PHILADELPHIA HOSPITAL, 1732.
Northwest corner of Third and Lombard Streets, residence of CHARLES
WILLSON PEALE, 1741-1827.
Southwest corner of Third and Pine Streets, SAINT PETER’S CHURCH, built,
1761; in the Churchyard are the tombs of Rev. Jacob Duché and Charles
Willson Peale, artist, 1741-1827; it is often said, “To belong to old
Philadelphia Society one must have an ancestor who entered Paradise
through Saint Peter’s graveyard”; (see Churches).
Northwest corner of Third and Pine Streets, site, residence of Colonel
John Nixon, who read the Declaration of Independence.
Northeast corner of Third and Pine Streets, site, residence of Rev.
Jacob Duché; later, British Military Hospital.
224 Pine Street, site, residence, Mayor John Stamper, 1760; Governor
John Penn died here. “His funeral was very great, making quite a crowd.”
237 DeLancey Street, above Pine, site, residence of Horace Binney, the
great lawyer.
About 260 South Third Street, site, Bingham residence; later, in 1828,
Joseph Head’s MANSION HOUSE, known as the most sumptuous inn in
America; John Quincy Adams stayed here in 1811; Pennsylvania Society of
the Cincinnati gave a dinner in 1811, celebrating the unveiling of a
monument to General Wayne; “Sons of Washington” held their annual dinner
here on Washington’s Birthday; French citizens gave a dinner in 1830,
Peter Du Ponceau presiding, in popular demonstration after the French
Revolution of the overthrow of Charles X.
256 South Third Street, site, “Washington Hall,” built, 1814; erected by
the Washington Benevolent Society; here General Andrew Jackson was fêted
and dined, in February, 1819; Lafayette attended a dinner in 1824 given
to Richard Rush, envoy to England from the United States, afterward
member of Adams Cabinet; second Horticultural Exhibition was held in
1830.
244 South Third Street, residence of Samuel Powell, Mayor of
Philadelphia, 1775-89; fine colonial architecture; many functions were
held here during the Revolution; Washington celebrated his twentieth
wedding anniversary here, January 6, 1779.
228 South Third Street, site, Thomas Willing residence, in 1746.
217-31 South Third Street, ST. PAUL’S PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH,
built, 1761; Headquarters of Philadelphia City Mission; Edwin Forrest,
tragedian, is buried in the graveyard; (see Churches).
Southeast corner of Dock and Moravian Streets, below Walnut, publisher’s
office of _Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine_, while Edgar Allan Poe was
editor.
Southeast corner of Third and Walnut Streets, site, residence of
Alexander Hamilton, and site of Fort Wilson, residence of James Wilson,
a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
301 Walnut Street, site, residence of Dr. Benjamin Rush, in 1791, a
signer of the Declaration of Independence.
307 Walnut Street, site, residence of Judge Richard Peters.
Back part of Walnut Court, between 314-318 Walnut Street, site, Friends’
Almshouse, 1713-1841.
Southeast corner of Third and Pear Streets (now Chancellor), Robert
Bell’s bookstore; Bell’s imprints are sought by collectors.
116-120 South Third Street, GIRARD NATIONAL BANK, oldest banking
building in America; Stephen Girard, financier of the War of 1812,
bought it in 1812; it was his office until his death, December 26, 1831.
114 South Third Street, site, JAY COOKE’S BANKING HOUSE, financier of
the Civil War.
Sansom Street, formerly Lodge Street, above Second; first successful
locomotive, Old Ironsides, built in America was made by Matthias Baldwin
in 1828.
Northwest corner of Second and Sansom Streets, site, residence of
William Logan, 1750-60.
Southeast corner of Second and Sansom Streets, site, SLATE ROOF HOUSE,
1698-1867, built for William Penn; his son John was born here, January
29, 1700; sold to William Trent, founder of Trenton, in 1803, for eight
hundred and fifty pounds; General Forbes, Governor of Pennsylvania, died
here. “His funeral was of great splendor.”
121 South Second Street, site, residence of Robert Fulton, artist and
engineer.
123 South Second Street, site, residence of Captain Joseph Anthony;
Assembly met here in 1828-30.
Back of 145-47 South Second Street, site of Indian reservation.
Second Street, southeast corner of Little Dock Street, site, Loxley
House in 1720; Lydia Darrach is supposed to have lived here; Benjamin
Franklin used the front door key in electricity experiment with a kite.
Water Street, between Walnut and Dock Streets, Hamilton’s Wharf. FIRST
ASSEMBLY BALLS were held here, in a large room, about 1740.
Second and Pine Streets, SECOND STREET MARKET, built, 1745.
200 Pine Street, site, residence of Charles Elias Boudinot.
South Street from South Street, corner of American, between Second and
Third Streets, inscription on corner house: “In this street was
birthplace of Edwin Forrest; Commodore Joseph Cresson; Alexander Wilson;
and Joel B. Sutherland, first President of the Society of 1812.”
Second Street below South, west side, SOUTHWARK BANK, built, 1825.
30 South Street, site, Plumsted House; MASON AND DIXON’S OBSERVATORY was
near here.
Front and Pine Streets; probable site of the Penny Pot House.
Northwest corner of Front and Dock Streets, probable site of the BLUE
ANCHOR INN, in 1682, where William Penn first landed in Philadelphia.
NOTABLE ARCHITECTURE
Architecture should comprise beauty, fitness, and stability. It is
classified by various styles from the past, necessarily developed by
modern characterists. Eras of great national vigor invariably express
themselves architecturally, by means of great scale. To illustrate, the
Pyramids at Gizeh and the great temple at Karnak mark the zenith of
Egyptian civilization; the Parthenon echoes the halcyon days of Greece;
Imperial Rome boasted the Baths of Caracalla and the Colosseum; the
glorious Renaissance in Italy culminated in the grandeur of St. Peter’s
Church; and the consecration and craftsmanship of Gothic builders
crashed to earth with the lofty vaulting of Beauvais. Also consider, in
chronological order, the buildings of our own time, they present a mute
record of the ever-increasing virility of the nation; in the lacelike
tower of the Woolworth Building, piercing the blue heaven for a thousand
feet, we read the tremendous advance and limitless possibilities of the
country whose dreams become realities. Among the early COLONIAL or
GEORGIAN buildings are, CARPENTERS’ HALL, Chestnut Street below Fourth;
CHRIST CHURCH, Second Street above Market; HAMILTON MANSION in Woodlands
Cemetery, Thirty-ninth Street and Woodland Avenue; INDEPENDENCE HALL,
group, Chestnut Street between Fifth and Sixth; OLD SWEDES’ CHURCH
(Gloria Dei), Swanson Street near Front and Christian Streets;
PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL, Eighth and Pine Streets; ST. PETER’S CHURCH,
Third and Pine Streets.
=Egyptian.= SYNAGOGUE ADATH-JESHURUM, Broad and Diamond Streets; Indiana
limestone; architects, Thomas, Churchman, and Molitor.
=Classic.= ACADEMY OF MUSIC, Broad and Locust Streets. Interior classic;
brick; built, 1850; architects, LeBrun & Runge; the audience room is
very large, modeled after celebrated opera houses in Europe; plan of the
balconies is now considered obsolete, but the general effect is
undeniably fine, and has a flavor of the Second Empire. CATHEDRAL OF SS.
PETER AND PAUL, Logan Square; brownstone, built about 1860; architects,
Napoleon LeBrun for the building, John Notman for the façade; it is
impressive and dignified. UNITED STATES CUSTOM HOUSE, Chestnut Street
below Fifth; architect, John Haviland. GIRARD COLLEGE, Corinthian and
Girard Avenues; architect, Thomas U. Walters; modeled after the
Parthenon. GIRARD NATIONAL BANK, 116 South Third Street; portico of the
Third Street front is Corinthian, studied from the Parthenon and Temple
of Saturnus; it stands on a stylobate, elevated above the pavement by
steps on three sides, which gives it emphasis and dignity, and marks it
as the feature of approach to the building; this portico is flanked on
either side by a pavilion of pilasters, of the same character as the
columns of the portico, the space between the pilasters being pierced
with windows which are adorned with architraves and cornices supported
by carved brackets; the pilasters and columns are surmounted by a
cornice pediment and balustrade of great elegance of detail and
proportion, studied from the best class of Roman antique work; the
tympanum of the pediment is enriched by the date of the erection, 1795,
and the American eagle in bas-relief carving, of excellent modeling;
from the pavement to the apex of the portico is fifty-six feet; entire
front is of Pennsylvania blue marble; the building was erected for the
Bank of the United States in 1797, and followed closely the lines of the
Dublin Exchange; architect, Samuel Blodgett; marble work was done by
Claudius LeGrand in his yard at Tenth and Market Streets; this was the
first building in Philadelphia to be erected with portico and pillars;
in 1901, it was carefully renovated by James H. Windrim. GIRARD TRUST
COMPANY, northwest corner of Broad and Chestnut Streets, built in 1908;
architects, McKim, Mead & White, New York; Furness & Evans,
Philadelphia; has steel frame and Gustavino dome faced with white
marble; while the form of this building was probably suggested by the
Pantheon at Rome, details of the order are rather Greek, and the
colonetts, forming the mullions of the windows, suggest the Certosa di
Pavia. RIDGWAY LIBRARY, South Broad and Christian Streets, Doric; built,
1880; granite; architect, Addison Hutton. OLD STOCK EXCHANGE, Second,
Walnut and Dock Streets, white marble; has semicircular Corinthian
colonnade, and lantern modeled after the Temple of Lysicrates;
architect, William Strickland. ST. PATRICK’S CHURCH, Twenty-first and
Locust Streets, Roman; classic; brick and granite; built, 1913;
architects, LaFarge & Morris, New York; façade of this church is big in
conception, full of dignity and repose, and forms a most successful
termination to the vista when viewed from Rittenhouse Street. UNITED
STATES MINT, Seventeenth and Spring Garden Streets, built, 1898; light
gray granite; architect, James Knox Taylor.
=Moorish.= HORTICULTURAL HALL, Fairmount Park; built, 1876; architect,
Herman J. Schwarzmann. RODEPH SHALOM SYNAGOGUE, Mt. Vernon and North
Broad Streets.
=Byzantine.= FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, Seventeenth Street above Chestnut,
stone; Edgar V. Seeler, architect. JACOB REED’S SONS, store, 1424
Chestnut Street, brick, marble, and tile; built, 1904; Price &
McLanahan, architects; façade is one of the most interesting in the
city; the column caps are symbolic of the business conducted therein, as
is also the tile work on the intrados of the arch, which depicts the
shearing and manufacturing of wool and has the richness of an Oriental
rug.
=Gothic.= ACADEMY OF THE FINE ARTS, Broad and Cherry Streets, Venetian
polychrome Gothic, brick, limestone, and tile; architects, Furness &
Hewitt; façade is interesting, as the most prominent example of the
Venetian Gothic style, used in Philadelphia in the latter part of the
nineteenth century. BROAD AND ARCH STREETS METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH,
white marble. ST. CLEMENT’S PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH, Twentieth and
Cherry Streets, Norman; built, 1857; brownstone; architect, John Notman;
later improvements; new roof; apse; Lady chapel and parish buildings by
Horace Wells Sellers. ST. JAMES’ PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH,
Twenty-second and Walnut Streets, English decorated Gothic, with
sculptured band around the tower; Ohio green sandstone and granite;
architect, G. W. Hewitt. ST. LUKE’S PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH,
Germantown Avenue and Coulter Street, granite and limestone; architect,
Richard Upjohn of New York, who first used the principles of Gothic
architecture in America; rectory, St. Margaret’s Home, parish house, and
the rood screen in the church are by Cope & Stewardson; organ screen is
by Pierson. ST. MARK’S PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH, Locust Street below
Seventeenth, early decorated Gothic; brownstone; architect, John Notman;
later improvements include the Lady chapel, architects, Cope &
Stewardson. SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, Twenty-first and Walnut Streets,
French, with early English details; resembles the Parish Church in
Norfolk, England; architect, Henry Sims. ST. STEPHEN’S PROTESTANT
EPISCOPAL CHURCH, Tenth Street above Chestnut, early Gothic, with two
octagonal towers; stone; interior decorated by Frank Furness; rich and
unusual color. SOUTH MEMORIAL CHURCH OF THE ADVOCATE, Eighteenth and
Diamond Streets, French; architect, C. M. Burns; built, 1897; interior
profusely adorned with carving; windows by Clayton & Bell.
=Romanesque.= CHURCH OF ST. FRANCIS DE SALES, ROMAN CATHOLIC,
Forty-seventh Street and Springfield Avenue, brick and terra cotta;
Gustavino dome and mosaic, a very beautiful example of the style; built,
1912; architect, Henry D. Daggit. HOLY TRINITY PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL
CHURCH, Nineteenth and Walnut Streets, Norman, brownstone; architect,
John Notman. MASONIC TEMPLE, Broad and Filbert Streets, Norman with
elaborately carved porch; gray granite; built about 1870; architect,
James H. Windrim. CHURCH OF THE SAVIOUR, PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL,
Thirty-eighth Street, north of Chestnut Street, Norman; architect,
Charles M. Burns; the half dome and apse are decorated by Edwin H.
Blashfield; said to be one of the finest examples of mosaic work in this
country; alms boxes and reredos, designed by the late James Warner, are
also of considerable interest.
=Renaissance.= ART CLUB, southwest corner of Broad and Chancellor Streets,
Italian and French influences; brick and Indiana limestone; architect,
Frank Miles Day. CITY HALL, open daily, 9.00 A.M. to 3.00 P.M., Broad
and Market Streets, on site of Penn Square, formerly Centre Square, on
which was a Friends’ meeting-house in 1685; Rochambeau’s Encampment,
1781; Wayne’s Encampment, 1794; and the first city waterworks in 1801;
this is the largest single building in America; covers four and a half
acres, French, begun in 1871, white marble with granite base; built in
the form of a hollow square, with passageways connecting both Market and
Broad Streets; contains 662 rooms; the tower, on the north center, about
550 feet high, is surmounted by a colossal bronze statue of William
Penn; center and corner pavilions have attic stories, and hanging stairs
of polished granite; architect, John McArthur, Jr.; chief points of
interest are the council chambers; mayor’s reception room, with
portraits of Philadelphia mayors; and state court rooms; from the roof
is an excellent view of the city. To Alexander Milne Calder,
Philadelphia is indebted for the applied sculpture, the artistic feature
of the building, many scores of figures, symbolic of the history of this
nation
[Illustration: CAPTAIN NICHOLAS BIDDLE
In the Tower Gallery of City Hall
_Alexander Milne Calder, Sculptor_]
and the world, fine types of Indians, and other races; the negro heads
being known among artists as the best of their kind; ornamentation
symbolic of music, art, science, and commerce, is used as an integral
part of this great public edifice, an inherent factor in true
decoration, where it comes into its own, as well as in gardens, parks,
boulevards, and plazas. Statues outside, on City Hall pavement, are,
General John F. Reynolds, by Rogers; General McClellan; the Pilgrim by
Saint Gaudens; the Quaker by Giuseppe Donato; Stephen Girard and John
Wanamaker by J. Massey Rhind; Joseph Leidy, M.D.; President McKinley,
and John C. Bullitt. COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS, Twenty-second Street, above
Chestnut, English; built, 1910; architects, Cope & Stewardson. DROPSIE
COLLEGE, Broad Street below York, French; architects, Pitcher & Tachau.
HAMILTON COURT, Thirty-ninth and Chestnut Streets, Italian; steel frame
faced with brick and limestone; an apartment house built around an open
court, recalling very strongly, both in color and detail, the earlier
Venetian palaces. MEMORIAL HALL, Fairmount Park, German, granite; built,
1876; architect, Herman J. Schwarzmann; one of the best designed
monumental buildings in the city. UNION LEAGUE addition, Fifteenth and
Sansom Streets, Italian; steel frame, faced with limestone; built, 1912;
architect, Horace Trumbauer: a very dignified and restrained elevation,
suggestive of a Roman palace.
=Spanish.= THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST SCIENTIST, Walnut Street above
Fortieth; architects, Carrere & Hastings. PENNSYLVANIA INSTITUTE FOR
THE INSTRUCTION OF THE BLIND, Overbrook; Spanish mission; architects,
Cope & Stewardson.
=English.= MELLOR, MEIGS AND HOWE OFFICE, 205 South Juniper Street, rough
brick; architects, Mellor & Meigs.
THE ATHENAEUM of Philadelphia, 219 South Sixth Street; architect, John
Notman; has best points of work done in 1850, showing traditions of the
past, with developments and characteristics of its own; interior has a
most beautiful reading room. THE UNIVERSITY BUILDINGS, from
Thirty-fourth to Fortieth Streets, Walnut Street to Woodland Avenue, add
much to the architectural attraction of West Philadelphia; entrances to
the campus, near the dormitories, are fine Tudor gateways, wrought iron,
with brick and stone piers. (See University of Pennsylvania.) Hon. James
Arthur Balfour said in 1917, “The Americans build Brobdignagian
cathedrals, and use them for office buildings.” THE SKYSCRAPERS.
ADELPHIA HOTEL, Thirteenth and Chestnut Streets, Italian Renaissance,
brick and terra cotta; built, 1914; architect, Horace Trumbauer; the
arabesque detail on lower stories of the façade, and pattern formed by
projecting bricks, on the stories above, are worthy of notice; interiors
are pleasing and architecturally correct. BELL TELEPHONE, a Parkway
building, corner of Seventeenth and Arch Streets; height above ground
273 feet; stone; with interesting façade; architect, John T. Windrim.
BELLEVUE-STRATFORD HOTEL, southwest corner Broad and Walnut Streets,
French Renaissance; steel frame, faced with terra cotta; architects,
Hewitt Bros. Most beautifully proportioned and artistic business
building in Philadelphia. BOURSE, Fourth to Fifth Streets, below Market;
adaptation of the François Premier; with fine feeling of dignity, in
placing within the broad paving; architects, Hewitt Bros. BULLETIN
BUILDING, Juniper and Filbert Streets, French; steel frame, faced with
terra cotta; architect, Edgar V. Seeler. CURTIS PUBLISHING COMPANY,
Sixth and Walnut Streets, modern adaptation of Georgian; steel frame,
faced with white marble and brick; built, 1910; architect, Edgar V.
Seeler; faces Independence Square, and although thoroughly modern,
harmonizes perfectly, both in color and design, with the historic
Georgian group, of which Independence Hall is the center, and adds to
the quiet colonial atmosphere of the Square; interior is excellently
designed; entrance, lobby, editorial offices, and the employes’ dining
room being of particular interest. Mechanical equipment is the finest of
its kind in the world, producing an average of 5,558,600 complete paid
for publications per issue of the _Ladies’ Home Journal_, _Saturday
Evening Post_, and _The Country Gentleman_ for six months ending June
30, 1924. Twenty original paintings, and the mosaic “The Dream Garden,”
by Maxfield Parrish, a mural made of Tiffany favrile glass, the work
proceeded through an entire year, in the Tiffany Studios, where each
piece of glass was fired under the personal supervision of Mr. Tiffany
and Mr. Briggs; time can never impair its freshness, color, or
luminosity. Visitors will be shown the entire plant daily, except
Saturdays and Sundays, between 9.00 A.M. and 5.00 P.M. FARM JOURNAL,
Seventh Street and Washington Square, Georgian; colonial brick and
Indiana limestone; architects, Bunting & Shrigley. HARRISON BUILDING,
Fifteenth and Market Streets, François Premier; built, 1895; architects,
Cope & Stewardson; an unusual example of well-studied, though elaborate
Renaissance detail; notice the graceful roof, recalling the charming
chateaux along the Loire. LAND TITLE BUILDING, southwest corner of Broad
and Chestnut Streets, modern adaptation of classic; steel frame, faced
with gray granite and brick; architects, D. H. Burnham & Co., Chicago;
contrast the scale of the order, in the newer portion of the building on
Broad Street entrance, with the insignificant order in the old building.
MANUFACTURERS’ CLUB, Broad and Walnut Streets, Italian Renaissance;
built, 1914; steel frame, faced with limestone; architects, Simon &
Bassett; has a handsome façade, crowned by a daring Florentine cornice;
interior unusually interesting in detail. RACQUET CLUB, Sixteenth Street
below Walnut, Georgian; colonial brick, marble trimmings; architect,
Horace Trumbauer. REAL ESTATE TRUST BUILDING, southeast corner of Broad
and Chestnut Streets, Renaissance; architect, Edgar V. Seeler.
RITZ-CARLTON HOTEL, Broad and Walnut Streets, modern adaptation, style
of the Adam Brothers; built, 1912; steel frame, faced with colonial
brick and Indiana limestone; architects, Warren & Wetmore, New York,
Horace Trumbauer, Philadelphia, associate. The keynote of this structure
is refinement and good taste; a recognition of the fact that
commercialism and good architecture are by no means incompatible.
STEPHEN GIRARD BUILDING, Twelfth and Girard Streets, modern adaptation
of Greek classic; built about 1894; steel frame, faced with brick and
marble; architect, John T. Windrim; details of this building are
interesting; note the bronze caryatid figures which support the heads of
the second story windows; the wrought iron gates to the court on Girard
Street rank with the best modern wrought ironwork in the city. WANAMAKER
STORE, Chestnut, Market, Juniper, and Thirteenth Streets, modern
adaptation of Italian Renaissance, built, 1910; steel frame, with light
gray granite; architects, D. H. Burnham & Co., Chicago; exterior of this
store is one of the finest in the city, it is simple, dignified, and
impressive, without being monotonous; the great scale of the Doric order
at the base, the severe wall treatment, and the splendid cornice,
combine to express a purity and loftiness seldom equaled in commercial
buildings; a guide may be had, upon application, who will conduct
visitors through the entire building including the kitchens. WEST
PHILADELPHIA HIGH SCHOOL, Forty-sixth and Walnut Streets, Tudor Gothic;
rough brick and Indiana limestone; built, 1913, by the City Architect.
WIDENER MEMORIAL HOME for crippled children, Broad Street and Olney
Avenue, Georgian, built, 1906; Harvard brick and marble trimmings;
architect, Horace Trumbauer; has a very beautifully designed wrought
iron gateway.
To make a “City Beautiful” is to give it wide streets, lined with
handsome buildings and houses, plenty of parks, boulevards, and to rid
it of rows upon rows of semi-shanty premises, small, ill-kept, and
unattractive. Each new building that is put up within the city limits
should, in its arrangements and architecture, help toward making the
locality in which it is erected more attractive than at the present
time. This idea has been carried out in the CARNEGIE FREE LIBRARY
buildings, scattered about within the limits of the municipality, as
their varied exteriors are very distinguished, from an architectural
point. The interiors are designed to avoid the multiplication of
corridors; principal rooms used for reading, the art and reference
rooms, are stately and fine.