History of the LCA
The history of The Life Center Association (LCA) begins in 1971 with our founding and the simultaneous founding of Movement for a New Society (MNS). MNS grew out of A Quaker Action Group (AQAG), a national organization of Friends (Quakers) who were non-violently protesting the Vietnam War and other injustices. The main focus of MNS was to train activists who would put the elements of a nonviolent direct action campaign into practice. The members were responsible for turning these ideals into a model to be taught and practiced.
During the 1970s and 80s MNSers were heavily involved in the anti-war movement, the anti-nuclear-power movement, and the gay and feminist movements. At its height in the late 1970s, MNS had about 300 members in groups throughout the U.S. The group in Philadelphia was the largest, with ongoing trainings for nonviolent struggle as well as a publishing collective (New Society Publishers), a food coop (which evolved into Mariposa Food Co-op), a credit union (that later merged into the Philadelphia Federal Credit Union), and a network of communal houses which would form the precursor to today’s LCA.
Early MNSers envisioned community ownership of property as an integral part of the new society and also recognized the need for a strong support network for activists. The formal founding of the LCA began with the purchase of a huge house called Stone House in 1971. For many years Stone House (on 46th St. between Springfield and Chester) was MNS’s community and training center as well as a communal household for five to ten people. Also during these years MNS members formed other group houses or lived in apartments all within close proximity to each other. These communities provided an outlet to not only express political views in their personal lives and in personal growth but to live the values of the future in the present. The Life Center communities sought to break down the ‘isms’ which impose limits on the understanding of a multitude of relationships (classism, racism, sexism, heterosexism, etc.). At one time there were over 20 communal households in the Life Center although some properties were owned by individual members of MNS while others were owned by the Life Center Association.
The LCA acquired its second property in 1973: the office/apartment building at 4722 Baltimore Ave. In 1975, a group of MNSers who owned 906 S. 49th St. and were living as a communal household there, decided to sell their house to the LCA for $1 plus the balance on the mortgage. Also in that year, the community at 4811 Springfield Ave. (now Ailanthus), which was owned by a group of MNS affiliated people no longer living in Philadelphia (Springfield Support Community), started to function as if the house were an LCA property and sent a representative to Board meetings. In 1981, after the LCA sold Stone House because it was too expensive to maintain, the money from that sale was used to renovate 906 S. 49th St. into MNS’s new hospitality/training center called The Crossing.
In 1982 the LCA experienced tremendous growth due to the acquisition of three more properties. The owner of 5023 Cedar Ave. who was moving away from Philadelphia agreed to deed over the property to the LCA in exchange for a life-time annuity. The owners of 1014 S. 47th St and 4709 Windsor Ave had also moved out of town and sold their respective houses to the LCA. All three of these communal households were able to remain intact after their owners left town because the LCA provided a structure for holding property in common. The official transfer of 4811 Springfield Ave. from the Springfield Support Community to the LCA also occurred in 1982.
The reason that the LCA experienced a dramatic expansion of its property ownership in the early 1980s was because MNSers were moving away. And because many of these were lead trainers, this spelled the end of MNS’s Philadelphia activist training program. MNS was on a decline, which continued until the summer of 1988 when the national organization closed itself down. (The Philadelphia chapter of MNS had already closed itself down in December 1986). Despite its demise, MNS' methods for activist training spread across the U.S. and other countries, and even today has a lasting legacy in the ways that non-violent campaigns are organized and waged.
With the laying-down of MNS, the Life Center Association, which had been firmly linked to MNS from the beginning, was suddenly on its own. Since the late 1980s the LCA has been attempting to redefine its mission. Through various organizational restructurings, think tank committees and by applying for and receiving tax-exempt status, the LCA has advanced in this quest.
One of our goals has been to purchase additional properties so as to permanently remove them from the speculative real estate market and keep them in trust for the benefit of the community. In 1994, the LCA followed through on this goal with the purchase of 4819 Springfield Ave. from a group of MNS-affiliated folks who had moved away. In 2010 the LCA was able to purchase a house on 635 S. 49th Street.
Another goal of the LCA has been to diversify our resident base. Although providing stable and inexpensive housing for social change activists, a legacy from MNS days, is still an important role for the LCA, we have begun to provide housing for other low to moderate income individuals. In 1992, The Crossing was leased to Project Home as a transitional community for formerly homeless people which was continued with a five year lease in 1994. Also, we attempted to support the creation of a single-mothers’ communal house at 5023 Cedar Ave. by providing a subsidy to lower monthly living expenses. Unfortunately, the community did not succeed and disbanded within a year. The LCA recently adopted Cost Share Equitability (CSE) as a means to allow the LCA to more successfully diversify by more equitably distributing our residents' economic resources.
In the next few years the LCA will be challenged to continue to clarify and implement our mission within the organization and more broadly in the community.
During the 1970s and 80s MNSers were heavily involved in the anti-war movement, the anti-nuclear-power movement, and the gay and feminist movements. At its height in the late 1970s, MNS had about 300 members in groups throughout the U.S. The group in Philadelphia was the largest, with ongoing trainings for nonviolent struggle as well as a publishing collective (New Society Publishers), a food coop (which evolved into Mariposa Food Co-op), a credit union (that later merged into the Philadelphia Federal Credit Union), and a network of communal houses which would form the precursor to today’s LCA.
Early MNSers envisioned community ownership of property as an integral part of the new society and also recognized the need for a strong support network for activists. The formal founding of the LCA began with the purchase of a huge house called Stone House in 1971. For many years Stone House (on 46th St. between Springfield and Chester) was MNS’s community and training center as well as a communal household for five to ten people. Also during these years MNS members formed other group houses or lived in apartments all within close proximity to each other. These communities provided an outlet to not only express political views in their personal lives and in personal growth but to live the values of the future in the present. The Life Center communities sought to break down the ‘isms’ which impose limits on the understanding of a multitude of relationships (classism, racism, sexism, heterosexism, etc.). At one time there were over 20 communal households in the Life Center although some properties were owned by individual members of MNS while others were owned by the Life Center Association.
The LCA acquired its second property in 1973: the office/apartment building at 4722 Baltimore Ave. In 1975, a group of MNSers who owned 906 S. 49th St. and were living as a communal household there, decided to sell their house to the LCA for $1 plus the balance on the mortgage. Also in that year, the community at 4811 Springfield Ave. (now Ailanthus), which was owned by a group of MNS affiliated people no longer living in Philadelphia (Springfield Support Community), started to function as if the house were an LCA property and sent a representative to Board meetings. In 1981, after the LCA sold Stone House because it was too expensive to maintain, the money from that sale was used to renovate 906 S. 49th St. into MNS’s new hospitality/training center called The Crossing.
In 1982 the LCA experienced tremendous growth due to the acquisition of three more properties. The owner of 5023 Cedar Ave. who was moving away from Philadelphia agreed to deed over the property to the LCA in exchange for a life-time annuity. The owners of 1014 S. 47th St and 4709 Windsor Ave had also moved out of town and sold their respective houses to the LCA. All three of these communal households were able to remain intact after their owners left town because the LCA provided a structure for holding property in common. The official transfer of 4811 Springfield Ave. from the Springfield Support Community to the LCA also occurred in 1982.
The reason that the LCA experienced a dramatic expansion of its property ownership in the early 1980s was because MNSers were moving away. And because many of these were lead trainers, this spelled the end of MNS’s Philadelphia activist training program. MNS was on a decline, which continued until the summer of 1988 when the national organization closed itself down. (The Philadelphia chapter of MNS had already closed itself down in December 1986). Despite its demise, MNS' methods for activist training spread across the U.S. and other countries, and even today has a lasting legacy in the ways that non-violent campaigns are organized and waged.
With the laying-down of MNS, the Life Center Association, which had been firmly linked to MNS from the beginning, was suddenly on its own. Since the late 1980s the LCA has been attempting to redefine its mission. Through various organizational restructurings, think tank committees and by applying for and receiving tax-exempt status, the LCA has advanced in this quest.
One of our goals has been to purchase additional properties so as to permanently remove them from the speculative real estate market and keep them in trust for the benefit of the community. In 1994, the LCA followed through on this goal with the purchase of 4819 Springfield Ave. from a group of MNS-affiliated folks who had moved away. In 2010 the LCA was able to purchase a house on 635 S. 49th Street.
Another goal of the LCA has been to diversify our resident base. Although providing stable and inexpensive housing for social change activists, a legacy from MNS days, is still an important role for the LCA, we have begun to provide housing for other low to moderate income individuals. In 1992, The Crossing was leased to Project Home as a transitional community for formerly homeless people which was continued with a five year lease in 1994. Also, we attempted to support the creation of a single-mothers’ communal house at 5023 Cedar Ave. by providing a subsidy to lower monthly living expenses. Unfortunately, the community did not succeed and disbanded within a year. The LCA recently adopted Cost Share Equitability (CSE) as a means to allow the LCA to more successfully diversify by more equitably distributing our residents' economic resources.
In the next few years the LCA will be challenged to continue to clarify and implement our mission within the organization and more broadly in the community.