This is one of the few buildings remaining from what was once the RCA industrial complex. It is located at 17 Market Street in Camden, NJ. RCA produced phonographs, records, and televisions and was one of several major employers in the area throughout much of the twentieth century. Since its demise, Camden has suffered high rates of unemployment, poverty, crime and high school dropout rates.
Preservationists have restored the building over the past few years and it is quite beautiful. With large stained glass windows in the tower featuring "Nipper", the RCA mascot, the structure rather resembles a cathedral. It is visible from miles around so when I missed my turn I was able to locate it almost immediately.
For more information regarding Camden's history and preservation efforts, including an oral history project partnering the Camden County Historical Society with Camden High School history students, check out http://www.cchsnj.com/fall_2010.pdf.
Two things jumped out at me. First, I also wondered about the life of the people living in luxury condos in the upper floors. Seems a lonely existence, but I could be wrong. Almost like science fiction movie, or a parable.
ReplyDeleteSecond, I didn't know that about Walt Whitman. Thinking of the RCA building as a symbol of Camden's industrial past, the poem becomes less abstract (though of course it works at that level). I see Whitman walking through and around factories of people engaged in the activities that he wrote about. I definitely want to reread that poem in such a space (even if it is not in Camden itself).
This is an interesting looking building. Is all that remains the tower in the middle? It looks like the past is shooting right out from the ground... pushing past the "trendy" present. Almost like it is staking a claim in our view.
ReplyDelete