his argument, he quoted letters from distinguished colleagues in architecture and architectural history.

Peterson's written report went much further. After a brief review of the project's history, he touched on some practical considerations that had not been dealt with before. He outlined the need for parking space, public toilets, places to eat and stay overnight, a staging area for guided tours, and a store for the sale of publications and souvenirs. He suggested that these functions might be accommodated in buildings that would help to recreate the historic scene and reinforce the urban character of the neighborhood. Although generally opposed to reconstructions, he reported favorably on a proposal to rebuild the row of three-and-a-half-story houses (Norris's Row) that once fronted Chestnut Street between the Second Bank and Independence Square. The row could be authentic on the outside and modern on the interior to serve as an inn with an eighteenth-century flavor, akin to those at Williamsburg. Peterson forecast that a million people a year might visit Independence, requiring a reception center on a scale previously unknown in the National Park Service. His preferred location was on the north side of Chestnut Street opposite Independence Hall. This would serve two purposes. It would place the major interpretive center close to the park's main attraction, and, if low in height, would allow a good vista of the tower and also provide what he considered a necessary frame, a "north wall for the Square." He thought screened surface parking for 500 cars could be provided on the state's land to the north, and that eventually one or more multi-story garages would also be required.

Peterson's report also cautioned against overzealous demolition around the historic buildings. "If the pulling down is kept up long enough it will leave the historic buildings standing in large open spaces like country churches, a condition which their designers did not plan for." He pointed out that both the Larson plan of 1944 and the City Planning Commission's scheme called for including compatible new construction in the historic area. "What is needed," he wrote, "is not so much open and vacant space as an architectural setting of a sympathetic character." He believed that it would be desirable for the legislation establishing the park to allow the National Park Service to lease land to private developers for erecting compatible infill buildings.