Casino History April 28 2008
The plan the slow down or stop the building the Sugarhouse casino has taken an interesting turn.
Pennsylvania’s top agency on historic matters has called for more extensive archaeological work at the property, on the Fishtown-Northern Liberties border. Initial work has uncovered 182 American Indian artifacts, including an arrowhead, a drill, and fragments of waste from making stone tools.
A state archaeologist called the find “significant.”
“Things like that are pretty darn rare, especially in an urban environment,” said Mark Shaffer, an archaeologist with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
The intense curiosity about the past has come up as a result of SugarHouse’s request to the Army Corps of Engineers to build into the water.
SugarHouse needs federal permission to dredge, fill in more than an acre of water, and build a stone embankment. An archaeological review is part of the process.
The state’s historic commission already is urging that one section of the property – a 30-by-50-foot plot that yielded the American Indian relics just inches from the surface – be excavated completely and considered for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
Douglas Mooney, an archaeologist and president of the Philadelphia Archaeological Forum, said the discovery was “exceedingly rare.”
“In all of Philadelphia County, there are only a dozen known, recorded Native American sites,” he said.
I imagine once they start dredging the river (if it gets that far), some endangered snail or something will turn up. Then it’s over for the casino.
Bill Shaw @ Writemarsh is for taking a time out.
To not give the area the historical significance it deserves is both egregious and appalling…to rob the people of Pennsylvania any historically poignant landmarks, for the sake of greed, is a slap in the face to the heritage that we, as Pennsylvanians, and more importantly, myself and the scores of families that were raised and played in the Fishtown section deserve.
So, in this case, I’m all for stopping “progress”…let’s support the archaeological significance of the area and give the little hamlet with the funny name it’s just due…we may just find that the area’s rich history is worth more than any casino business’ money could possibly buy.
Possibly Related...
Comments, compliments or complaints?