FRANKIE’S SUMMER CLUB: A KAHN-INSPIRED POP-UP BAR REANIMATES A HISTORIC PHILADELPHIA SITE

Images courtesy of Scout & ISA

A new center for creativity, commerce and community in Philadelphia.

A forgotten courtyard in Philadelphia finds new life this summer with the arrival of Frankie’s Summer Club—a seasonal pop-up bar that’s as much about design as it is about leisure. Opening June 20 and tucked within the Frank Furness-designed former University of the Arts campus, the project marks the first move in Scout’s ambitious plan to reimagine South Broad Street as a vibrant hub for creative exchange until fall season.

Dreamed up by Scout in collaboration with Interface Studio Architects (ISA), Frankie’s channels the ghost of Louis Kahn’s never-built 1964 proposal for the university—a series of monolithic structures designed to flood art studios with soft northern light. While Kahn’s vision was shelved, its conceptual DNA resurfaces here: soft curves, sculptural volumes, and an emphasis on light and openness that turns the courtyard into a quietly theatrical public space.

Presented by Coulisse | INK

There’s a certain poetry in the pairing—an ephemeral bar built atop the bones of a design that never materialized. But this is more than a romantic gesture. It’s part of a larger phased transformation, one that Scout envisions as a new platform for artists, entrepreneurs, and community life, echoing the studio’s celebrated Bok Building redevelopment in South Philadelphia.

On the menu: natural wines, seasonal snacks, and nostalgic soft serve ice cream, curated by Irwin’s chef Michael Ferreri at the Box Building. The design, fabricated by North Standard, strikes a balance between playful and architectural, inviting visitors to lounge, linger, and absorb the site’s layered past and emerging future.

“Frankie’s is both homage (Louis Khan) and overture,” says Scout’s Lindsey Scannapieco (Managing Partner at Scout)“It honours the space’s architectural lineage while hinting at what’s to come.”

As a precursor to the redevelopment of Furness Hall and the adjacent Hamilton Hall—Broad Street’s oldest surviving building—Frankie’s doesn’t just serve drinks. It serves notice: a new cultural pulse is beating in the heart of Philadelphia.

Frankie’s Summer Club
355 South 15th Street, Philadelphia
Opens 20 June 2025
Design by Scout and ISA Architects
Food by Michael Ferreri of Irwin’s
Wed 4–9pm, Thu–Sat 4–10pm, Sun 2–8pm