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Ed Bacon Stories

I introduced the resolution honoring Ed Bacon at the request of the Ed Bacon Foundation because I deeply admire Bacon. He was never afraid to take a stand, never afraid to submit his vision of the study to the critical scrutiny of journalists, historians, fellow planners, and the public. I am sure that each and every one of his views can be debated. The important thing is that he had clear positions that stimulated thought and constructive action--and on the whole he changed Philadelphia for the better. He did not try to hide his views in the lexicon of bureaucratic doubletalk or bury them in committee reports. From his early efforts to tear down the Chinese Wall to his late-life efforts to preserve access to skateboarders in Love Park, he was gutsy, informed, passionate, and persuasive. Philadelphia's 21st Century rebirth owes much to the long-term visions of planners and governmental officials now deceased and somewhat forgotten. The development of Fairmount Park, the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, City Hall, Society Hill, numerous neighborhoods in center city and elsewhere, the Art Museum, and the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers as increasingly safe water attractions for new residents and tourists all were the result of deliberate but somewhat controversial decisions that had long term public benefits. The language and the philosophy of public good can be misused for narrow private ends. The more informed the public is, and the wider the circle of actively concerned citizens, the less likely this will happen. I hope the Ed Bacon Foundation has a long life and a constructive role in making the 21st Century a period of successful experimentation in creating a livable city at the heart of a dynamic region. The late U.S. Senator Robert Kennedy, a hero to me and many others in the Baby Boom generation (I was Co-Chairman of his Philadelphia student campaign committee in 1968), liked to quote George Bernard Shaw's statement that "Some see things the way they are and say why. I see things that never were and say "Why not?" That is the spirit of Ed Bacon, and that is the spirit we need for Philadelphia to be an ever greater city in the future.
Mark B. Cohen, Pennsylvania House of Representatives [05-30-2006]

Ed Bacon was a hero of mine from when I was a teenager (such is my love for all things Philadelphia). Years later when I was working in the news department at WRTI, I called him for a comment on the ongoing saga regarding the Victory Building for which he angrily declined to do so ang hung up (I had expected as much). Coincidentally, I later lived on Locust Street at Van Pelt Street (between 21st and 22nd Streets) from 1995 to 2000. Occasionally I would sit on the roof of my apartment building late at night and could gaze over to Ed Bacon's place and see him working well past on midnight on what I would assumed were his various projects. I also would run into him at the Wawa or other shops in the neighborhood and have some small chat with him — most memorable was the time I saw him buying a paper in which he was listed as one of the great Philadlephians of the 20th Century or some such thing — I commented to him about his being in the paper to which he asked if I was in it too (no, I wasn't). There were also an unusually high number of Penn students majoring in urban planning living in the area (or so it seemed to me) — Would being in Ed's presence somehow give them new insights into their chosen field. Now that he is gone, I wonder if anyone will take the reins from him (even he officially hadn't had them since 1970) and provide a clear vision for the city's future. A search for "Design of Cities" on Amazon shows it is still a reasonably popular title given the subject manner and its publication date — more telling is the review of a Brazilian town planner who states it changed his conception of cities. I now live in Sydney, Australia, and miss Philadelphia tremendously.
Seth Itzkowitz [05-26-06]

A few years ago I bought a copy of "Design of Cities" for my husband for Christmas, and mailed Mr. Bacon a note asking his permission for me to Fed Ex the book to his home, in hopes that he would inscribe it. He telephoned me, more or less indicating that he thought the Fed Ex idea was dumb, and invited me to his house to have my book signed. Since he'd already managed to yell at me not once but twice on the phone before I even got there, I was a little nervous, but as soon as we were face to face he was very gentle and personable, and I enjoyed my visit very much. "Design of Cities" has been a very influential book for me, particularly on my knitting; my husband has also been able to easily apply its concepts to web design. I will forever be grateful for my opportunity to meet Mr. Bacon and the inscribed copy of the book is among our household's great treasures.
Amber Dorko Stopper [12-02-2005]

Ed was truly a unique individual and a tremendous resource for the city. He will be greatly missed. One of my favorite memories off all my years in journalism is when I got a call from Ed Bacon, talking in his famously raspy voice. "Howard, I have a brilliant idea. I want to get arrested riding a skateboard through LOVE Park." Then he came into the office and we rolled him back and forth on the carpet. Then there was the big day when we held him up as he skated through the park. Amazing. It was a career highlight for me.
Howard P. Altman, Former Editor-In-Chief of The Philadelphia City Paper [11-15-2005]

As the Lights of Liberty's seventh season drew to a close last month, we also said goodbye to our dear friend and inspiration, Ed Bacon. The show's creation took more than 50 years to happen, and Ed Bacon reveled in the story of how it finally came to be. The 30-something Bacon had become enamored of sound-and-light shows in France, and in his travels abroad he had also met Harry Houdini's son, an illusionist. Together they developed the idea of a walking sound-and-light show that would start at the site of Ben Franklin's home, move to Carpenters' Hall (where the first Continental Congress met in 1774), and end up at Independence Hall. To my knowledge, he pitched the idea to every mayor for the next half of a century. In 1995, at the age of 85, Ed Bacon led Mayor Rendell on the same hopeful walk through Independence Park that he had been taking for five decades. It took Rendell, zealous about both history and tourism, about 10 minutes to realize the plan's genius. On July 8, 1999, the Lights of Liberty show was born. Ed Bacon loved that he lived long enough to see his grand son et lumiere in Philadelphia come to pass. One of my fondest memories of Ed was when he celebrated our show's fifth anniversary by reading the Declaration of Independence to a crowd gathered on Independence Square. Though frail at 93, he read the words of the revolutionary document with so much conviction and indignation that he sounded like a young revolutionary himself, intent on taking down King George III. It made me realize the intense passion he had for our historic icons — a passion that would burn strongly enough to wait half a century for the right mayor to help bring the buildings and their stories to life.
Ann Meredith, Lights of Liberty, Philadelphia

The first time I met Ed Bacon it was to interview him as part of my college thesis research. I arrived at his home loaded down with recording equipment and binders full of notes. However, Ed was not interested in an interview. We talked for a couple of hours about city planning and my studies, then he took me out to lunch. Over lunch he asked me, what were my plans for the future. I told him something or other about planning school and starting a career. Then he said, "Good. Now here are my plans for your future. Take off a year of school and work with me." Of course I agreed. We returned to his home and Ed let me conduct my interview. The next day I put in my leave of absence and returned to his home several days later to begin work. Ed opened the door to greet me, and the first thing he said was, "Well, I didn't think much of your interview!" Thus began a remarkable year, in which Ed taught me everything I know about city planning, and which thoroughly changed my life. Now, years later it is almost incredible to think that Ed made that spur of the moment decision to invite me to work with him. He knew nothing about me other than what he learned in that afternoon's discussion. Throughout his career, Ed worked with people not based on the letters after their name, but on his own intuition and on the merit of their ideas. Ed valued nothing more than an individual's idea, and in fact believed that it is the only thing that really can change the world.
Gregory Heller, President, The Ed Bacon Foundation [11-02-2005]

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