Precious Places Premiere 2009
Location(s)
The Precious Places Community History Project brings together community groups, videomakers, and scholars to document the people, buildings, public spaces and landmarks that hold the memory of a community and define where we live and who we are in a time of significant change for neighborhoods in Philadelphia and Camden.
The creative process of documenting community histories binds groups together as they reach out to friends, family, neighbors, and organizations to produce documentaries that inspire, celebrate and inform.
Conceived 6 years ago to mark Scribe’s 20th anniversary, Precious Places has grown into a massive collection of over 50 documentaries that excavate the rich but often hidden histories of neighborhoods while providing critical insights into contemporary social forces that shape our unique, vibrant, and sometimes troubled urban landscape.
Awbury Arboretum Association
East Germantown
Awbury Arboretum and the broader questions about how green and urban spaces interact.
Bethany African Methodist Episcopal Church
Northeast Philadelphia
A 150-year-old church built by freed indentured servants and the histories of its members.
Camden United
Camden, New Jersey
Johnson Park, a symbol of the city’s industrial heyday now resting among abandoned factories.
Center in the Park
Germantown
A Carnegie Library and its shifting home in Germantown.
Friends of Oaklyn Library
Oaklyn, New Jersey
Oaklyn Memorial Library and its struggle to survive municipal defunding.
Khmer Buddhist Humanitarian Association
South Philadelphia
Role of the Bra Buddha Ransi Temple in the Cambodian community.
Longford Street Residents
Northeast Philadelphia
Greenbelt Knoll, the first planned integrated suburban development in the city.
Manayunk Neighborhood Council
Manayunk
The Manayunk Canal, its industrial past and its role in a community's revitalization.
People’s Emergency Center Community Development Corporation
Powelton, Mantua
The 40th and Lancaster intersection where MLK Jr. delivered a speech.
Southwest Community Development Corporation
Southwest Philadelphia
Unity Garden and the impact of a community’s commitment to gardening.
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The Precious Places Community History Project is supported by the Nathan Cummings Foundation, Claneil Foundation, Samuel S. Fels Fund, Philadelphia Cultural Fund, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.