From headquarters to headquarters with capital gain

PSA Journal, Sept, 2004 by Tony Patti

John G. Mulder served as president of the Society from 1949 to 1951. One of the salient events that took place during his term of office was obtaining a home for the Society. From the founding of the Society in 1933 until 1949, PSA met in different locations, including apartments, camera clubs, and for some time in Philadelphia's Franklin Institute. In October 1949, the Society purchased a building at 2005 Walnut Street in Philadelphia. The purchase price was $27,000. The financial arrangements were $9,000 cash with the remainder ($18,000) as a mortgage with the provision that it could be paid off at any time without penalty. The mortgage on the building was paid off in November 1951.

The building was a four-story residence, originally built for the son of the famous John Wanamaker of department store fame. Some Journal readers may be as familiar with the building as I am. I spent many days there gathering historical information of the Society after I was appointed Chairman of the Historical Research Committee in 1978. I was fortunate to have the help of the late Charles Heller who was PSA treasurer for many years. I used to meet him at the Walnut Street location by appointment and used public transportation to get there. More on Charlie and the building in a future issue.

In December of 1987, the building was sold when PSA relocated to Oklahoma City, OK. The sale price was $540,000, with $300,000 cash and a mortgage for $240,000. This was a huge capital gain on our $27,000 investment in 1949. Most fortunately, it came at a time when the Society was struggling financially.

Tony Patti, FPSA

Boerne, TX