Temple University has quietly added New Barber’s Hall, the decades-old jazz club on Oxford Street, to its growing list of campus-edge properties, a move that effectively gives the school control over much of the block. The building, which dates to the 1860s, will stay open while owner Jake Adams finishes working, and longtime patrons and musicians say they are watching closely to see whether the club's music tradition survives the transfer. For neighbors, the purchase reads as the latest chapter in the university's long-running expansion across North Philadelphia.
According to Temple University Board minutes, the Finance and Investment Committee on March 18, 2025 authorized the acquisition of 1402-04 W. Oxford Street, listed in the agenda simply as "Barber," and approved spending up to $2,370,962 from reserve funds. Local reporting, citing the Philadelphia Business Journal, pegs the sale price at about $2.32 million, as detailed in PHILADELPHIA Today. The board documents present the Barber’s Hall deal as a strategic campus acquisition rather than just another line item in the real estate ledger.
Part of a bigger build-out
The purchase is one thread in Temple's broader campus-development push under President John Fry, which has included the Terra Hall deal and a strategic plan that calls for more on-campus housing. As Bisnow reported, the university has been lining up parcels and projects that could add substantial residential capacity around the main campus. Nearby transactions, including a 2025 acquisition along Carlisle that is tied to a proposed 28-story student housing tower, have helped fill in the campus edge, according to The Temple News.
Preservation fight that never reached a vote
The building itself comes with preservation pedigree. City files show Barber’s Hall was nominated for listing on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places after researchers traced its origins to the 1860s, but the nominator requested withdrawal in April 2024. The withdrawal letter, attached to the city's file and coordinated with property owner Jake Adams and the nominator, notes that the owner preferred stewardship without a formal designation, according to the City of Philadelphia nomination file. With the nomination pulled, the local protections that would come with listing do not apply unless a new nomination is filed.
Local music legacy
New Barber’s Hall has long functioned as a neighborhood music anchor. WHYY documented the club’s Matinee Jams and the role the venue plays for older Black Philadelphians and local jazz performers. The Philadelphia Inquirer previously profiled owner Jake Adams and his long resistance to multimillion-dollar offers, underscoring how deeply the bar is woven into neighborhood memory. Those cultural ties now sit at the center of community questions about how Temple will balance campus needs with the preservation of local music spaces.
What’s next
As reported in PHILADELPHIA Today, Temple's acquisition statement says "the university will explore further uses for the property, specifically related to how it might support the soon-to-be-completed campus development plan." For now, the bar will remain in operation under Adams until he retires, but preservationists and neighbors say they want concrete, binding commitments that any future reuse will protect the building's music and community functions. Temple has not released a public timeline for redevelopment and says it will weigh the site as part of its campus planning process.
