The Art Alliance building looks little changed six weeks after the fire, but a lot is going on inside

Since a fire seriously damaged the Art Alliance building on Rittenhouse Square early July 4, the structure has sat exposed to the elements, its roof destroyed, while the building’s appearance from the outside has remained largely unchanged.

But officials from the Curtis Institute of Music, which owns the building, say remediation inside is underway.

“It’s something we’re working on every day,” says Chris Dwyer, the Curtis Institute’s chief financial officer, who is coordinating rehabilitation efforts on the historically designated onetime mansion designed by noted Philadelphia architect Frank Miles Day. “It’s been a bit slow in some perspectives, but, actually, given all that’s going on, we’re pleased with the speed.”

A new roof is on the way, but first the building needed structural reinforcement. Shoring posts were installed inside to support existing trusses.

Curtis’s structural engineer issued a report the week before last regarding the shoring, stating, “in effect, it’s working, the building’s not moving,” Dwyer said, “because that’s been our biggest concern from the beginning — that the building be as stable as possible.”

Scaffolding is being erected on the north and south exteriors of the building — as well as through the building’s middle portion inside — which will provide access for demolishing and removing the old roof and the mechanical systems that sat on it.

Then the building will be wrapped to protect it from the elements. That skin, which will be peaked on top, will cover the building on top and drape down on the north and south sides.

“It’s a durable material that should stand up to the weather,” Dwyer said.

After that, a temporary roof will be put on the building while planning for the building’s full rehabilitation proceeds.

Curtis only recently took possession of the Art Alliance, purchasing it for $7.6 million from the University of the Arts bankruptcy estate in January. The small, prestigious music conservatory was still developing plans for what to do with the building when the fire struck.

While nothing is firm, restoring it to the way it was reconfigured inside before the fire is probably “not in the cards,” Dwyer said. The blaze, plus the fact that Curtis is about to embark on a new strategic planning process, makes discussions “timely” about how to adapt the building to use by a music school rather than a visual arts venue, he said.

“It holds a lot of promise as a space for teaching and learning and potentially housing some of the instructional faculty,” he said, adding that no decisions had been made.

Dwyer said it was still not known what the fire would ultimately mean for the school financially. The building was insured, but “when it comes to our fundraising it’s possible that what we want to do [in terms of rebuilding] would involve fundraising — not so much that the insurance doesn’t pay, but that maybe we would want to do more. But that is all kind of a bit TBD.”

In the meantime, the Art Alliance, full of promise when Curtis purchased it from the shuttered University of the Arts, is a conspicuous wound on the southeast edge of the square.

“It has been really heartbreaking to watch all of these fits and starts happen,” said June Armstrong, executive director of Friends of Rittenhouse Square. “I really give the Curtis Institute a lot of credit for raising their hands and stepping in. I know their long-term vision for the building is really to activate it as a community hub, which has always been the highest and best use of that space.”

The fire has not altered the school’s plan to add the Art Alliance to its collection of buildings on and near Rittenhouse Square, leaders said.

“We recognize how important the building is to the Rittenhouse community and to the city and to our neighbors,” said Curtis spokesperson Patricia Johnson. “It’s important to us, too, and we’re committed to the building.”