Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
She’s the driving force behind saving Foundry
Columnist Bill Rettew offers a view of the woman who was key to saving the Foundry.
If every picture tells a story, then what does a blank wall say to you?
Barb Cohen, Phoenixville’s main cheerleader, can likely still see the history of Phoenixville displayed on what is now a plain bare wall at a major intersection in the downtown, at Bridge and Main streets.
The interior wall later crumbled, destroying the mural. At the time, Cohen did not know that it was an interior wall.
The mural was built on the wall from a building that burned down in 1970. The colorful 40-by-80 foot mural had filled the space since 1994.
That mural is what Cohen sees and remembers when she looks up above Renaissance Park.
“As I would pass that empty corner in the center of Phoenixville’s historic district, I’d say, the community needs to tell a story there with a mural,” Cohen said.
Cohen, as president of the Schuylkill River Heritage Center, is leading the effort to “Bring Back the Mural,” a campaign and fundraising drive to digitally replicate a mural on the side of Steel City Coffee House.
The Schuylkill River Heritage Center acquired the property in April of 2017.
Have no doubts about it, Phoenixville was once a steel town.
The artist met with the public to hear what they wanted to view on the wall. In November of 1994, Cohen’s dream, the Michael Webb mural was completed. Webb also worked with Meg Fish.
A major portion of the painting depicts a huge ladle pouring tons of steel at one of Phoenix Steel’s six open-hearth furnaces. A block away from the mural site, Foundry workers produced high-quality carbon steel for buildings, bridges, a version of a Ferris wheel and even the Washington Monument.
The Civil War Griffen Cannon was pictured, as was Etruscan Majolica earthenware.
An early map and flag were a part of the mural as were the Lenni Lenape, the earliest known inhabitants of the region. An early building housing the Phoenixville Hospital was painted up there, too.
When waiting for traffic, the panel that most
often caught my eye depicted a group of people who had strong ties to Phoenixville.
Cohen probably doesn’t have to imagine too much to view Alex Kovach, also pictured on the mural. He was the union president at Phoenix Steel , president of borough council and a lifelong resident.
Cohen talked about a teenager who made a cash donation at an event to help pay for the restoration.
“This is what motivates me – the younger generation and millennials who love history – if you teach it the right way,” the former tour guide said.
“You give them a way to understand the history without making it boring.”
Wife of Allan Cohen, retired radiologist at Phoenixville Hospital, Barbara Cohen was the driving force behind restoring the Foundry at the steel site and creating the Schuylkill River Heritage Center within its walls.
School kids enjoy the interactive displays and “playing” in the Schuylkill River and French Creek – etched into the floor – without getting their feet wet.
While on a tour with 120 Schuylkill Elementary School students, it was noted that the name of their school was a Dutch phrase and derived from “The Hidden River,” with “kill” translating to river.
Prior to renovations, homeless people lived in the Foundry, which had fallen into eyesore status, with a hole in the roof and broken windows.
Phoenix Steel went out of business in 1987. A remnant of the steel company, Phoenix Pipe and Tube Co., existed until 1995. Cohen wrote grant applications, the community came together and the Foundry was saved.
Now, where steelworkers toiled, men sometimes attend events wearing black tie and tails.
The Hankin Group purchased the Foundry Building in 2008 and made a major investment in creating an extraordinarily successful event space with historic character.
“I fell in love with the building, seeing that its bones were good,” the Temple, Drexel and Penn grad with degrees in Education and Masters in International Relations and Interior Design said, almost apologetically. “Like Independence Hall is to Philadelphia, I believed the Foundry could be that symbol that our past is our future.”
Cohen became director of the Phoenixville Chamber of Commerce in 1992, and quickly set about putting the wheels in motion to package Phoenixville history for economic development. She was aided by a 1989 inclusion of a portion of Phoenixville into a nationally registered historic district, with 1,200 properties, the largest in Chester County.
It was a tough sell to get shoppers to visit Phoenixville with the King of Prussia Mall only six miles away.
“How can you give people a reason to come to Phoenixville?” Cohen asked.
The chamber helped create a poster and brochure focusing not only on the borough, but also included historic Yellow Springs and Valley Forge National Historical Park.
“We were looking at Phoenixville as part of a region in Chester County,” said the Schuylkill Township resident.
The mural contains a strong message – especially for those people symbolized in the lower left corner that most often drew my attention.
Cohen will tell you that Phoenixville was stitched together like a multi-cultural and multi-racial tapestry.
“It didn’t matter who you were, where you came from, what color you were or where you went to pray, everyone could get a job at the mill,” Cohen said. “Give credit to the immigrants who came looking for a better way of life.
“The diversity is why Phoenixville is so successful, including the way the workers devoted themselves to the company.
“At Phoenix, it’s the people that make the difference,” reads a sign at the company property’s entrance on Bridge Street.
And while Barbara Cohen is just one person, her impact has been huge. It wouldn’t be the same town if she hadn’t moved here in 1973 from Philadelphia when her husband took a job at Phoenixville Hospital.
That mural helped spark the revitalization of Phoenixville. Cohen is riding on the shoulders of the Phoenix that rose from the ashes – and she’s got a great view – as do the rest of us, partly thanks to her work.
For more information, or to make a donation, go to www.phoenixvillefoundary.org or write, Schuylkill River Heritage Center, PO Box 427, Phoenixville, PA 19460.
Bill Rettew Jr. is a weekly columnist and Chester County resident. His first full-time newsroom gig was with The Phoenix, a daily only half a block away from that mural. He may be contacted at brettew@dailylocal.com