G. W. Pepper Middle School
Conceived in 1968 as part of a new Eastwick Communication Education Complex, the development was to have housed Eastwich High School, Pepper Middle School along with a new parochial school. The education complex was never completed and in the end only saw the construction of Pepper Middle School, a gargantuan concrete monolithic building of brutalism design.
The School District of Philadelphia selected Caudill Rowlett Scott, a Houston based firm riding a wave of popularity from its school designs of the 1960s, most notably Public School 219—the “dome school” showpiece at the 1964 World’s Fair—for the design; Bower & Fradley, the predecessor to Bower Lewis Thrower, was the local project architect.
After delays over the design, Pepper finally opened in 1976. The school was dedicated to George Wharton Pepper, a Philadelphia native, US Senator from Pennsylvania, and the founder of the Pepper Hamilton law firm.
In December 1985, the Philadelphia School District filed suit against the architects, bonding companies, and an inspection firm involved in the electrical work at Pepper Middle. The suit sought $750,000 to correct the electrical defects.
From its opening day flooding was always an issue due to its location at the lowest elevation point in the area, as low as 2 feet under sea level. During Hurricane Floyd in 1999, the basement was under 9 feet of water and sustained damages of $1 million.
With an enrollment of 413 in the 2013 school year—its capacity is 1,176–and the majority of the students bussed in from other Southwest Philly neighborhoods—Pepper is one of the 22 schools earmarked for closure this June, and eventual sale, by the School District of Philadelphia. Beginning in the fall, students will feed into Tilden Middle School, whose overcrowding Pepper was originally meant to relieve.
As of 2018, the recommendation is to raise Pepper Middle School. While several plans have been discussed, one was to turn the school back into a place of education. Teaching students triads. However, a lack of funding to restore the building and the issues of flooding will most likely lead to its demise. Considered by some in the architectural community as one of the most notable examples of brutalist design, and we would have to agree. We have visited a lot of schools now and while the vandalism is unreal here, Pepper had to be my favorite school. There was something about walking the main concourse in the basement and being able to look straight up to the roof was awe-inspiring. We have to think it must have been amazing when it was first opened. Until next time explorers, stay safe.
