We were heading back to Center City after another maddening sheriff’s sale and noticed that the front of Matheson Hall has been removed.

Impressive

Closer look

A bathroom!

From the rear.

And then we went around the back and saw that the whole building is coming down. Demolition is expected to be completed in the coming months, and then a new building will be built for Drexel’s LeBow School of Business. The new 177.5K sqft structure will rise twelve stories and cost about $92M to build. It’s expected to be completed in 2014, and will house classroom space, study space, event space, an auditorium, and an Entrepreneurship Center.

View from Market St.

View from the quad in the south, looking toward Market St.

The new building is a testament to the tremendous growth at Drexel in recent years, especially at the Lebow School. The building, designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects of New York and local firm Voith & Mactavish Architects, will definitely act as a new centerpiece for the Drexel campus, and will be a treat to watch as it’s being constructed. For those interested, Drexel is running a very worthwhile site that provides more information about the project and tracks its progress as well. We suggest you check it out.

And in case you’re wondering what Matheson Hall looked like…

We're getting something better, for sure. Image by Chris Cowen