Call Number:

SCRC 443

Repository:

Temple University Libraries: Special Collections Research Center

Extent:

9 linear feet (10 boxes + 4 map folders)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Rick Shnitzler Papers, SCRC 443, Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Date:

1875-2021 (inclusive) and 1996-2019 (bulk)

Creator:

Shnitzler, Rick

Form:

Administrative records, Architectural drawings, Clippings, Correspondence, Diplomas, Directories, Drawings, Printed ephemera, Landscape architecture drawings, Legal documents, Logs, Mailing lists, Maps, Membership lists, Minutes (administrative records), Negatives, Newsletters, Pamphlets, Periodicals, Petitions, Photocopies, Photographs, Posters, Press releases, Property records, Publications, Questionnaires, Reports, and School records

Abstract:

Rick Shnitzler was a Philadelphia based urban planner, civic activist, and antique automobile vendor. He was born on June 10, 1943, in Boston, Massachusetts. Rick studied architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence from 1961 to 1964 and received a bachelor's degree in urban planning from the University of Washington School of Architecture in Seattle in 1966.

From 1969 to 1974 Rick worked with government agencies, businesses, and community groups to design neighborhood and area wide land use plans acceptable to conservation, restoration, and redevelopment in Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Middletown, Allentown, Lancaster, and Hazelton Pennsylvania. He also conducted historical and cultural resource analysis for recreational reserves near the Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania, and the Colne Valley Regional Park in the United Kingdom.

From 1995 to 2000, Rick was involved in a variety of neighborhood advocacy initiatives in Philadelphia, including his "Legible Graffiti" campaign to limit billboards and remove illegally posted signs, posters, and fliers from utility poles, railings, car windshields displayed in public spaces around the Logan Square neighborhood and other areas of the city. Rick was an active member of the Logan Square Neighborhood Association and served as a block captain from 1996 to 1999. He played an instrumental role in mitigating zoning concerns of neighborhood residents surrounding the construction of the Tivoli Condominiums and the Valhal parking lot projects. He was also an outspoken opponent of the City of Philadelphia proposal to build a new Phillies Stadium at Broad and Spring Garden Streets.

With John Dowlin, Rick Shnitzler co-founded TailLight Diplomacy (TLD) in 1998. This automotive initiative promoted awareness of Cuba's pre-1960s fleet of over 30,000 Detroit manufactured cars and laid the groundwork for a U.S-Cuba Old Car Trade Agreement to send spare car parts to Cuba so that private car owners could maintain their antique cars.

The Rick Shnitzler Papers includes correspondence, reports, resumes, school diplomas, meeting minutes, legal documents, advertisements, surveys, newspaper clippings, site plans, maps, and photographs documenting Schnitzler's education and career; his efforts to combat the proliferation of illegal signage in the City of Philadelphia; and his role as Block Captain for the Logan Square Neighborhood Association centering around the organization's zoning and land use history from 1995-2000, including the construction of the Tivoli Condominiums and the Valhal Parking Lot. The papers also document Schnitzler's other interests in areas of urban planning, public policy, historic preservation, and international diplomacy.

The collection is arranged into 6 series as follows:

Series 1: Biographical files, 1966-2019, bulk 1975-2017

Series 2: Legible Graffiti files, 1975-2016, bulk 1997-2016

Subseries 2.1: Legible Graffiti activities, 1975-2016, bulk 1996-2016

Subseries 2.2: Legible Graffiti illegal distribution advertisements, 2000-2015, bulk 2000-2007

Series 3: Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA) records, 1875-2017, bulk 1996-2017 (PORTIONS RESTRICTED)

Subseries 3.1: Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA) activities records, 1990-2017, bulk 1996-2016

Subseries 3.2: Tivoli Condominiums records, 1875-2008, bulk 2003-2008 (RESTRICTED)

Subseries 3.3: Valhal Parking Lot records, 1880-2005, bulk 1997-2004 (RESTRICTED)

Series 4: Other Interests records 1954-2021, bulk 1996-2016

Series 5: Photographs, 1953-2014, bulk 1996-2004

Series 6: Oversized maps and site plans, 1875-2004, bulk 1998-2004