Blue Horizon
Philadelphia's legendary Blue Horizon Boxing Arena, now abandoned and slated for demolition.
Updated April 30, 2020 | By Matthew Christopher
Like much of the city’s architectural legacy, Philadelphia’s legendary Blue Horizon boxing ring is in the process of being destroyed. If you live here, it’s an old story that keeps playing out again and again: in this case, Mosaic Development Partners received a $6 million grant to create a hotel/restaurant complex, originally stating “the structure of 1314-16 North Broad would be preserved in the plan”. The arena would be refurbished and repurposed and the plans kept the existing structure intact." (Hidden City Philadelphia)
Somehow, though, the job they agreed to do changed into a full erasure of the complex, while leaving the (in my opinion) unexceptional façade mostly unmarred. In the Blue Horizon’s place will be a 140-room Marriott Moxy Hotel designed to appeal to a younger crowd with selfie booths and board games. Mosaic also leveled the beautiful and historic Edison High School in northeast Philadelphia for a shabby strip mall, so perhaps it should come as no surprise, and yet it’s difficult not to feel fresh indignation at every blow the city’s preservation community suffers.
The Blue Horizon building started out as 3 four-story row homes built in 1865 for the newly rich, who wanted to be close to their industries but were snubbed by the old money at Rittenhouse Square. In 1914 the parcel was purchased by the fraternal Lodge for Loyal Order of Moose #54, and architect Carl Berger added the iconic auditorium, a bar, and a ballroom, among other amenities.
The building was spectacular and home to many of the organization’s events, including an anniversary celebration in 1939 attended by actress Betty Grable and 25,000 Lodge members from across the nation. This was likely the high water mark for the Lodge – after World War II new members weren’t joining and old ones were dying off. The grand banquets of its heyday appear to have been replaced with illegal slot machine gambling.
In 1961 the 600 remaining chartered members decided to leave the building for a new lodge in northeast Philadelphia, and the building was sold to James Toppi for $91,000. The listing describes the building as having an 1,800-seat auditorium, a banquet hall for 750, a cocktail lounge for 125, and an 8-lane bowling alley.
Toppi had a hand in Philadelphia sports and events in Philadelphia for decades. After some renovations he decided to rename it the Blue Horizon (after the 1930 hit song Beyond the Blue Horizon) and use it for boxing instead. On November 3, 1961 the first fight was held there was to be between Hall of Famer George Benton and Taylor Hill, but Hill didn’t show up and Benton wound up fighting Chico Dorsey instead and winning by a technical knock out.
A view of the auditorium from the balcony in 1970
According to Philly Boxing History, “the Blue Horizon became the place where young fighters stared careers and older boxers ended theirs. The Blue Horizon hung on for years, many of which were lean times, compiled a dizzying list of events and participants, and in doing so became a long-standing constant in Philadelphia Boxing. In the mid-1980s, when it stood alone as an example of an old fashioned fight club, thanks to the urging of then house promoter J. Russell Peltz, the Blue Horizon was discovered by the USA cable network, which featured it many times in their "Tuesday Night Fights" series.” It was also featured in scenes in the films Rocky V and Annapolis.
Though Philadelphia had a vibrant, thriving boxing scene, many of the large fights went to Atlantic City after gambling was legalized there in 1976. There was no shortage of praise for the Blue Horizon; in 1999 Ring Magazine described it as “the best place to watch a fight in the world”, beating out many of the grander venues in Atlantic City. Sports Illustrated similarly praised it as the “last great boxing venue in the country.”
Still, the Blue Horizon was struggling, as boxing failed to draw the crowds it once did. ESPN2 filmed Friday Night Fights there but eventually pulled out due to Licensing & Inspection citations and safety concerns. There were hopes that it could become a museum and event space but the citations brought the attention of city’s Department of Revenue in 2009, which determined that the Blue Horizon was years behind on taxes. The doors to the Blue Horizon were swiftly locked and the number was disconnected.
At long last, the Blue Horizon was finished. Though the interior was in remarkably good condition, it sat abandoned for years. I hoped as I that somehow, some way the building would be saved. The Blue Horizon arena was certainly significant as a boxing venue, but also as the foremost Moose Lodge in the world.
Philadelphia boasts of being the first World Heritage City in the United States, and generates a fair amount of income from historical tourism. As entire city blocks are routinely leveled for copy/paste condos blocks and hotels, it’s important to ask what we’re expecting people to actually come to see. It’s great to hear about the Revolutionary War period and the city’s role as the first capitol of the United States, but this is only one of numerous fascinating periods in the Philadelphia’s lifespan, and going to a museum to see exhibits about events you learned about in school is, I feel, less compelling than truly unique places that explore otherwise unexamined parts of our heritage. We’ll never know what the Blue Horizon could have been if kept intact, or what it could have added to its community. It will be just another kitschy hotel in a world that doesn’t seem to need them any longer.
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