| Historical Narrative of Shofuso Chapter 6 1976 BICENTENNIAL RESTORATION 6.1 A Restoration is Planned As America approached its Bicentennial, Shofuso joined in preparations to help celebrate this country’s birth with a restoration. By this time, the House was in dire need of repair due to ever present vandals as well as natural deterioration. Fortunately, it was at least still structurally sound. A variety of components were taken out of the House and stored elsewhere for safekeeping. Serious discussions of restoration began in March, 1975, when Fairmount Park Commission members met with then Philadelphia Mayor Frank L. Rizzo and Philadelphia ’76, Inc. representatives. The Fairmount Park Commission could not have funded such an extensive project on their own. Plans gradually came to fruition as Nobuyuki Nakashima, Consul General of Japan, became involved as well. In early 1975, Ambassador Nakashima came to Philadelphia to make a site visit to Shofuso with Rizzo and Frank Binswanger of the Fairmount Park Commission. At that time, Nakashima offered the idea that the Japanese government might finance the restoration. Ultimately, the Japanese government did not fund the project. Instead, six organizations offered their assistance: The America-Japan Society, the Japan Federation of Employers’ Associations, the Japan Committee for Economic Development, the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives, and the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations. The America-Japan Society was the same organization that had helped raise funds for the initial construction of the House at MoMA. The Japanese organizations agreed to cover the costs of the artisans’ wages, and cost of obtaining and transporting necessary material from Japan to the United States. The $500,000 restoration was a Bicentennial gift to the City of Philadelphia. Meanwhile, the City covered the additional expenses of 1) paying for the room and board of a study team of three technical experts to do an initial inspection of the House, 2) paying for the room and board of artisans, craftsmen and gardener to stay for about three months to do repairs on the house and garden, 3) packing and shipping components that may need to be repaired in Japan, and 4) providing any scaffolding needed to repair the roof as well as the exterior walls. An initial assessment of Shofuso for its Bicentennial restoration was made by its designer Junzo Yoshimura and George G. Shimamoto, a Japanese-American architect from Gruzen & Partners based in New York City. During their May 21, 1975, visit, the two architects inspected the physical condition of Shofuso and the components of the house stored in a warehouse, and discussed the cost of restoring the House. They were joined by Japanese Counselor Yoshitsugu Tsukamoto, Binswanger and Dick Magee of Philadelphia ’76, Inc. 6.2 The Restoration Work As when the House was brought to New York and later to Philadelphia, Japanese artisans came to do the restoration work for both the house and garden. The supervisor for the architectural restoration was Yoshiaki Nakamura of Nakamura S_t_ji Komuten in Ky_to (see Figure 6-1) and the garden overseer was Ken Nakajima of Tokyo. Yoshiaki’s father S_t_ji was involved with an early inspection of the House. During the winter of 1961-62, S_t_ji had worked in the United States constructing a Japanese teahouse for the Rockefeller family on their estate in Poncantico Hills, New York. Interestingly, the architect for this teahouse was Junzo Yoshimura and the supervising architect was George Shimamoto, and the redesigning of the existing garden was done by David Engel, all of whom had some associations with Shofuso. An initial team of three engineers made a preliminary examination of Shofuso. The Japanese craftsmen and carpenters then arrived in early April, 1976. Nakajima and his assistant Hisao Sawada arrived later on May 20 and would leave about a month later in June. While in Philadelphia, the Japanese workers initially stayed at the Playhouse Annex of the Playhouse in the Park, but later moved to a Holiday Inn in Philadelphia because they were having problems with thieves and feral dogs. The entire project was completed by the end of June of the same year. 6.3 Shofuso is Rededicated On June 24, 1976, a ceremony took place to rededicate Shofuso for the Bicentennial (see Figure 6-2). The event was attended by Ambassador Nakashima, Mayor Rizzo and Park Commission President Robert Crawford, as well as representatives from some of the six Japanese organizations that helped fund the project. Arthur Drexler from MoMA was unable to attend because he was in Europe. The ribbon cutting was done by Crawford, and a traditional tea ceremony was performed by the Tea Ceremony Society of Urasenke. The dedication participants later had lunch at the Belmont Mansion Restaurant. The House was reopened to the general public on July 24, 1976. Conscious of the increase in vandalism, a chain link fence was installed around the House and the nearby Horticultural Center in 1976 as part of the Bicentennial plans. This fence has made the House less accessible to the public, especially since it blocks the Lansdowne Drive entrance from Belmont Avenue. It is also not an aesthetically pleasing feature. Still, it has been generally effective as a physical deterrent for vandals. In addition, 24 hour guard duty was instated, which lasted into the early 1980s. Despite the guard presence, however, there were still break-ins. For example, on June 29, 1978, a thief nearly stole a hanging scroll, leaving behind a 24 inch tear on the wall covering behind the tokonoma, and damaging the wood frame of the shoji when he broke in. On June 15, 1980, it was discovered that a scroll was stolen, along with a bamboo screen the night before. When, also in June, 1980, the House was broken into and the hibachi was stolen, this was noted as the second break-in in four days and the third in two weeks. A significant reason for this continued entry was the insufficient number of guards on duty. For example, the evening a scroll and bamboo screen were stolen, one guard was on duty for the entire Horticultural Hall grounds, including Shofuso. Then, in 1980 it was noted that, "On June 30 we will be laying off a guard at the Japanese House and we are all ready (sic) one guard short. We’ll have a critical shortage of guards at the Japanese House beginning July 1." Instead of hiring needed additional guards, the financially burdened Fairmount Park Commission cut the number of staff. It appears, however, that by the following year the guard duty for Shofuso was improved, thus bringing down the number of intruders. Click here to go to Chapter 7 |
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