of General Robert Patterson, enlarged and made fireproof; founded, 1824.
Open 10.00 A.M. to 6.00 P.M.; July and August, closes at 4.00 P.M.;
publishes the _Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography_; contains
probably the largest collection of sources of American history assembled
in any one place; includes over 100,000 bound books, 250,000 pamphlets,
7000 volumes of manuscripts and some 3500 volumes of newspapers, which
are invaluable to the student of colonial and Revolutionary history; an
INDEX TO THE MARRIAGES AND DEATHS, in Dunlap, Claypoole and Poulson’s
AMERICAN DAILY ADVERTISER, creates a constant demand for the files of
that newspaper for genealogical purposes; Tom Paine’s AMERICAN CRISIS,
1776, and many other rare imprints of Americans. The Society has a large
and exceedingly rich collection of oil paintings; practically all the
governors of the state are represented in portraiture on its walls, some
of the mayors of Philadelphia, and portraits of many Revolutionary
officers; a portrait of Johannes Kelpius, the “Hermit of the
Wissahickon,” by Christopher Wick, in 1704, is believed to be the
earliest portrait in oil painted in America; portraits of Gustavus
Hesselius, his wife, and of Robert Morris, Sr., father of the financier,
painted by Gustavus Hesselius, are of historic interest; a fine
collection of original
[Illustration: GEORGE WASHINGTON
From the collection in Independence Hall
_Painted by Rembrandt Peale_]
portraits, drawings, studies, and manuscripts by Benjamin West, includes
the full length portrait of William Hamilton of the Woodlands, and his
niece, Mrs. Ann Hamilton Lyle, probably the most beautiful of West’s
portraits in this city; other artists represented are Charles Willson
Peale, Jacob Eicholtz, Thomas Sully, Rembrandt Peale, John Neagle,
Charles Gilbert Stuart, Robert Edge Pine, John Singleton Copley, Walter
G. Gould, Henry Inman, Paul Weber, and William E. Winner. Among the
miniatures are those by John Trumbull, James Peale, and Robert Fulton.
Marble busts are of Washington, Franklin, Milton, Henry Clay, Major
General Robert Patterson, T. Buchanan Read, and Dr. Joseph Parrish.
Relics of great historic interest include the Ephrata Printing Press,
the Charter of the City of Philadelphia, and the “Great Belt of Wampum,”
representing the famous Shackamaxon Treaty between William Penn and the
Indians, “never signed and never broken.”
MASONIC TEMPLE, Broad and Filbert Streets; Norman architecture; built,
1870; John T. Windrim, architect. Rooms with notable decorations are the
Egyptian; Oriental, Moorish style from sketches made in the Alhambra by
John Sartain; and Corinthian, copied from well-known standards of
architecture, ornament and familiar figure composition. Museum said to
be the greatest existing Masonic museum, contains aprons of Past Grand
Masters of the three oldest Lodges in the world; and George Washington’s
apron, made by Madame Lafayette and presented to him by the Marquis,
worn by Washington at laying of the corner-stone of the Capitol at
Washington; an ancient Templar Cross, original Crusader’s Cross, found
in a grave at Tyre, Syria, A.D. 1250; notable jewelers’ art of England,
Denmark, Germany, France, and Great Britain, in badges, including one
owned by Napoleon I; tablet from Temple of Herod; Sephar Torah, ancient
scroll of the law found in Germany, over eighteen feet long, and from
three hundred to five hundred years old. Library, Byzantine decorations,
with coats of arms, of various Guilds and Grand Lodges, in the ceiling.
The Great Hall, or front entrance, contains portraits and paintings,
among them “The Puritans” by F. J. Waugh and “A Marine Scene” by
Richards; Seals of the States of the Union, and paintings portraying the
Pan Athenia, Greek festival. On the second floor are the Grand Lodge
Room, representing a Corinthian temple, constructed to appear roofless;
the columns, reproductions of the Lysicrates, Athens; mural paintings
represent the mythology of the Greeks, “Weighing of the Soul,” “Ulysses
Passing the Island of the Sirens,” “Birth of Athena,” “Judgment of
Paris,” “The Golden Fleece.” Renaissance Hall, the Tabernacle, contains
the Veils of the Temple. Two paintings at either end represent a High
Priest, and a Scribe. Ionic Hall and Norman Hall have characteristic
ornamentation; Egyptian Hall, decorations are copied from Temples of
Karnak, Elephanta, Philae, Rameses, the Cataracts and Tombs; Ceiling
from Temple of Denderah; also the scene “Weighing the Soul,” showing
Egyptian mythology allied with Greek.
MINT OF UNITED STATES AT PHILADELPHIA, Sixteenth and Spring Garden
Streets, open daily, except Sundays and holidays, 9.00 A.M., to 3.00
P.M. Classic Ionic, granite, built, 1901, by the Supervising Architect
of Washington, D. C. Main lobby finished in Italian marble with mosaic
ceiling; panels illustrate ancient methods and processes of coinage;
artist, W. B. Van Ingen. Largest and most completely equipped Mint in
the world. Numismatic room, accessible to the public, contains large
collection of coins and medals; among them the widow’s mite, found in
ruins of Temple in Jerusalem.
PENNSYLVANIA BIBLE SOCIETY, 701 Walnut Street, organized in
Philadelphia, 1808. First Bible Society on American continent; present
building erected, 1853. First President, Right Rev. William White, D.D.;
first meeting, called by Robert Ralston in his own home; object, to
further our country’s welfare through the Bible, the Book teaching love,
unity, and forbearance; therefore qualified to band the people together
and advance national betterment. The establishment of such an
organization in our land was recognized by gift of £200 by the British
and Foreign Bible Society, London. All denominations have been
represented in the line of Presidents; during Bishop Whitaker’s
incumbency the Pennsylvania Bible Society was connected with the
American Bible Society in New York, now the national organization.
General Lafayette in 1824 was presented by this Society with a specially
prepared copy of the Scriptures. At the centennial of this Society, in
1908, celebrated in the Academy of Music, Bishop Ozi W. Whitaker, D.D.,
presided; Right Hon. James Bryce, British Ambassador, made an address
and presented to Bishop Whitaker a beautifully embossed Bible, sent by
the British and Foreign Bible Society, emblems on the cover were from
early Christian examples, similar to those on the Coronation Bible given
to King Edward VII; Ambassador Bryce was in turn presented with a richly
made copy of the Scriptures, by the Pennsylvania Society; greetings were
received from President Theodore Roosevelt and Governor Edwin S. Stuart
of Pennsylvania, and from other Bible societies. At the Tercentenary
celebration of King James version of the English Bible, in the Academy
of Music, 1911, James A. MacDonald, LL.D., of Toronto, spoke of “The
Influence of the Bible Upon the Commonwealth.” Letters were read from
King George V of England, and President William H. Taft. This Society
now circulates between two and three hundred thousand Bibles per annum,
printed in over fifty languages and dialects, for Pennsylvania, New
Jersey, and Delaware, over which this house has especial jurisdiction.
Any separate book of the Bible may be obtained for two cents.
PHILADELPHIA COMMERCIAL MUSEUM, Thirty-fourth Street below Spruce,
organized, 1894, is the only Commercial Museum in the United States; it
received immense collections from the Chicago “Columbian Exposition,”
over forty governments being represented; many subsequent collections
from other international expositions; and special exhibits, illustrating
the people and products of the world. A free reference library is here,
of Foreign and American Commerce and Travel, which could not be
duplicated, and courses of free lectures are given which cover subjects
of geographic, commercial, and industrial importance, illustrated by
colored lantern slides and motion pictures; colored slides, with
lantern screen and type-written lectures, covering same field of
geography, commerce, and industry, are loaned, free of cost, to
public-school teachers, in all parts of Pennsylvania; they reach tens of
thousands; also collections of specimens, to aid teachers, are sent free
of cost, as a gift to Pennsylvania public schools; they are arranged,
showing important raw material, and process of manufacture.
Manufacturers are furnished with information on all matters pertaining
to foreign trade; the Foreign Trade Bureau is the acknowledged leader of
such organizations in the world.
THE PENNSYLVANIA HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, 1600 Walnut Street; first in
America, organized at meeting in Franklin Institute, 1827, to promote
horticulture and create love for flowers, fruits, and vegetables by
their cultivation. Minutes of the Society and list of membership is
complete from formation to present time. Lectures by an expert in the
various branches of horticulture are given at each monthly meeting, from
November until May. Annual exhibitions are, Spring Flower Show before
Easter, three days; Peony, outdoor grown Rose and Sweet Pea Show in
Philadelphia suburbs, from May to July, according to season; Dahlia
Exhibition, in September; Chrysanthemum, early November. The Society has
a library of several thousand books on agriculture and horticulture,
some very rare and of great value, and all recommended works, of recent
publication, in Europe and America. “Great gardens educate people in
gentility as well as in horticulture.”
WAGNER INSTITUTE, southwest corner of Seventeenth Street and Montgomery
Avenue; founded by Professor William Wagner, 1847. Circulating and
reference library open daily except Sunday, 9.00 A.M. to 9.00 P.M.
Museum collections, chiefly in reference to geology and mineralogy, open
Wednesday and Saturday afternoons. Courses of lectures conducted through
the collegiate year.
LIBRARIES
THE LIBRARY COMPANY OF PHILADELPHIA, Locust Street, east of Broad; first
circulating library in the United States; founded by subscription in
1731, by Benjamin Franklin and his friends of the Junto Club; charter
granted by John, Thomas, and Richard Penn in 1781; original building,
Fifth and Library Streets, designed by Dr. Thornton, now the Drexel
Building; present building, architect, Frank Furness in 1889; is a haven
for scholars interested in historical research; also has important
collections of books on costume, foreign literature, and complete set of
Punch, begun in 1840; among historic relics are original sketches made
for Watson’s Annals of Philadelphia; William Penn’s desk from Pennsburg;
John Dickinson’s reading desk, and Heraldic Hatchment, used at his
funeral; and the André collection. THE RIDGEWAY BRANCH, Broad and
Christian Streets, founded by bequest of Dr. James Rush; architect,
Addison Hutton; built, 1878, Doric, granite; contains terra cotta bust
of Minerva, heroic size, probably French work; formerly behind the
Speaker’s chair in the Continental Congress, Sixth and Chestnut Streets,
given to the Philadelphia Library, 1783, also some articles of Boule,
and illuminated manuscripts.
MERCANTILE LIBRARY, Tenth Street above Chestnut; was established 1821,
at 100 Chestnut Street, present building, originally a market house,
with room seventy-four by two hundred feet, and high-arched ceiling,
makes ideal condition for library work on one floor; this is a
circulating library of general literature for stockholders and members,
who only are admitted into the reading room, where they have
unrestricted use of books.
PHILADELPHIA CITY INSTITUTE, 218 South Nineteenth Street, was founded,
1852, by public-spirited citizens, for the purpose of benefiting young
men, by establishing a free library and night school; library free to
the public.
THE FREE LIBRARY OF PHILADELPHIA, northeast corner of Thirteenth and
Locust Streets, chartered, 1891, from endowment fund, left in will by
William Pepper, M.D., LL.D., for a free library in the city of
Philadelphia: opened temporarily in City Hall; removed to old Concert
Hall, 1217-21 Chestnut Street, now in old building of College of
Physicians; contains bust of Dr. Pepper, by Carl Bitter, and portraits;
a large new library building is in process of construction on the
Parkway, Nineteenth and Vine Streets. Growth and usefulness, from its
inception, are due to the management of the late Dr. John Thomson,
Librarian; now includes a main building, 26 branches, as well as deposit
stations and traveling libraries; total circulation for home use in
1916, 2,767,310. Hearty coöperation exists between the public schools
and the Free Library; school extension lectures are given to the
children of the grammar grades; and “story hours” are weekly events for
younger children in the branch libraries. Reference and periodical
departments contain works on art, architecture, and archæology,
extremely valuable to the practical student and designer; here are
facsimiles of many most noted, of early printed books and manuscripts,
Bible codices, etc.; the “open shelf” system is used in all departments.
Fine buildings of the branch libraries have been developed in their
architectural proportions and decoration, on the traditions of French
and English Renaissance, or local expression of the Georgian; always
with top lighting, considered extremely important: in the basement of
the branch at Seventeenth and Spring Garden Streets is a large and
valuable collection of government documents; the Josephine Widener
Memorial Branch, Broad Street and Girard Avenue, has reference books of
priceless nature and rare prints, issued before A.D. 1500.
HISTORIC MEDICAL COLLEGES, HOSPITALS, AND DISPENSARIES
CHRIST CHRUCH HOSPITAL, Wynnefield Station, Park Trolley and P. R. R.;
Gothic stone building; organized, 1772, by Dr. John Kearsley; endowed by
Jacob Dobson in 1804; is a home for gentlewomen, communicants of the
Protestant Episcopal Church, in the Diocese of Pennsylvania; 150 acres;
the Board of Managers include three of the vestry, each, of Christ
Church and St. Peter’s Church.
COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS OF PHILADELPHIA, Twenty-second Street, above
Chestnut; founded about 1787, and modeled on lines of The Royal College
of Physicians in London. A scientific paper was read by Dr. Benjamin
Rush at the first meeting. English Renaissance, brick, laid Flemish
bond, with basement, cornices, pilasters, and other trimmings of Indiana
limestone; finest building of a medical society in the world, with the
largest medical library, save one, in the United States, and a fine
collection of portraits of presidents of the Society, painted by most
notable artists. This is not a teaching institution, but a Medical
Society, composed of men of professional distinction.
HAHNEMANN MEDICAL COLLEGE AND HOSPITAL, 226 North Broad Street. Oldest
homeopathic college in the world; founded in 1848; first located at 229
Arch Street. Consolidated with the Homeopathic Medical College in 1869;
moved to present site in 1901. Its collections include the world-famous
dissection of entire cerebro-spinal nervous system by Dr. Rufus B.
Weaver; Dr. Hering’s complete writings of Paracelsus; Dr. A. R. Thomas’s
library of old and rare anatomical books; Hahnemann’s works in the
original; it has the most complete library of homeopathic literature in
existence. Portrait of Dr. W. B. VanLennep; artist, Henry Rittenberg.
HOME OF THE MERCIFUL SAVIOUR, 4400 Baltimore Avenue, on grounds
adjoining the Clarence Clark Park; incorporated, 1882; eight houses and
chapel, all memorials, with a summer home at Avon-by-the-Sea. A home for
crippled, homeless, and helpless children. First of its kind in America
where vocational training is taught.
HOSPITAL OF THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH, Front Street and Lehigh
Avenue. Main group of buildings, pure Norman. Founded by the Right Rev.
Alonzo Potter, Bishop of Pennsylvania, and Dr. Caspar Morris, in the
ancestral home of two parishioners on the present site. Jenny Lind made
the first cash contribution.
JEFFERSON MEDICAL COLLEGE, Tenth and Sansom Streets; founded through the
efforts of Dr. George B. McClellan; opened, 1825. Present building
erected, 1904.
JEFFERSON HOSPITAL, Tenth and Sansom Streets; last word in hospital
construction and equipment; originated in the Infirmary established in
Jefferson College, 1825; present site was bought, 1875, and the building
opened for use in 1877. Amphitheatre is one of the largest in the world.
Museum contains casts and wax models of interesting cases. Notable
portraits in the building are Dr. Forbes, by Aikens; Dr. DaCosta, by
Vonnoh; Dr. Keen, by Chase; Mr. William Potter, by Breckenridge; Dr.
William Pancoast, by Uhle; also bronze bust of Dr. Marion Sims, by C.
Duboi, Paris, 1876; marble bust of Dr. George McClellan; bronze busts of
Daniel Webster and Thomas Jefferson.
JEWISH HOSPITAL, Logan Station; Old York Road and Olney Avenue, entrance
is marked with six granite columns from the old United States Mint,
formerly on Chestnut Street. Includes twenty buildings, on twenty-two
acres of ground, with modern scientific equipment for treatment of sick,
care of aged and incurable. A number of art works said to be of
considerable value are here.
MUNICIPAL HOSPITAL, Luzerne, near Front Street, 4000 north; on
extensive grounds bisected by a well-wooded ravine. Established in 1774,
on State Island, for the isolation and treatment of contagious diseases;
probably most complete of its kind in the world.
PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL, between Spruce and Pine Streets, Eighth and Ninth
Streets; colonial; brick; with great trees and beautiful open spaces in
the grounds. First hospital in the United States, founded, 1751, by Dr.
Thomas Bond and Benjamin Franklin. Corner-stone on present site, laid,
1755, can still be seen; part of this land belonged to William Penn,
which he donated. In 1756, here was the first clinical amphitheatre in
America. Noah Webster delivered a lecture for the benefit of the
hospital in 1786; other benefits received about this time were, a
charity sermon preached by Rev. George Whitefield in St. Paul’s
Protestant Episcopal Church; and a painting by Benjamin West, “Christ
Healing the Sick,” made while he was in London; the English refused to
allow the original to come to America; they used it to start the
National Gallery; so a replica was painted; it now hangs in the hall;
for years the hospital made money by charging a fee to see it. At the
Pine Street front is a leaden statue of William Penn, presented by his
grandson, John Penn, from Wycombe Park, Bucks, England, estate of Lord
le Dispenser. Benjamin Franklin was the first Secretary and the second
President; his minute books are still to be seen there, with clear fine
handwriting; and interesting letters and documents of colonial and
Revolutionary times.
PHILADELPHIA ALMSHOUSE AND GENERAL HOSPITAL, Thirty-fourth and Pine
Streets, Blockley; first almshouse was opened in 1713 by the Quakers;
not municipal, open only to their sect; located on Walnut, between Third
and Fourth Streets. First city almshouse was established in 1732; second
in 1767; in 1772 it was the most extensive hospital on the continent.
During the Revolutionary War, wounded were cared for here. In
Longfellow’s poem, Evangeline becomes a Sister of Mercy and ministers
here to the yellow fever sufferers in Philadelphia. Present institution
built, 1834; architecture of administration building, Corinthian,
marble. The Medical Department antedates the Pennsylvania Hospital.
PHILADELPHIA COLLEGE OF PHARMACY, 145 North Tenth Street; established,
1821, at meeting in Carpenters’ Hall: consists of five large buildings
connected by a central building, Romanesque, Pompeian brick and Seneca
red stone; largest and first institution in the United States devoted to
pharmaceutical and chemical instruction. Laboratories and equipment are
without a peer, for most advanced training of men and women as
pharmacists and chemists. Museum has a large number of paintings of
famous scientists, also the Martindale Herbarium of over 200,000 plant
specimens. Library has about 14,000 volumes; around the gallery hang
portraits of men who have given largely of their time and substance to
the development and advancement of the College, and to the progress and
betterment of the city; artists represented, Charles Willson Peale, Hugh
H. Breckenridge, Henry R. Rittenberg. Collection of photographs of
pharmaceutical subjects, many rare and very valuable.
PRESTON RETREAT, Twentieth and Hamilton Streets, on site of William
Penn’s residence; classic, marble: founded by Dr. James Preston in 1837,
for married women of good character and indigent circumstances, about to
be confined. One of the best equipped in the world.
ST. JOSEPH’S HOSPITAL, Girard Avenue and Sixteenth Street; colonial,
brick. Established first in the parish of St. Joseph’s Church, near
Fourth and Walnut Streets, for Irish famine refugees who became ill on
overcrowded and unventilated ships. Incorporated, 1849. Was third
general hospital in Philadelphia.
WILLS’ HOSPITAL, Eighteenth and Race Streets, facing Logan Circle;
classic, marble; founded, 1832, by James Wills, Jr., for the indigent
blind and lame. Now one of the best in the world as an institution for
the study and practice of ophthalmy.
WOMEN’S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA, North College Avenue. Oldest and
largest hospital in the world for women and children: organized, 1861.
Its motto is, “Woman’s work for woman by women.”
WOMAN’S MEDICAL COLLEGE OF PHILADELPHIA, Twenty-first Street and North
College Avenue; first college in the world organized for the education
of women for the medical profession. Incorporated, 1850. Dr. Ann
Preston, of first class to be graduated, was the founder of the Women’s
Hospital. Contains bas-relief tablet, “The Woman Physician”; sculptor,
Miss Clara Hill.
HISTORIC MUSICAL INTERESTS OF PHILADELPHIA
ACADEMY OF MUSIC, Broad and Locust Streets. Seats 3000; established,
1857, for representation of operas in English, and distinguished
entertainments; opened with a magnificent ball, such as was never before
witnessed in Philadelphia; now home of the Philadelphia Orchestra, which
has had three conductors since its organization in 1900, Fritz Scheel,
Carl Pohlig, and Leopold Stokowski; all of whom have brought the
splendid body of players to a high standard of musical excellence. Dr.
Stokowski has said of the Academy: “The architect must have had great
knowledge of the laws governing sound, as the volumes are marvelously
arranged.”
The Mahler Symphony was given here in 1916, first time in America,
Stokowski, director, with chorus of 1000 voices. A memorial to Siegfried
Behrens will be in wall of lobby, portrait figure in relief, with Muse
of Music holding laurel wreath, Cararra marble, seven feet high, on base
of dark marble; sculptor, Guiseppe Donato.
THE MAENNERCHOR SOCIETY, 1643 North Broad Street. A men’s chorus of
active and associate members, founded, 1835, by Philip Mathias
Wolsieffer, director for eighteen years. The Maennerchor was the first
men’s chorus in America; they have sung for twenty-eight years at
opening of the German-American Charity Ball, in the Academy of Music.
They sang with the Vocal Union, choral parts of Beethoven’s Ninth
Symphony in 1874, first time given in America, William W. Wolsieffer
conducting. Won three prizes at National Saengerfest in Brooklyn,
Baltimore, and Newark.
MUSICAL FUND HALL, Locust Street, west of Eighth Street, built, 1824.
Acoustic properties unsurpassed. Jenny Lind sang here. Now used by a
Labor Organization.
Philadelphia has over two hundred singing societies, and a long list of
very prominent musical organizations.
THE PRESSER FOUNDATION OF PHILADELPHIA, organized 1916, is the first
institution of its kind to be established in America. All of its
resources have been given by Mr. Theodore Presser. It includes a Home
for Retired Music Teachers, suggested by the Founder’s visit to the
Verdi “Casa di Riposo per Musicisti,” in Milan in 1899. Scholarships to
institutions of learning, the students to be selected by the President,
and Directors of the Musical Departments, and emergency aid relief to
musicians.
THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA AND OTHER HISTORIC SCHOOLS