Meet Fast Forward Presenter >> Marcus Brandt

What is your Big Idea for Philadelphia?

Old Forgotten Treasures for a Re-imagined Philadelphia 

While it is important for a thriving dynamic city to be able to reinvent itself and re-imagine its place in a new age, it’s equally important to our identity to stay connected to our past and the forces that shaped the City. Here, I want to bring to your attention two hidden and nearly forgotten treasures that could help inform, delight and inspire Philadelphia in this new chapter of its story. 

Philadelphia grew up and came to prominence because of its amazing fresh water port. In its heyday, Philly was known as “the workshop to the world.” But today there is precious little connection between the people of Philadelphia and the working waterfront. Indeed, it’s very hard for the public to get close to the water at all.  But that might soon change.

Did you know that there are four sunken ships in the mud of Philadelphia Harbor? To this day, you can walk the decks of one of them at extreme low tide. Collectively they are known as “the Ghost Fleet.” The slips they sank in and adjacent seven acres of river front are now owned by the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA)...the folks that own the Walt Whitman and Ben Franklin bridges. DRPA is a joint Authority between PA and NJ, and is obliged to be even-handed in dealings with the States. In the last few years they have donated 30 acres of land and spent $2.8 million on remediation to entities in NJ. 

The Philadelphia Ship Preservation Guild, who has been preserving historic vessels in Philly for 45 years, is in need of a new home and room for a working shipyard for historic sail and other ships. We have the preliminary plans for developing the Ghost Fleet site into a patch of working waterfront that will be accessible to the public. We envision developing the access to the ghost ships themselves by way of cat-walks that would allow viewing but protect the artifacts. When fully developed, it will provide opportunities for Philly’s people to interact with their waterfront like never before. Everything from picnics to actually helping to restore wooden sailing ships. 

The iconic image for Philadelphia is the mute Liberty Bell.  But did you know that there is a set of eight bells within a few short  blocks of Independence Hall that are every bit as old and historic...but these bells could ring, but they haven’t pealed since the 1930’s??? The eight bells of Christ Church Philadelphia (2nd & Market) are the last surviving Colonial era bells in America. With recent chances inside the church it could once again be possible to get those bells ringing as they did in 1776...and have that done in time for the 250th anniversary of the signing in 2026.

philashipguild.org

Marcus Brandt has been restoring historic structures since 1975.  While his work is centered in the South-East corner of Pennsylvania, he has been called to use his skills far afield: Scotland, East Africa, China, Australia and New Zealand.
He brings his skills to and serves aboard Philadelphia's tall ship GAZELA.  He has served as an Adjunct Professor of Architecture at Lehigh University. Skills and interests include: Stone masonry, timber framing, shipwrighting, farming and gardening, telling of tall tales and half-truths, planting of trees and good ideas that will build a better future and long outlast his mortal existence.
Marcus is, in fact, the World's Greatest Granddad...and has the coffee cup to prove it.