GAMBLE & HUFF: Philly International Records Museum May Emerge From The Ashes Of Arson

pir-fir.jpgDAILY NEWS: Sometimes, out of destruction, comes creation. Just hours after the man who allegedly torched Philadelphia International Records in a drunken haze was held for trial, owners Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff said yesterday that they may create a museum in the building as part of its rehabilitation. In an interview inside PIR’s gift store, producing duo Gamble and Huff said that they’ve spoken with U.S. Rep. Bob Brady about the idea, and that the Smithsonian Institution has shown interest. “It’s all premature right now, but that’s the kind of interest we’re getting,” Gamble said. “You can’t beat the Smithsonian!” MORE

INQUIRER: A South Philadelphia ironworker was held for trial yesterday on arson charges in last month’s fire that heavily damaged the South Broad Street offices of Gamble & Huff’s Philadelphia International Records. Christopher Cimini, 28, was ordered to stand trial by Philadelphia Municipal Court Judge Jacquelyn Frazier-Lyde after a preliminary hearing in which a deputy fire marshal described the bizarre circumstances of Cimini’s rescue at 6 a.m. Feb. 24. Police say Cimini was heavily intoxicated after a night of drinking in Center City. A surveillance video showed him knocking and banging on the door of the building and acting intoxicated, police said. MORE

[Photo by JEFF FUSCO]

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