Swarthmore College Peace Collection, 500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, PA 19081-1399, USA

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**Early on Monday morning, March 23, 1970, fire destroyed most of the interior of the Jane Addams House, which had served as the official WILPF center in Philadelphia since 1946. The other tenants in the building besides the WILPF were Philadelphia Resistance, United World Federalists, Americans for New National Priorities, Business Executives Move for Vietnam Peace, Philadelphia Area Vietnam Committee, Children's Theater, Clergy and Laymen Concerned, and Jane Addams Peace Association.

The alarm was turned on by a passerby at 2:56 a.m. and the fire was under control by 4:24 a.m. "The fire had started on the first floor near the receptionist's desk and burned out the staircase and the whole portion of the house up through the roof. Smoke, water, and chemicals did enormous damage in the rest of the house, including the basement, which was under 20 inches of water when the firemen finished extinguishing the fire.... The back part of the building was damaged least; files in the administrative office can be salvaged.... There was extensive damage to the literature supplies, but some have been rescued." (Peace and Freedom, May 1970)

This fire may have been of suspicious origin. At any rate, the fourth floor tenants, Philadelphia Resistance, had their own explanation: "Since the front door of the building was found open, it seems likely that the arsonist came up the fire escape, into the Resistance office, where the arsonist rifled through the records, down the stairs to the bottom ... where the fire was set and out the front door." (Hank Levy in Philadelphia Plain Dealer)

Whatever the cause, the building was not useable. The WILPF National Headquarters was moved temporarily to Pine Street (where their printer had his offices) and then to 13th Street. The Annual Meeting in June 1970 voted to move the headquarters to Washington (DC). This caused heated debate within the organization. A committee, chaired by Erika Muhlenberg, investigated the various pros and cons of expanding the Washington office (it would be more effective to have only one office to maintain); moving to New York City (nearer the United Nations), or the midwest (so that the western branches would not be so isolated); splitting into regional offices; or staying in Philadelphia (many long time backers in and around Philadelphia supplied volunteer assistance in the office, and Philadelphia served as a center for peace sentiment due to the Quaker influence). Finally in February 1971, a referendum of all branches was taken. The results favored (64-24) rescinding the resolution of the 1970 Annual Meeting and keeping the National Office in Philadelphia.

Although renovation of the burnt Jane Addams House was discussed, it would have cost $89,000 to do so (with insurance only paying for $36,000 of the cost). It was decided to sell the House for $41,500, which was little more than the value of the land. In January 1972, JAPA purchased a house on Race Street and the headquarters was moved there on July 19th. The internationally-known architects, Venturi and Rauch, volunteered to serve as consultants on remodeling.

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