November 21, 2015
Back in September, Philadelphia city officials broke ground on the long-awaited $44 million Divine Lorraine restoration, a project that will bring more than 100 residential units, retail and ground level restaurant to the historic Victorian building on North Broad Street.
The buzz around the Divine Lorraine's future is palpable, but there's still something irresistible about an abandoned, reverberant space, an eerie attraction that has music video written all over it. Local Philadelphia band Summer Fiction, a project of La Salle alum Bill Ricchini, recently dropped by the property to shoot a series of music videos backed by their warm, SoCal, Beach Boys-infused sound.
In an interview with PhillyMag, Ricchini said he chose to perform at the Divine Lorraine because he's "always been obsessed with that building" and one of his songs – "Lauren Lorraine," from the new album 'Himalaya' – explicitly references the hotel.
In total, the band shot three videos inside the building and may eventually edit them into a short film. Ricchini said the Summer Fiction shoot was the last to be held at the Divine Lorraine before the start of interior renovations. The video below is a live performance of "Lauren Lorraine" (the other two can be found at Summer Fiction's Vimeo page).
