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I have neighbors who like to say, “Be careful” whenever I leave my house and head into Center City. The cautionary words annoy me. They anno...
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The Local Lens Published• Wed, Oct 23, 2013 By Thom Nickels When I ran into my friend Eric in Center City recently, he said he wanted ...
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Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Announcement
Special Announcement
Fideri News Network Welcomes Thom Nickels as new Editor-At-Large of Arts & Culture
If you’ve been reading Broad + Liberty for any length of time, you already know Thom’s work — the intellectual curiosity, literary craftsmanship, and unflinching honesty that make him one of Philadelphia’s most compelling cultural storytellers.
A prolific, award-winning author, historian, and chronicler of the city’s architectural soul, Thom has spent decades capturing the character, contradictions, and quirks that make our region what it is, in a way few writers can.
We’re thrilled to share that Thom is now officially joining our team as Editor-at-Large of Arts & Culture. Here’s to bold ideas, bigger conversations, and an exciting new era for Broad + Liberty and the entire Fideri News Network.
Thom Nickels: Renamed, rebranded, and reduced — What happened to the Philadelphia Museum of Art?
"The Philadelphia Museum of Art, now the Art Museum of Philadelphia, has been in decline for a number of years.
Director Timothy Rub attempted to hold the line and keep up appearances for a good while. To a large extent, he succeeded. Exhibition openings (for the press) were well-organized and still special events with speeches and tables of breakfast delicacies for journalists on assignment. The old guard at the museum took the press seriously, a tradition going back to Anne d’Harnoncourt’s tenure when press events were actual sit-down diners (white table cloths and wine), where a Philadelphia journalist might find him or herself seated beside someone from the Wall Street Journal.
Under Rub’s tenure, most press events were held in the Grand Court, something of a scale-down from the d’Harnoncourt era but still respectable and something to look forward to..."
Read Article Here
About Thom Nickels:
Thom Nickels is a Philadelphia-based journalist/columnist and the 2005 recipient of the AIA Lewis Mumford Award for Architectural Journalism. He writes for City Journal, New York, and Frontpage Magazine. Thom Nickels is the author of fifteen books, including “Literary Philadelphia” and ”From Mother Divine to the Corner Swami: Religious Cults in Philadelphia.” His latest is “Death in Philadelphia: The Murder of Kimberly Ernest.” He is currently at work on “The Last Romanian Princess and Her World Legacy,” about the life of Princess Ileana of Romania.
