A few months ago, we brought a fabulous and unique building to your attention at 1519-21 N 16th St., mentioning a new addition being built immediately next door. This building looks like nothing we’ve seen before in Philadelphia or any other city. The bays are amazing.

Just awesome

While we would ordinarily be concerned about a developer making exterior alterations to a building like this, minutes from a Philadelphia Historical Commission last year meeting calmed our fears. Our understanding at the time was that the addition would echo the building that had previously sat to the south, but had been demolished at some point in the past several decades.

Please build a hundred new homes that look like this

You can imagine our surprise when we were in the area the other day and saw the new addition, with an apparently completed stucco facade.

This has got to be a joke.

Slightly closer look. Dear Lord.

This new building is impressively terrible. It would look terrible sitting alone in a field, without any buildings around it. It would look worse if it was in the middle of a block full of standard Philly row homes. And it looks worst of all sitting next door to a historic and unusual North Philadelphia mansion. It resembles the home that once stood to the south in the sense that they are both buildings. And three stories tall. And that’s about it.

Really, PMJ Development LLC? This is the best you could do here? Really?

We just don’t understand.