The Ridge on the Rise Mural at Checker Cafe
A community-submitted Section 106 Success Story in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
photo by: Faye M. Anderson
Ridge on the Rise mural at 2125 Ridge Avenue in Philadelphia.
The Ridge on the Rise mural on the south-facing wall of the Checker Cafe is a visual history of Ridge Avenue's African American cultural, entertainment, and civil rights heritage. In addition to depicting the Pearl Theater, Pearl Bailey and John Coltrane, the mural addresses community protests against Girard College's segregationist policies. The mural recalls the era when Ridge Avenue functioned as a self-contained commercial and cultural district, with shops, hotel, farmers market, restaurants, theaters, and jazz venues serving the Black community.
For nearly 90 years, 2125 Ridge Avenue has served as a visual anchor for the Ridge Avenue commercial corridor in Sharswood. In the wake of the Great Migration, the demographics of the Sharswood neighborhood changed.
Ridge Avenue became a safe haven for African Americans. 2125 Ridge Avenue was home to the Checker Cafe, an afterhours jazz club. In the 1930s to the 1950s, the Checker Cafe was the place to be and be seen. It was popular with entertainers, celebrities, and political figures. Pearl Bailey worked as a singing waitress at the Checker Cafe in the mid-1930s. The Checker Cafe was about intersectionality and diversity.
What Would Have Been Lost
2125 Ridge Avenue, one of the few extant buildings associated with Philadelphia’s golden age of jazz, would have been lost. Demolition of the building would have erased from public memory Ridge Avenue’s storied past as an entertainment corridor. The community would have lost the Ridge on the Rise mural painted on the south-facing wall of the Checker Cafe site. If community input had not been solicited (per the proposed July 2026 revisions by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation to Section 106), 2125 Ridge Avenue likely would have been demolished.
The Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Officer determined that no historic properties would be affected by the Philadelphia Housing Authority’s Sharswood/Blumberg Transformation Project in 2014. A year later, PHA announced plans to acquire and demolish a large number of properties in the Sharswood neighborhood.
The Section 106 consultation process for PHA’s Sharswood/Blumberg Transformation Project included parties who objected to the proposed demolition of 2125 Ridge Avenue. A statement was submitted about the history and significance of the property to the Bureau of Historic Preservation of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission which helped rally support for preservation of the site. The State Historic Preservation Officer agreed that 2125 Ridge Avenue is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. 2125 Ridge Avenue is one of the last vestiges of African American cultural heritage in North Philadelphia, and one of the few extant buildings associated with Philadelphia’s golden age of jazz.
Under the terms of the Programmatic Agreement signed on May 12, 2017, PHA has stabilized the building.
Submitted via Preservation Action. Visit Section 106 Under Threat for more success stories, information, and to take action.
