Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by the
Digital & Multimedia Center, Michigan State University
Libraries.)
_The Colonial Architecture
of Philadelphia_
Nine hundred and seventy-five copies of =The Colonial Architecture of
Philadelphia=, of which nine hundred and fifty are for sale, have been
printed from type and the type distributed.
This copy is Number 201
[Illustration: PLATE I.--Doorway, Cliveden, Germantown.]
_The
Colonial Architecture
of Philadelphia_
_By_
_Frank Cousins and Phil M. Riley_
_Illustrated_
[Illustration]
_Boston_
_Little, Brown, and Company_
_1920_
_Copyright, 1920,_
BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY.
_All rights reserved_
_Foreword_
So many books have been published which are devoted wholly or in part to
the fine old Colonial residences and public buildings of Philadelphia,
including Germantown, that it might seem almost the part of temerity to
suppose there could be a place for another one. A survey of the entire
list, however, discloses the fact that almost without exception these
books are devoted primarily to a picture of the city in Colonial times,
to the stories of its old houses and other buildings now remaining, or
to an account of the activities of those who peopled them from one to
two centuries ago. Some more or less complete description of the
structures mentioned has occasionally been included, to be sure, but
almost invariably this has been subordinate to the main theme. The
narrative has been woven upon a historical rather than an architectural
background, so that these books appeal to the tourist, historian and
antiquary rather than to the architect, student and prospective home
builder.
Interesting as was the provincial life of this community; absorbing as
are the reminiscences attaching to its well-known early buildings;
important as were the activities of those who made them part and parcel
of our national life, the Colonial architecture of this vicinity is in
itself a priceless heritage--extensive, meritorious, substantial,
distinctive. It is a heritage not only of local but of national
interest, deserving detailed description, analysis and comparison in a
book which includes historic facts only to lend true local color and
impart human interest to the narrative, to indicate the sources of
affluence and culture which aided so materially in developing this
architecture, and to describe the life and manners of the time which
determined its design and arrangement. Such a book the authors have
sought to make the present volume, and both Mr. Riley in writing the
text and Mr. Cousins in illustrating it have been actuated primarily by
architectural rather than historic values, although in most instances
worthy of inclusion the two are inseparable.
For much of the historic data the authors acknowledge their indebtedness
to the authors of previous Philadelphia books, notably "Philadelphia,
the City and Its People" and "The Literary History of Philadelphia",
Ellis Paxon Oberholtzer; "Old Roads Out of Philadelphia" and "The
Romance of Old Philadelphia", John Thomson Faris; "The History of
Philadelphia" and "Historic Mansions of Philadelphia", T. Westcott; "The
Colonial Homes of Philadelphia and Its Neighborhood", Harold Donaldson
Eberlein and Horace Mather Lippincott; "Colonial Mansions ", Thomas
Allen Glenn; "The Guide Book to Historic Germantown", Charles Francis
Jenkens; "Germantown Road and Its Associations", Townsend Ward. Ph. B.
Wallace, of Philadelphia, photographed some of the best subjects.
The original boundaries of Philadelphia remained unchanged for one
hundred and seventy-five years after the founding of the city, the
adjoining territory, as it became populated, being erected into
corporated districts in the following order: Southwark, 1762; Northern
Liberties, 1771; Moyamensing, 1812; Spring Garden, 1813; Kensington,
1820; Penn, 1844; Richmond, 1847; West Philadelphia, 1851; and Belmont,
1853. In 1854 all these districts, together with the boroughs of
Germantown, Frankford, Manayunk, White Hall, Bridesburg and Aramingo,
and the townships of Passyunk, Blockley, Kingsessing, Roxborough,
Germantown, Bristol, Oxford, Lower Dublin, Moreland, Byberry, Delaware
and Penn were abolished by an act of the State legislature, and the
boundaries of the city of Philadelphia were extended to the Philadelphia
county lines.
Such of these outlying communities as had been settled prior to the
Revolution were closely related to Philadelphia by common interests, a
common provincial government and a common architecture. For these
reasons, therefore, it seems more logical that this treatise devoted to
the Colonial architecture of the first capitol of the United States
should embrace the greater city of the present day rather than confine
itself to the city proper of Colonial times. Otherwise it would be a
problem where to draw the line, and much of value would be omitted. The
wealth of material thus comprehended is so great, however, that it is
impossible in a single book of ordinary size to include more than a
fractional part of it. An attempt has therefore been made to present an
adequate number of representative types chosen with careful regard,
first, to their architectural merit, and second, to their historic
interest. Exigencies of space are thus the only reason for the omission
of numerous excellent houses without historic association and others
rich in history but deficient in architecture.
FRANK COUSINS AND PHIL M. RILEY.
APRIL 1, 1920
_Contents_
CHAPTER PAGE
FOREWORD v
I. PHILADELPHIA ARCHITECTURE 1
II. GEORGIAN COUNTRY HOUSES OF BRICK 16
III. CITY RESIDENCES OF BRICK 38
IV. LEDGE-STONE COUNTRY HOUSES 53
V. PLASTERED STONE COUNTRY HOUSES 69
VI. HEWN STONE COUNTRY HOUSES 86
VII. DOORWAYS AND PORCHES 101
VIII. WINDOWS AND SHUTTERS 134
IX. HALLS AND STAIRCASES 153
X. MANTELS AND CHIMNEY PIECES 169
XI. INTERIOR WOOD FINISH 185
XII. PUBLIC BUILDINGS 196
INDEX 227
_List of Plates_
I. Doorway, Cliveden, Germantown _Frontispiece_
PAGE
II. Old Mermaid Inn, Mount Airy; Old Red Lion
Inn 6
III. Camac Street, "The Street of Little Clubs";
Woodford, Northern Liberties, Fairmount
Park. Erected by William Coleman in 1756 7
IV. Stenton, Germantown Avenue, Germantown.
Erected by James Logan in 1727 12
V. Hope Lodge, Whitemarsh Valley. Erected by
Samuel Morris in 1723; Home of Stephen
Girard 13
VI. Port Royal House, Frankford. Erected in 1762
by Edward Stiles 16
VII. Blackwell House, 224 Pine Street. Erected
about 1765 by John Stamper; Wharton
House, 336 Spruce Street. Erected prior to
1796 by Samuel Pancoast 17
VIII. Morris House, 225 South Eighth Street. Erected
in 1786 by John Reynolds 20
IX. Wistar House, Fourth and Locust Streets.
Erected about 1750; Betsy Ross House,
239 Arch Street 21
X. Glen Fern, on Wissahickon Creek, Germantown.
Erected about 1747 by Thomas Shoemaker;
Grumblethorpe, 5261 Germantown Avenue,
Germantown. Erected in 1744 by John
Wister 24
XI. Upsala, Germantown Avenue and Upsala
Streets, Germantown. Erected in 1798
by John Johnson; End Perspective of
Upsala 25
XII. The Woodlands, Blockley Township, West
Philadelphia. Erected in 1770 by
William Hamilton; Stable at The
Woodlands 28
XIII. Wyck, Germantown Avenue and Walnut Lane,
Germantown. Erected by Hans Millan
about 1690; Hall and Entrance Doorways,
Wyck 29
XIV. Mount Pleasant, Northern Liberties, Fairmount
Park. Erected in 1761 by Captain
James Macpherson; The Main House,
Mount Pleasant 32
XV. Deschler-Perot-Morris House, 5442 Germantown
Avenue, Germantown. Erected
in 1772 by Daniel Deschler; Vernon,
Vernon Park, Germantown. Erected in
1803 by James Matthews 33
XVI. Loudoun, Germantown Avenue and Apsley
Street, Germantown. Erected in 1801 by
Thomas Armat; Solitude, Blockley Township,
Fairmount Park. Erected in 1785
by John Penn 34
XVII. Cliveden, Germantown Avenue and Johnson
Street, Germantown. Erected in 1781 by
Benjamin Chew 35
XVIII. Detail of Cliveden Facade; Detail of Bartram
House Facade 40
XIX. The Highlands, Skippack Pike, Whitemarsh.
Erected in 1796 by Anthony Morris 41
XX. Bartram House, Kingsessing, West Philadelphia.
Erected in 1730-31 by
John Bartram; Old Green Tree Inn,
6019 Germantown Avenue, Germantown.
Erected in 1748 46
XXI. Johnson House, 6306 Germantown Avenue,
Germantown. Erected in 1765-68 by
Dirck Jansen; Billmeyer House,
Germantown Avenue, Germantown.
Erected in 1727 47
XXII. Hooded Doorway, Johnson House, Germantown;
Hooded Doorway, Green Tree
Inn 52
XXIII. Pedimental Doorway, 114 League Street;
Pedimental Doorway, 5933 Germantown
Avenue 53
XXIV. Doorway, 5011 Germantown Avenue;
Doorway, Morris House, 225 South
Eighth Street 56
XXV. Doorway, 6504 Germantown Avenue;
Doorway, 709 Spruce Street 57
XXVI. Doorway, 5200 Germantown Avenue;
Doorway, 4927 Frankford Avenue 60
XXVII. Doorway, Powel House, 244 South Third
Street; Doorway, Wharton House,
336 Spruce Street 61
XXVIII. Doorway, 301 South Seventh Street 64
XXIX. Doorway, Grumblethorpe, 5621 Germantown
Avenue; Doorway, 6105
Germantown Avenue 65
XXX. Doorway, Doctor Denton's House,
Germantown 68
XXXI. West Entrance, Mount Pleasant, Fairmount
Park; East Entrance, Mount Pleasant 69
XXXII. Doorway, Solitude, Fairmount Park;
Doorway, Perot-Morris House, 5442
Germantown Avenue 72
XXXIII. Entrance Porch and Doorway, Upsala, Germantown;
Elliptical Porch and Doorway,
39 Fisher's Lane, Wayne Junction 73
XXXIV. Doorway, 224 South Eighth Street; Doorway,
Stenton 78
XXXV. Doorway and Ironwork, Southeast Corner
of Eighth and Spruce Streets 79
XXXVI. Doorway and Ironwork, Northeast Corner
of Third and Pine Streets; Stoop
with Curved Stairs and Iron Handrail,
316 South Third Street 84
XXXVII. Stoop and Balustrade, Wistar House; Stoop
and Balustrade, 130 Race Street 85
XXXVIII. Detail of Iron Balustrade, 216 South
Ninth Street; Stoop with Wing
Flights, 207 La Grange Alley 88
XXXIX. Iron Newel, Fourth and Liberty Streets;
Iron Newel, 1107 Walnut Street 89
XL. Footscraper, Wyck; Old Philadelphia
Footscraper; Footscraper, Third and
Spruce Streets; Footscraper, Dirck-Keyser
House, Germantown 92
XLI. Footscraper, 320 South Third Street;
Footscraper, South Third Street;
Footscraper, Vernon, Germantown;
Footscraper, 239 Pine Street 93
XLII. Iron Stair Rail and Footscraper, South
Seventh Street (section); Iron Stair
Rail and Footscraper, South Fourth
Street (section); Iron Stair Rail and
Footscraper, Seventh and Locust
Streets (section); Iron Stair Rail
and Footscraper, Seventh and Locust
Streets (section) 98
XLIII. Detail of Window and Shutters, Morris
House 99
XLIV. Window and Shutters, Free Quakers'
Meeting House, Fifth and Arch
Streets; Second Story Window, Free
Quakers' Meeting House 102
XLV. Detail of Window, Combes Alley; Window
and Shutters, Cliveden; Window, Bartram
House 103
XLVI. Window, Stenton; Window and Shutters,
128 Race Street 106
XLVII. Dormer, Witherill House, 130 North Front
Street; Dormer, 6105 Germantown
Avenue, Germantown; Foreshortened
Window, Morris House; Dormer,
Stenton; Window and Shutters,
Witherill House; Window and
Blinds, 6105 Germantown Avenue 107
XLVIII. Shutter Fastener, Cliveden; Shutter
Fastener, Wyck; Shutter Fastener,
Perot-Morris House; Shutter Fastener,
6043 Germantown Avenue 110
XLIX. Detail of Round Headed Window, Congress
Hall; Detail of Round Headed
Window, Christ Church 111
L. Fenestration, Chancel End, St. Peter's
Church 114
LI. Details of Round Headed Windows,
Christ Church 115
LII. Chancel Window, Christ Church; Palladian
Window and Doorway, Independence
Hall 118
LIII. Palladian Window, The Woodlands 119
LIV. Great Hall and Staircase, Stenton 122
LV. Hall and Staircase, Whitby Hall; Detail
of Staircase, Whitby Hall 123
LVI. Hall and Staircase, Mount Pleasant;
Second Floor Hall Archway and
Palladian Window, Mount Pleasant 126
LVII. Hall and Staircase, Cliveden; Staircase
Detail, Cliveden 127
LVIII. Detail of Staircase Balustrade and Newel,
Upsala; Staircase Balustrade, Roxborough 130
LIX. Staircase Detail, Upsala; Staircase
Balustrade, Gowen House, Mount
Airy 131
LX. Detail of Stair Ends, Carpenter House,
Third and Spruce Streets; Detail of
Stair Ends, Independence Hall
(horizontal section) 134
LXI. Chimney Piece in the Hall, Stenton;
Chimney Piece and Paneled Wall,
Great Chamber, Mount Pleasant 135
LXII. Chimney Piece and Paneled Wall, Parlor,
Whitby Hall 138
LXIII. Chimney Piece, Parlor, Mount Pleasant;
Chimney Piece, Parlor, Cliveden 139
LXIV. Chimney Piece and Paneled Wall on the
Second Floor of an Old Spruce Street
House; Detail of Mantel, 312 Cypress
Street 142
LXV. Parlor Mantel, Upsala; Detail of Parlor
Mantel, Upsala 143
LXVI. Mantel at Upsala; Mantel at Third and
DeLancy Streets 144
LXVII. Mantel, Rex House, Mount Airy; Mantel
at 729 Walnut Street 145
LXVIII. Parlor, Stenton; Reception Room, Stenton 148
LXIX. Dining Room, Stenton; Library, Stenton 149
LXX. Pedimental Doorway, First Floor, Mount
Pleasant; Pedimental Doorway,
Second Floor, Mount Pleasant 152
LXXI. Doorways, Second Floor Hall, Mount
Pleasant; Doorway Detail, Whitby
Hall 153
LXXII. Inside of Front Door, Whitby Hall;
Palladian Window on Stair Landing,
Whitby Hall 156
LXXIII. Window Detail, Parlor, Whitby Hall;
Window Detail, Dining Room, Whitby
Hall 157
LXXIV. Ceiling Detail, Solitude; Cornice and
Frieze Detail, Solitude 160
LXXV. Independence Hall, Independence Square
Side. Begun in 1731 161
LXXVI. Independence Hall, Chestnut Street
Side 164
LXXVII. Independence Hall, Stairway; Liberty
Bell, Independence Hall 165
LXXVIII. Stairway Landing, Independence Hall;
Palladian Window at Stairway Landing 170
LXXIX. Declaration Chamber, Independence Hall 171
LXXX. Judge's Bench, Supreme Court Room,
Independence Hall; Arcade at Opposite
End of Court Room 174
LXXXI. Banquet Hall, Second Floor, Independence
Hall; Entrance to Banquet Hall 175
LXXXII. Congress Hall, Sixth and Chestnut Streets.
Completed in 1790; Congress Hall
from Independence Square 180
LXXXIII. Stair Hall Details, Congress Hall 181
LXXXIV. Interior Detail of Main Entrance, Congress
Hall; President's Dais, Senate
Chamber, Congress Hall 190
LXXXV. Gallery, Senate Chamber, Congress Hall 191
LXXXVI. Carpenters' Hall, off Chestnut Street
between South Third and South
Fourth Streets. Erected in 1770;
Old Market House, Second and Pine
Streets 196
LXXXVII. Main Building, Pennsylvania Hospital.
Erected in 1755 197
LXXXVIII. Main Hall and Double Staircase, Pennsylvania
Hospital 206
LXXXIX. Custom House, Fifth and Chestnut
Streets. Completed in 1824; Main
Building, Girard College. Begun in
1833 207
XC. Old Stock Exchange, Walnut and Dock
Streets; Girard National Bank, 116
South Third Street 210
XCI. Christ Church, North Second Street near
Market Street. Erected in 1727-44;
Old Swedes' Church, Swanson and
Christian Streets. Erected in 1698-1700 211
XCII. St. Peter's Church, South Third and
Pine Streets. Erected in 1761; Lectern,
St. Peter's Church 216
XCIII. Interior and Chancel, Christ Church;
Interior and Lectern, St. Peter's
Church 217
XCIV. Interior and Chancel, Old Swedes' Church;
St. Paul's Church, South Third Street
near Walnut Street 220
XCV. Mennonite Meeting House, Germantown.
Erected in 1770; Holy Trinity
Church, South Twenty-first and Walnut
Streets 221
_The Colonial Architecture of Philadelphia_
CHAPTER I
PHILADELPHIA ARCHITECTURE
Philadelphia occupies a unique position in American architecture. Few of
the early settled cities of the United States can boast so extensive or
so notable a collection of dwellings and public buildings in the
so-called Colonial style, many of them under auspices that insure their
indefinite perpetuation. These beautiful old structures are almost
exclusively of brick and stone and of a more elaborate and substantial
character than any contemporary work to be found above the Mason and
Dixon line which later became in part the boundary between the North and
the South. Erected and occupied by the leading men of substance of the
Province of Pennsylvania, the fine old countryseats, town residences and
public buildings of the "City of Brotherly Love" not only comprise a
priceless architectural inheritance, but the glamour of their historic
association renders them almost national monuments, and so object
lessons of material assistance in keeping alive the spirit and ideals of
true Americanism.
Much of the best Colonial domestic architecture in America is to be
found in this vicinity, a great deal of it still standing in virtually
its pristine condition as enduring memorials of the most elegant period
in Colonial life. Just as men have personality, so houses have
individuality. And as the latter is but a reflection of the former, a
study of the architecture of any neighborhood gives us a more intimate
knowledge of contemporary life and manners, while the history of the
homes of prominent personages is usually the history of the community.
Such a study is the more interesting in the present instance, however,
in that not merely local but national history was enacted within the
Colonial residences and public buildings of old Philadelphia. Men
prominent in historic incidents of Colonial times which profoundly
affected the destiny of the country lived in Philadelphia. The fathers
of the American nation were familiar figures on the streets of the city,
and Philadelphians in their native city wrote their names large in
American history.
Philadelphia was not settled until approximately half a century later
than the other early centers of the North,--Plymouth, New York, Salem,
Boston and Providence. Georgian architecture had completely won the
approval of the English people, and so it was that few if any buildings
showing Elizabethan and Jacobean influences were erected here as in New
England. Although several other nationalities were from the first
represented in the population, notably the Swedish, Dutch and German,
the British were always in the majority, and while a few old houses,
especially those with plastered walls, have a slightly Continental
atmosphere, all are essentially Georgian or pure Colonial in design and
detail.
To understand how this remarkable collection of Colonial architecture
came into being, and to appreciate what it means to us, it is necessary
briefly to review the early history of Philadelphia. Although some small
trading posts had been established by the Swedes and Dutch in the lower
valley of the Delaware River from 1623 onward, it was not until 1682
that Philadelphia was settled under a charter which William Penn
obtained from Charles II the previous year, providing a place of refuge
for Quakers who were suffering persecution in England under the
"Clarendon Code." The site was chosen by Penn's commission, consisting
of Nathaniel Allen, John Bezan and William Heage, assisted by Penn's
cousin, Captain William Markham, as deputy governor, and Thomas Holme as
surveyor-general. The Swedes had established a settlement at the mouth
of the Schuylkill River not later than 1643, and the site selected by
the commissioners was held by three brothers of the Swaenson family.
They agreed, however, to take in exchange land in what is now known as
the Northern Liberties, and in the summer of 1682, Holme laid out the
city extending from the Delaware River on the east to the Schuylkill
River on the west--a distance of about two miles--and from Vine Street
on the north to Cedar, now South Street, on the south,--a distance of
about one mile. Penn landed at New Castle on the Delaware, October 27,
1682, and probably came to his newly founded city soon afterward. A
meeting of the Provincial Council was held March 10, 1683, and from that
time Philadelphia was the capital of Pennsylvania until 1799, when
Lancaster was chosen.
Not only did Penn obtain a grant of land possessed of rare and
diversified natural beauty, extreme fertility, mineral wealth and
richness of all kinds, but he showed great sagacity in encouraging
ambitious men of education and affluence, and artisans of skill and
taste in many lines, to colonize it. To these facts are due the quick
prosperity which came to Philadelphia and which has made it to this day
one of the foremost manufacturing centers in the United States. Textile,
foundry and many other industries soon sprang up to supply the wants of
these diligent people three thousand miles from the mother country and
to provide a basis of trade with the rest of the world. Shipyards were
established and a merchant marine built up which soon brought to
Philadelphia a foreign and coastwise commerce second to none in the
American colonies. Local merchants engaged in trade with Europe and the
West Indies, and these profitable ventures soon brought great affluence
and a high degree of culture. By the time of the Revolution Philadelphia
had become the largest, richest, most extravagant and fashionable city
of the American colonies. Society was gayer, more polished and
distinguished than anywhere else this side of the Atlantic.
Among the skilled artisans attracted by the promise of Penn's "Sylvania"
were numerous carpenters and builders. Penn induced James Portius to
come to the new world to design and execute his proprietary buildings,
and Portius was accompanied and followed by others of more or less skill
in the same and allied trades. While some of the building materials and
parts of the finished woodwork were for a time brought from England,
local skill and resources were soon equal to the demands, as much of
their handiwork still existing amply shows. As early as 1724 the master
carpenters of the city organized the Carpenters' Company, a guild
patterned after the Worshipful Company of Carpenters of London, founded
in 1477. Portius was one of the leading members, and on his death in
1736 laid the foundation of a valuable builders' library by giving his
rare collection of early architectural books to the company.
Toward the middle of the eighteenth century American carpenters and
builders everywhere, Philadelphia included, were materially aided by the
appearance of handy little ready reference books of directions for
joinery containing measured drawings with excellent Georgian detail.
Such publications became the fountainhead of Colonial design. They
taught our local craftsmen the technique of building and the art of
proportion; instilled in their minds an appreciation of classic motives
and the desire to adapt the spirit of the Renaissance to their own needs
and purposes. In those days some knowledge of architecture was
considered essential to every gentleman's education, and with the aid of
these builders' reference books many men in other professions throughout
the country became amateur architects of no mean ability as a pastime.
In and about Philadelphia their Georgian adaptations, often tempered to
a degree by the Quaker preference for the simple and practical,
contributed much to the charm and distinction of local architecture. To
such amateur architects we owe Independence Hall, designed by Andrew
Hamilton, speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly, and Christ Church,
designed mainly by Doctor John Kearsley.
[Illustration: PLATE II.
--Old Mermaid Inn, Mount Airy; Old Red Lion Inn.]
[Illustration: PLATE III.--Camac Street, "The Street of Little Clubs";
Woodford, Northern Liberties, Fairmount Park. Erected by William Coleman
in 1756.]
During the whole of the eighteenth century Philadelphia was the most
important city commercially, politically and socially in the American
colonies. For this there were several reasons. Owing to its liberal
government and its policy of religious toleration, Philadelphia and the
outlying districts gradually became a refuge for European immigrants of
various persecuted sects. Nowhere else in America was such a
heterogeneous mixture of races and religions to be found. There were
Swedes, Dutch, English, Germans, Welsh, Irish and Scotch-Irish; Quakers,
Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Catholics, Reformed Lutherans, Mennonites,
Dunkers, Schwenkfelders and Moravians. Until the Seven Years' War
between France and England from 1756 to 1763 the Quakers dominated the
Pennsylvania government, and Quaker influence remained strong in
Philadelphia long after it had given way to that of the more belligerent
Scotch-Irish, mostly Presbyterians, in the rest of Pennsylvania, until
the failure of the Whiskey Insurrection in 1794. This Scotch-Irish
ascendancy was due not only to their increasing numbers, but to the
increasing general dissatisfaction with the Quaker failure to provide
for the defense of the province. The Penns lost their governmental
rights in 1776 and three years later had their territorial rights vested
in the commonwealth.
Its central location among the American colonies, and the fact that it
was the largest and most successful of the proprietary provinces,
rendered Pennsylvania's attitude in the struggle with the mother country
during the Revolution of vital importance. The British party was made
strong by the loyalty of the large Church of England element, the policy
of neutrality adopted by the Quakers, Dunkers and Mennonites, and the
general satisfaction felt toward the free and liberal government of the
province, which had been won gradually without such reverses as had
embittered the people of Massachusetts and some of the other British
provinces. The Whig party was successful, however, and Pennsylvania
contributed very materially to the success of the War of Independence,
by the important services of her statesmen, by her efficient troops and
by the financial aid rendered by Robert Morris, founder of the Bank of
North America, the oldest financial institution in the United States.
Meanwhile Philadelphia became the very center of the new republic in
embryo. The first Continental Congress met in Carpenters' Hall on
September 5, 1774; the second Continental Congress in the old State
House, now known as Independence Hall, on May 10, 1775; and throughout
the Revolution, except from September 26, 1777, to June 18, 1778, when
it was occupied by the British, and the Congress met in Lancaster and
York, Pennsylvania, and then in Princeton, New Jersey, Philadelphia was
virtually the capital of the American colonies and socially the most
brilliant city in the country.
In Philadelphia the second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration
of Independence, which the whole Pennsylvania delegation except Franklin
regarded as premature, but which was afterward well supported by the
State. The national convention which framed the constitution of the
United States sat in Philadelphia in 1787, and from 1790 to 1800, when
the seat of government was moved to Washington, Philadelphia was the
national capital. Here the first bank in the colonies, the Bank of North
America, was opened in 1781, and here the first mint for the coinage of
United States money was established in 1792. Here Benjamin Franklin and
David Rittenhouse made their great contributions to science, and here on
September 19, 1796, Washington delivered his farewell address to the
people of the United States. Here lived Robert Morris, who managed the
finances of the Revolution, Stephen Girard of the War of 1812 and Jay
Cooke of the Civil War.
Not only in politics, but in art, science, the drama and most fields of
progress Philadelphia took the lead in America for more than a century
and a half after its founding. Here was established the first public
school in 1689; the first paper mill in 1690; the first botanical garden
in 1728; the first Masonic Lodge in 1730; the first subscription library
in 1731; the first volunteer fire company in 1736; the first magazine
published by Franklin in 1741; the first American philosophical society
in 1743; the first religious magazine in 1746; the first medical school
in 1751; the first fire insurance company in 1752; the first theater in
1759; the first school of anatomy in 1762; the first American dispensary
in 1786; the first water works in 1799; the first zoological museum in
1802; the first American art school in 1805; the first academy of
natural sciences in 1812; the first school for training teachers in
1818; the first American building and loan association in 1831; the
first American numismatic society in 1858. From the Germantown Friends'
Meeting, headed by Francis Daniel Pastorius, came in 1688 the first
protest against slavery in this country. In Philadelphia was published
the first American medical book in 1740; here was given the first
Shakespearean performance in this country in 1749; the first lightning
rod was erected here in 1752; from Philadelphia the first American
Arctic expedition set forth in 1755; on the Schuylkill River in 1773
were made the first steamboat experiments; the earliest abolition
society in the world was organized here in 1774; the first American
piano was built here in 1775; here in 1789 the Protestant Episcopal
Church was formally established in the United States; the first carriage
in the world propelled by steam was built here in 1804; the oldest
American playhouse now in existence was built here in 1808; the first
American locomotive, "Ironsides", was built here in 1827; and the first
daguerreotype of the human face was made here in 1839. The Bible and
Testament, Shakespeare, Milton and Blackstone were printed for the first
time in America in Philadelphia, and Thackeray's first book originally
appeared here.
During the latter half of the eighteenth century Philadelphia became
noted throughout the American colonies for its generous hospitality of
every sort, and this trait was reflected in the domestic architecture of
the period, which was usually designed with that object in view. For the
brilliance of its social life there were several reasons. Above all, it
was the character of an ever-increasing number of inhabitants asserting
itself. Moreover, the tendency was aided by the fact that as the
largest, most important and most central city in the colonies, it became
the meeting place for delegates from all the colonies to discuss common
problems, and therefore it was incumbent upon Philadelphians to
entertain the visitors. And this they did with a lavish hand. From the
visit of the Virginia Commissioners in 1744 until the seat of the United
States Government was moved to Washington in 1790, every meeting of men
prominent in political life was the occasion of much eating, drinking
and conviviality in the best Philadelphia homes and also in the inns,
where it was the custom of that day to entertain considerably. The old
Red Lion Inn at North Second and Noble streets, a picturesque
gambrel-roof structure of brick with a lean-to porch along the front, is
an interesting survival of the inns and taverns of Colonial days, as was
also the old Mermaid Inn in Mount Airy, until torn down not long ago. At
such gatherings were represented the most brilliant minds this side of
the Atlantic, and scintillating wit and humor enlivened the festive
board, as contrasted with the bitter religious discussions which had
characterized American gatherings in the preceding century when
tolerance had not been so broad.
[Illustration: PLATE IV.--Stenton, Germantown Avenue, Germantown.
Erected by James Logan in 1727.]
[Illustration: PLATE V.--Hope Lodge, Whitemarsh Valley. Erected by
Samuel Morris in 1723; Home of Stephen Girard.]
But the brilliancy of social life in Philadelphia was by no means
confined to the entertainment of visitors. Despite its importance,
Philadelphia was a relatively small place in those days. Everybody knew
everybody else of consequence, and social exchanges were inevitable
among people of wealth and culture, prominent in public life and
successful in commerce, of whom there were a larger number than in any
other American city. While there were two separate and distinct social
sets, the staid and sober Quakers and the gay "World's People", they
were ever being drawn more closely together. The early severity of the
Quakers had been greatly tempered by the increasing worldly influences
about them. They were among the richest inhabitants and prominent in the
government, holding the majority in the House of Assembly. This
brought them into constant association with and under the influence of
men in public life elsewhere, demonstrating the fact that, like the
"World's People", they dearly loved eating and drinking. One has but to
peruse some of the old diaries of prominent Friends which are still in
existence to see that they occasionally "gormandized to the verge of
gluttony", and even got "decently drunk."
Toward the outbreak of the Revolution, life among most Quakers had
ceased to be as strict and monotonous as many have supposed. There were
fox hunting, horse racing, assembly dances, barbecues, cider frolics,
turtle and other dinners, tea parties and punch drinking, both under
private auspices and among the activities of such clubs as the Colony in
Schuylkill and the Gloucester Fox Hunting Club, in which the First City
Troop originated. At the time of monthly, quarterly and yearly meetings
whole families of Friends often visited other families for several days
at a time, a custom which became an important element in the social
intercourse of the province.
Cock fighting and bull baiting were among the frequent pastimes of
Philadelphians, although frowned upon by the strict Quaker element. The
same was true of theatrical entertainments, which began in 1754 and
continued occasionally thereafter. Following the first Shakespearean
performance in America at Philadelphia in 1749, a storehouse on Water
Street near Pine Street, belonging to William Plumstead, was fitted up
as a theater, and in April, 1754, the drama was really introduced to
Philadelphia by a series of plays given by William Hallam's old American
Company. In 1759 the first theater in Philadelphia purposely erected for
the exhibition of plays was built at the southwest corner of Vernon and
South (then Cedar) streets, and was opened by David Douglass, the
manager of the company started by Hallam. A few years later, in 1766,
was built the old Southwark or South Street Theater in South Street
above Fourth, where Major John Andre and Captain John Peter De Lancy
acted during the British occupation of the city, and which after twenty
years of illegal existence was opened "by authority" in 1789. None of
these now remains, but the Walnut Street Theater, erected in 1808, is
said to be the oldest playhouse in the United States.
Taking all these facts into consideration, it is not surprising that,
except for some of the earliest houses now remaining and others built
with less ample fortunes, little difference is distinguishable between
the homes of Quakers and "World's People", and that the distinctive
characteristics of the Colonial architecture of Philadelphia are more or
less common to all buildings of the period.
Shortly after the Revolution the built-up portion of the city was
bounded by the Delaware River on the east and Seventh Street on the
west, and by Poplar Street on the north and Christian Street on the
south. While houses in blocks were the rule, numerous unoccupied lots
made many trees and gardens in the rear and at the sides of detached
houses quite common. This was regarded as not entirely sufficient by the
wealthier families, which considered country living essential to health,
comfort and pleasure, and so maintained two establishments,--a town
house for winter occupancy and a countryseat as a summer retreat. Others
desiring to live more nearly in the manner of their English forbears in
the mother country chose to make an elaborate countryseat their
year-round place of residence. Thus the surrounding countryside--but
especially to the northwestward along the high, wooded banks of the
Schuylkill River and Wissahickon Creek--became a community of great
estates with elegant country houses which have no parallel in America
other than the manorial estates along the James River in Virginia. The
Philadelphia of to-day, therefore, has not only a distinctive
architecture in its brick, stone and woodwork, but a diversified
architecture embracing both the city and country types of design and
construction.