Introduction
Keystones: Oral Histories of Philadelphia’s Built Environment is an active digital collection at The Athenaeum of Philadelphia that documents the careers of those who have played a leading role in shaping Greater Philadelphia’s built environment. Through in-depth life interviews with architects, planners, engineers, landscape architects, preservationists, and others, the collection documents the ideas, relationships, and experiences behind many of the region’s most significant buildings and places. The collection intends to honor the contributions of these interview subjects while enlivening the study of the built environment for researchers, students, and the general public.
Acknowledgements
This project was funded in part by a Historical & Archival Records Care grant from the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission.
Featured Interview
Suzanne Binswanger
Suzanne Hirsch Binswanger (1930-2025) was a Philadelphia interior designer and the founder of Executive Interiors, a firm that specialized in corporate offices, including those of the law firm Wolf Block Schorr & Solis-Cohen, Price Waterhouse, Rohm & Haas, Triangle Publications (Walter Annenberg’s media group), and the executive offices of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News. Binswanger also designed the interiors of the Korman House, Louis Kahn’s last residential project.
Listen to the interview or read the transcript