Categories
Historic Sites

Washington Avenue: A Representative Example of Philadelphia’s Industrial Past, Part III

We will begin the final part of our tour down Washington Avenue starting at Broad Street and working our way eastward towards the Delaware River. One of Philadelphia’s major industries, textiles, was well represented along Washington Avenue. By 1860, Philadelphia had as many people employed in the textile industry as the textile center of New England – Lowell, Massachusetts1. The industry thrived through the early part of the 20th century, with large mills located primarily in the Kensington area of the city, but also scattered in various locations throughout the city. On Washington Avenue, textile mills included the Abraham Kirschbaum Co. located on the northeast corner of the intersection with Broad Street, which can be seen on the right side of the photograph across the street from the PW&B railroad station. A second large mill, the Caleb J. Milne factory, took up an entire city block on the north side between 10th and 11th Streets. Built in 1895 and added to in 1904, it housed spinning, weaving and finishing operations2.

Another major industry along Washington Avenue was the Curtis Publishing Co., located between 11th and 12th Streets. Founded in 1883, it is principally remembered for its popular magazine publications The Ladies Home Journal and The Saturday Evening Post3.

Ancillary to Curtis Publishing was the Columbian Carbon Co., manufacturers of printer’s ink, located one block west at 1223 Washington Avenue. The industries on Washington Avenue included a number of smaller companies as well. For instance, there was McCracken and Hall, “Manufacturers of Fancy Cabinet Ware,” located at 1124 Washington Ave. This rather ornately decorated building seems to have survived at least another 40 years, although minus its mansard roof and with a new tenant – the Frank A. England Co., also a furniture maker. Interestingly, after 10th Street, Washington Avenue takes on a much more residential character with no major industries until its intersection with Delaware Avenue. Coal dealerships like American Ice and Coal still appear, but for the most part, the tracks glide past the row homes of Southwark on their way to the river.
After looking at these archival photographs, it’s interesting to reflect on what remains today. The tracks themselves are now gone, last used in the 1980s. Perhaps symbolic of the fate of manufacturing in Philadelphia, there are very few manufacturers of any sort remaining along Washington Avenue. A perusal using Google Earth shows that many of the small coal yards are now parking lots. Many of the very large buildings such as those of the Kirschbaum Co. and Caleb Milne Co. have been demolished and are vacant lots. As Philadelphia, like many other urban centers, evolves away from being a nexus of industry, it is still useful to remember and appreciate its rich industrial heritage that made it a great city.

References:

[1] Scranton, Philip, (1992). Large Firms and Industrial Restructuring: The Philadelphia Region, 1900-1980. Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 116, pp 419-465.

[2] Workshop of the World, Oliver Evans Press, Philadelphia (1990), pp. 1-11-1-12.

[3] Scranton, Philip, Walter Licht. Work Sights: Industrial Philadelphia, 1890-1950. Philadelphia, Temple University Press, 1986, p. 222.

Categories
Historic Sites

Washington Avenue: A Representative Example of Philadelphia’s Industrial Past, Part II

We continue our tour down Washington Avenue at 17th Street heading east towards Broad Street. There are, of course, the ubiquitous coal yards along the way. These may seem strange to us today but were an essential feature in the first half of the 20th Century. Through World War II, nearly half of the railroad sidings along Washington Avenue were devoted to coal delivery. As we cross 17th Street looking north, we can see another element of Philadelphia’s industrial past, the Philadelphia rowhouse. Viewing this picture one sees an almost endless line of rowhouses, with trolley tracks running down the center of the street. Most workers lived close to the factories they worked in, but if they were not within walking distance, they took the trolley.

At the intersection with Chadwick Street stands the Southwark Plating Co. This is a reminder that while Philadelphia did have large companies that dominated the industrial landscape, such as Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia was also home to many smaller specialty firms that formed a productive network with neighboring industries.1 Just across Chadwick Street, extending to the corner of 16th and Carpenter Streets, was a series of public delivery tracks, allowing industries not directly on Washington Ave. to load and ship by rail. On the west side of 16th Street, a branch office of Berger Manufacturing turned out sheet metal products even after the company was assimilated into Republic Steel in 1930. 2

At the intersection of Washington Avenue and Broad Street, there were a number of important buildings. The northwest quadrant was the site of the original passenger station built by the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad in 1852. This was the first passenger station where locomotives were able to bring passengers directly into the city. The station boasted a 400′ long train shed that housed 8 tracks.3 During the Civil War, the station was an important departure point for Union troops headed south. It was also a stopping point for the Lincoln funeral train on its journey to Illinois.4 With the Centennial Exposition of 1876, the railroad expanded its terminal facilities, including the addition of a separate enclosed freight shed.3 Once under the control of the Pennsylvania Railroad, the station was closed for passenger service in January of 1882, coincident with the opening of the railroad’s Broad Street Station.

On the southwest side of the intersection was the Marine Quartermaster’s Depot. This massive building was later expanded and served as an important source for war materials during both World Wars. Uniforms were manufactured here, drawing on the expertise of the local Philadelphia textile industry. Its location along Washington Avenue proved expeditious for shipping materials via rail.4

In the next part of our trip down Washington Avenue, we will continue our tour east of Broad Street and look at some representatives of major industrial categories that were part of the Philadelphia landscape.

References:

[1] Scranton, Philip, (1992). “Large Firms and Industrial Restructuring: The Philadelphia Region, 1900-1980.” Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 116, pp 419–465.

[2] http://glassian.org/Prism/Berger/index.html

[3] Roberts, Charles S. and David W. Messer (2003). Triumph VI: Philadelphia, Columbia, Harrisburg to Baltimore and Washington DC 1827-2003. Baltimore, Maryland: Barnard, Roberts & Co. p. 50.

[4] “Workshop of the World At War: The USMC Quartermaster Depot.” September 19, 2006. http://ruins.wordpress.com/2006/09/19/workshop-of-the-world-at-war-the-usmc-quartermaster-depot/

Categories
Historic Sites

Washington Avenue: A Representative Example of Philadelphia’s Industrial Past, Background History

Philadelphia was once a major industrial center in the late 1900’s and the first part of the 20th century, deservedly earning the title “workshop to the world”. Unlike other cities that were centered around a single industry, i.e. Pittsburgh and steel or Detroit and automobiles, Philadelphia had a spectrum of different industries. There were knitting mills in Kensington, steel mills in Nicetown and breweries in Brewerytown to name a few representatives.1 Today much of the manufacturing activity in Philadelphia is gone. Competition from overseas and limited capability for expansion within the confines of an urban setting are some of the contributing factors that have led to this demise. While many of the buildings that housed these industries have either been demolished or lie vacant, photographs from the City Archives displayed by PhillyHistory.org serve as a wonderful reminder to us of what once was a thriving manufacturing city. To gain an appreciation of the diversity of Philadelphia’s industrial past, there is probably no better place to start than on Washington Avenue which runs east to west across the city.

Before commencing on our journey down Washington Avenue, a little history is in order as to why this became an industrial area for Philadelphia. In 1838, the Philadelphia Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad (PW&B) entered the city of Philadelphia via a railroad bridge at Grays Ferry and proceeded to lay track down Washington Avenue to Broad Street.2 The ability to ship goods by rail, particularly to other major cities such as Baltimore, immediately attracted various industries who located adjacent to the railroad. Concomitant with industries locating along the line, housing for workers in the form of the Philadelphia rowhouse quickly sprang up in the surrounding area. Nice examples of this architecture can be found along Federal Street and other streets that ran parallel to Washington Avenue. By 1881, the rail line was absorbed by the Pennsylvania Railroad who had gained controlling interest of the PW&B. At about the same time, the rail line originally built by the Southwark Railroad running along Washington Avenue from Broad Street to the Delaware River was also absorbed by the Pennsylvania Railroad.3

As we begin our journey it is probably worth noting additional source material that is useful for identifying the industries along Washington Avenue. Of particular value are maps noting where various industries are located. Many of these maps can be viewed online by going to http://www.philageohistory.org/geohistory/index.cfm and clicking on Resource Browser. From there, one can access many useful maps including ones created by Bromley,4 Hexamer,5 and Baist6 as well as maps that date back to the turn of the century or earlier. More contemporary maps include the Land Use Maps of Philadelphia from 19427 and 1962.8 Perhaps the most accurate maps are the Sanborn Insurance Maps that can be viewed at the Free Library in Philadelphia. One other useful tool is a Pennsylvania Railroad publication called the CT1000. In these books, every railroad siding and the company that used the siding are listed. While not all industries have a railroad siding, many along Washington Avenue did. It should be remembered that industries along Washington Avenue were constantly changing; some would move to other locations and be replaced by yet other industries. In many ways the industrial flux on Washington Avenue very much reflected what was happening citywide.

For more information about industry on Washington Avenue, please read “Washington Avenue: A Representative Example of Philadelphia’s Industrial Past, Part I.”

References:

[1] Scranton, Philip, Walter Licht. Work Sights: Industrial Philadelphia, 1890-1950. Philadelphia, Temple University Press, 1986.

[2] Penrose, Robert L. (1988) “The PRR’s Delaware Avenue Branch”. The High Line (Philadelphia Chapter, Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society) 9 (1), p. 7.

[3] Ibid., p. 8.

[4] Atlas of the City of Philadelphia, 1901. George W. & Walter S. Bromley, Civil Engineers. http://www.philageohistory.org/geohistory/

[5] Hexamer General Surveys, 1866-1896. Ernest Hexamer. http://www.philageohistory.org/geohistory/

[6] Baist’s Property Atlas of the City and County of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1895. G. Wm. Baist. http://www.philageohistory.org/geohistory/

[7] Philadelphia Land Use Map, 1942. Plans & Registry Division, Bureau of Engineering Surveys & Zoning, Department of Public Works, Federal Works Progress Administration for Pennsylvania. http://www.philageohistory.org/geohistory/

[8] Philadelphia Land Use Map, 1962. Plans & Registry Division, Bureau of Engineering Surveys & Zoning, Department of Public Works, Federal Works Progress Administration for Pennsylvania. http://www.philageohistory.org/geohistory/

Categories
Historic Sites

Washington Avenue: A Representative Example of Philadelphia’s Industrial Past, Part I

For the historic background of Washington Avenue, please read “Washington Avenue: A Representative Example of Philadelphia’s Industrial Past, Background History.”

We will start our tour at 25th and Washington Avenue and make our way eastward. At the north east corner of 25th and Washington Avenue, we have the Robert Wilson Coal Yard.1 There were numerous coal yards all along Washington Avenue. Not only was there a demand for coal by the surrounding factories, but it should also be remembered that at the turn of the century most of the rowhouses of the surrounding area were also heated by coal. Looking south between 25th and 24th, we see the William Wharton Jr. steel works. The company was the first to manufacture manganese steel for street railway tracks and later manganese steel frogs used in railroad switches. Despite the size of the complex as viewed in a 1930 photograph looking west from 24th Street, Wharton decided the company required larger facilities and in 1915 moved the company to Easton, PA.2 This is an early example of an industry moving due to an inability to expand within the confines of its urban setting.

Not surprisingly the vacated buildings were then occupied by another steel company, The Philadelphia Roll and Machine Co., which already had a substantial operation on the north side of Washington Avenue between 24th and 23th Streets. Eventually this company left as well and, according to the 1942 Land Use Map, the Pennsylvania Range Boiler Co. had occupied at least some of the space. In the 1960 photograph the building looks the same as when it had William Wharton’s name painted on its side. Note also in this relatively late view the railroad boxcar “parked” right on Washington Avenue.

The manufacturing of steel and other metals was becoming a significant industry during this time period and Philadelphia had numerous small foundries. Between 23rd and 22nd Streets on the north side of Washington Avenue was the Belmont Iron Works. If one carefully examines the company sign, one can see that the company made structural steel for bridges. The other item to note from this 1916 photograph is that the railroad had as many as four tracks running down Washington Avenue with little space for other vehicular traffic. About this time the city proposed elevating the entire railroad but funds for this project never materialized and the railroad tracks remained in Washington Avenue for many years.3 Across the street from the Belmont Iron Works was the Phosphor Bronze Smelting Co. which had foundry buildings on either side of 22nd Street.

So as not to leave the impression that the only type of industry along Washington Avenue was metal manufacturing industries, we will end the first part of our tour in the 2100 block of Washington Avenue. On the north side was a large factory owned and operated by the retailer John Wanamaker.

Inspection of the Sanborn Insurance maps indicates that furniture was manufactured here with a rail siding from Washington Avenue used to deliver lumber. Across the street on the south side was the massive Continental Brewery built in 1879. A drawing of the building can be found in the Hexamer Survey of 1880 at the Free Library in Philadelphia. This was a very successful Philadelphia brewery and at its peak produced some 80,000 barrels of beer per year. Unfortunately like many of the breweries located in Brewerytown section of Philadelphia, Prohibition brought the demise of the business and even upon the repeal of Prohibition many breweries like Continental never reopened.

References:

[1] Atlas of the City of Philadelphia, 1901. George W. & Walter S. Bromley, Civil Engineers. http://www.philageohistory.org/geohistory/

[2] Maintenance of way cyclopedia: a reference book by E. T. Howson, E. R. Lewis, K. E. Kellenberger, American Railway Engineering Association, New York,Simons-Boardman, 1921.

[3] Messer, David W. (2000). Triumph III: Philadelphia Terminal 1838-2000. Baltimore, Maryland: Barnard, Roberts & Co. p. 287.

Additional Resources:

  • Scranton, Philip, Walter Licht. Work Sights: Industrial Philadelphia, 1890-1950. Philadelphia, Temple University Press, 1986.
  • Penrose, Robert L. (1988) “The PRR’s Delaware Avenue Branch”. The High Line (Philadelphia Chapter, Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society) 9 (1), p. 7.
  • Ibid., p. 8.
  • Atlas of the City of Philadelphia, 1901. George W. & Walter S. Bromley, Civil Engineers. http://www.philageohistory.org/geohistory/
  • Hexamer General Surveys, 1866-1896. Ernest Hexamer. http://www.philageohistory.org/geohistory/
  • Baist’s Property Atlas of the City and County of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1895. G. Wm. Baist. http://www.philageohistory.org/geohistory/
  • Philadelphia Land Use Map, 1942. Plans & Registry Division, Bureau of Engineering Surveys & Zoning, Department of Public Works, Federal Works Progress Administration for Pennsylvania. http://www.philageohistory.org/geohistory/
  • Philadelphia Land Use Map, 1962. Plans & Registry Division, Bureau of Engineering Surveys & Zoning, Department of Public Works, Federal Works Progress Administration for Pennsylvania. http://www.philageohistory.org/geohistory/

Categories
Urban Planning

The Pennsylvania Railroads Philadelphia Improvements, Part II

Last month we looked at the Pennsylvania Railroads Philadelphia Improvements starting with the construction of Suburban Station followed by construction of the north wing of 30th Street Station, which opened September 28, 1930. Despite the Depression, construction would continue on the remaining major portion of 30th Street Station. From the outset, the Pennsylvania Railroad intended the station to be a magnificent structure. After soliciting numerous design proposals, the railroad finally settled on the architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White for their design of a Grecian style station built of structural steel and concrete faced with Alabama limestone.1

Two aerial photographs and show the early stages of construction. It should be noted that the date of 1934 for these photographs is incorrect since the station was already in partial service by 1933.2 By comparing numerous aerial photographs documenting the progress of the station’s construction, a more accurate date for the first photograph is February of 1931 and the second photograph would be late spring of 1931. The first aerial photograph shows the completed suburban wing of the station. Adjacent to the suburban wing (directly below it in the photograph) one can see that the tracks formerly used to enter Broad Street Station via the three railroad bridges have been removed. The second aerial photograph, taken a few months later, shows the area adjacent to the suburban wing as a white rectangular area. This represents the construction of the street level floor of the station.

Tracks entering the station are below this level. In order to accommodate the tracks a large amount of earth was first excavated from this area. This was not without incident, as it was discovered that the area was used as a burial site for 17th century Quakers and a number of coffins were unearthed and had to be relocated. After the earth had been excavated, securing the foundation required that 5000 pipes be driven into the ground some 80 feet deep to encounter bedrock. Once the pipes were filled with concrete, assembly of the structural steel could begin.3 Concomitant with work on the building, much of the site to the north and south of the building needed to be cleared for railroad tracks. In the aerial photographs, the buildings just north of the newly completed suburban wing were stockyards and an abattoir that had been razed for construction.

By the end of 1931, the structural steel framework of the building was near completion and the outer limestone walls were being erected. When completed the station was indeed magnificent. At each end of the concourse on the outside were porticoes, one facing 30th street the other the Schuylkill River and downtown Philadelphia. Each portico has ten Corinthian columns measuring 71 feet tall and 11 feet in diameter.4 Inside the station, the main concourse is 290 feet long and 135 feet wide. The ceiling towers some 95 feet above the Tennessee marble floor. Much of the ornamentation within the station represents a beautiful example of art deco design.5 Work continued on the station for the next two years, and the station was fully opened on December 15, 1933. The station remains active today and is Amtrak’s third busiest railroad station behind only Penn Station in New York and Union Station in Washington D.C.

While the station remains intact, a number of dramatic changes have occurred in the last few years. The most significant is the construction of the Cira Building just north of the suburban wing. A final note concerns the steam generation plant for 30th Street Station with its very tall smokestack visible in the aerial photographs and on the extreme left in the photograph of the portico. Built in 1929, it has apparently become expendable and is scheduled for implosion in November 2009, thus removing a familiar landmark from the West Philadelphia skyline.

References:

[1] Underkofler, Allen P. The Philadelphia Improvements Part II: 30th Street Station. The High Line, Vol. 3, Nos. 1 & 2 (Sep. 1980), p. 6

[2] Ibid., p. 11

[3] Ibid., p. 11

[4] Ibid., p. 7

[5] Ibid., p. 6

Categories
Urban Planning

The Pennsylvania Railroads Philadelphia Improvements, Part I

During the early 1920s, the Pennsylvania Railroad began planning for major changes to its infrastructure in the busy Philadelphia area, with the goal of expediting passenger traffic. While Broad Street Station presented an ideal location for the termination of inbound commuter traffic, a major drawback was its stub-ended design, which forced through trains destined for other cities to retrace their steps to West Philadelphia Station before continuing their journey.
To resolve this problem, the railroad planned two large construction projects.1 The first part of the plan was to replace the company headquarters housed in Broad Street Station with a new building adjacent to the station, along what is now JFK Boulevard between 19th and 20th Streets. Beneath this building, a station would be constructed that would serve as the terminus for electric commuter cars coming in from the outlying areas of Philadelphia. This new station would be known as Broad Street Suburban Station or just “Suburban Station”.

Not wishing to retain the street-obstructing elevated trackage leading into Broad Street, often referred to as the “Chinese Wall”, the planner chose to have the tracks from West Philadelphia quickly descend below street level after they had crossed to the east bank of the Schuylkill River. In order to dig this subway, buildings between Filbert and Cuthbert Streets from 15th Street west to the Schuylkill River were demolished. The second part of the plan was to replace West Philadelphia Station with a large passenger station on the grand scale, similar to Penn Station or Grand Central Station in New York City.2 The plans were approved by the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Board of Directors and agreed upon by the City in 1925. Major construction, however, did not begin until 1927.

The Suburban Station office building was completed in 1929. It represents an absolutely beautiful example of Art Deco design. The first two floors are polished black granite, while the remaining 20 floors are made of Alabama limestone and sandstone.3 Adorning the first floor is bronze work, complete with the familiar Pennsylvania Railroad keystone logo. The station below the building was opened on September 28, 1930. Commuter trains leaving Suburban Station crossed the Schuylkill River on a newly constructed stone arch bridge that would eventually serve as the replacement for the three separate railroad bridges that carried trains into Broad Street Station.4


Interestingly, the only portion of 30th Street Station that was constructed at the time Suburban Station was opened was the north wing, intended for commuter trains. Construction of the main portion of the station had only just been started, partly because of protracted negotiations with the city and the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (PRT) regarding the Market Street Elevated Line that would run along the south side of the station.5 As originally planned, the elevated would have passed through a south wing of 30th Street, symmetrical with the suburban north wing of the station. However, the Pennsylvania Railroad felt that the bridges of the elevated line would detract from the appearance of the station and negotiated with the City and PRT to place the elevated line in a subway instead. Unfortunately, as this 1949 picture shows, it took many years for the City to do this and the railroad was left with the rather unsightly elevated line running by its magnificent station.


Next month, we will look at the construction of 30th Street Station. In retrospect, looking at the scale of these projects and the fact that the nation was now at the height of its worst economic depression, it is a tribute to the Pennsylvania Railroad that it was able to complete them under such dire circumstances.

References:

[1] Underkofler, Allen P. The Philadelphia Improvements Part I: The Idea & Projects East of the Schuylkill River. The High Line, Vol. 2, Nos. 2 & 3 (May 1979).

[2] Underkofler, Allen P. The Philadelphia Improvements Part II: 30th Street Station. The High Line, Vol. 3, Nos. 1 & 2 (Sep. 1980).

[3] Messer, David W. Triumph III: Philadelphia Terminal 1838-2000. Baltimore, MD: Barnard, Roberts & Co., 2000, p 52.

[4] Ibid., p. 64.

[5] Ibid., p. 65.

Categories
Neighborhoods

The Callowhill Neighborhood


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Located north of Center City, the Callowhill neighborhood is bordered roughly by the Vine Street Expressway to the south, Spring Garden Street to the north, 8th Street to the east, and Broad Street to the west. The neighborhood takes its name from Callowhill Street, which runs east-west through the center of the neighborhood. Originally designated by William Penn as New Street, Callowhill was later renamed to honor Hannah Callowhill, Penn’s second wife.

Much of Callowhill was farmland until the 1840s. When the gigantic Baldwin Locomotive Company built its plant near Buttonwood Street west of Broad Street in the 1830s, men and families seeking employment began to settle in the neighborhood. Boarding houses and restaurants provided rooms and meals for single men who sought work in the coal yards, factories, and Locomotive Company, and families found housing in the many row houses. Additional factories, workshops, and machine shops moved to the area, and by the late 1800s, Callowhill served as both a residential and industrial neighborhood where workers could live near their workplaces. The 1895 Atlas of Philadelphia created by George and Walter Bromley shows small homes and residences as well as a number of businesses including the Hoopes & Townsend Nut and Bolt Works, the Knickerbocker Ice Company, a creamery, a brewery, a carriage factory, and an iron foundry.


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In 1897, the landscape of the Callowhill neighborhood changed dramatically with construction along the City Branch line of the Reading Railroad. With the creation of a new passenger station at 12th and Market, Reading Railroad was required to remove its tracks from street level. The railroad decided to place the tracks, which ran just north of Callowhill Street from 20th Street to 13th Street, below street grade level in an open subway. Lowering the tracks required the excavation of tons of earth, the construction of temporary bridges, and the rerouting of sewer lines. Despite the immensity of the project, work was completed by 1900 and the new railroad lines provided manufacturers and businesses in Callowhill with improved access to transportation routes. The Reading Railroad also contributed another major feature to Callowhill in the form of the Reading Viaduct, a rail line that ran from Reading Terminal at 12th and Market all the way to Reading, Pennsylvania and was in use until 1984. Although portions of the line were destroyed for the construction of Septa lines and the Vine Street Expressway, two branches of the Viaduct still run through Callowhill and neighboring Chinatown.


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Both the 1942 and 1962 Philadelphia Land Use Maps depict the same mixture of residential and industrial space. In 1942, buildings and yards belonging to the Reading Company dominated the space along Callowhill Road while the blocks between Noble and Spring Garden Streets contained more homes and small businesses. Twenty years later, the 1962 map shows that some older businesses have disappeared while newer companies have moved to the neighborhood. A few buildings remain the same. In both 1895 and 1962, Esslinger’s Brewery sits at the northeast intersection of 10th and Callowhill Streets and the United States Armory remains at the southeast intersection of Broad and Callowhill.

Beginning in the 1960s, the population of Callowhill declined as residents and businesses moved to the suburbs or other parts of Philadelphia. In the 1980s, the construction of the Vine Street Expressway and the Pennsylvania Convention Center in the Chinatown neighborhood just south of Callowhill caused further changes as homes and businesses that were previously cited in Chinatown became part of the Callowhill neighborhood. For this reason, Callowhill is sometimes also referred to as Chinatown North. The connection between the two neighborhoods has led to much discussion over the past decades as various individuals and organizations attempt to encourage urban growth and renewal while still meeting the needs of members of several communities.

Construction in the neighborhood began to increase again in the late 1990s and 2000s as developers renovated former factories and warehouses into new loft-style housing. In 2000, the Callowhill Neighborhood Association formed to assist with neighborhood development through community watches, clean-ups, and other activities.

Sources:

[1] Alotta, Robert I. Mermaids, Monasteries, Cherokees and Custer: The Stories Behind Philadelphia Street Names. Chicago: Bonus Books Inc., 1990.

[2] Atlas of the City of Philadelphia, 1895. George W. & Walter S. Bromley, Civil Engineers. http://www.philageohistory.org/geohistory/

[3] Callowhill Neighborhood Association. http://www.callowhill.org/index.cfm

[4] Hoess, Ron. “The Reading Railroad’s Turn of the Century Big Dig, Part One.” PhillyHistory.org Blog. May 7, 2009. https://phillyhistory.wpengine.com/archive/0001/01/01/the-reading-railroads-turn-of-the-century-big-dig-part.aspx

[5] Hoess, Ron. “The Reading Railroad’s Turn of the Century Big Dig, Part Two.” PhillyHistory.org Blog. June 10, 2009. https://phillyhistory.wpengine.com/archive/0001/01/01/the-reading-railroads-turn-of-the-century-big-dig-part-again.aspx

[6] Miller, Fredric M., Morris J. Vogel, Allen F. Davis. Still Philadelphia: A Photographic History, 1890-1940. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1983.

[7] Philadelphia Land Use Map, 1942. Plans & Registry Division, Bureau of Engineering Surveys & Zoning, Department of Public Works, Federal Works Progress Administration for Pennsylvania. http://www.philageohistory.org/geohistory/

[8] Philadelphia Land Use Map, 1962. Plans & Registry Division, Bureau of Engineering Surveys & Zoning, Department of Public Works, Federal Works Progress Administration for Pennsylvania. http://www.philageohistory.org/geohistory/

[9] Sloe, Phoebee. “Lemon Ridge: A Tree Story.” Callowhill News Fall/Winter 2006, Vol. 2, Quarter 4.

Categories
Entertainment

The Art Club of Philadelphia

Incorporated on January 18, 1887, the Art Club of Philadelphia was formed “to advance the knowledge and love of the Fine Arts, through the exhibition of works of Art, the acquisition of books and papers for the purpose of forming an Art Library, lectures upon subjects pertaining to Art, receptions given to men or women distinguished in Art, Literature, Science or Politics, and by other kindred means, and to promote social intercourse among its members.”1

Created as both a social club and an organization for the support of the arts, the Art Club needed a club house that would help meet the objectives laid out in its charter. Members of the club selected a location on Broad Street near the intersection of Broad and Chancellor Streets. The building at that location had previously served as a boarding house before being purchased by J.B. Lippincott and then by the Art Club for $100,000. Architect Frank Miles Day was selected to design the building, his first major commission as an architect. He would continue to work in Philadelphia and serve as president of the American Institute of Architects in 1906 and 1907.2 He also lectured on architecture at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University before his death in 1918.3

The building required extensive renovations to meet the needs of the Art Club, including tearing down the back building to expand the space. The building and renovations were completed in 1889 and the Art Club held its first meeting in the new clubhouse on December 7, 1889. The building featured galleries for public exhibitions, parlors, a library, and a gentleman’s café and billiard room as well as private club spaces including a members’ dining room and bedrooms and bathrooms reserved for the use of club members. Servants’ quarters were located on the fifth floor. An article in the New York Times on December 8, 1889 noted that the entire building was “wired for electric lighting and also arranged for gas service.” The article also notes the beautiful furnishings and design of the building and describes it as “one of the most beautiful and artistic clubhouses to be found in the country.”4

The Art Club’s former building on Broad Street was demolished in 1976-1976.5

Sources:

[1] Art Club of Philadelphia, “Charter, constitution and by-laws of the Art Club of Philadelphia with house rules, report of the Board of Directors and list of members.” Philadelphia: Patterson & White Co., 1917, p. 15.

[2] The New York Times. “Frank Miles Day Dead.” June 18, 1918. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9C03E3DE173EE433A2575BC1A9609C946996D6CF

[3] Frank Miles Day Collection, The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. http://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/faids/aaup/Day.pdf

[4] The New York Times. “Philadelphia’s Art Club – First Meeting in its New Quarters.” December 8, 1889.

[5] “Philadelphia Art Club 220 S. Broad Street.” Historic American Building Survey HABS No. PA-1529. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hh:@field(DOCID+@lit(PA1052))

Categories
New Features

Visit PhillyHistory.org on your iPhone!

The PhillyHistory team is excited to announce that PhillyHistory.org is now accessible via iPhone at http://www.phillyhistory.org/i/! While PhillyHistory.org has been available on mobile phones for awhile, we had not yet developed a web application that allowed the website to be easily accessed and searched using an iPhone. To solve this problem, we created an iPhone specific web application that makes PhillyHistory.org easily accessible to iPhone users.

Since the display screen of an iPhone is obviously smaller than the screen on a computer, we chose to emphasize specific search criteria and photo display options to make the application as easy to use as possible. iPhone users have the option of searching for photographs by neighborhood or location or by navigating through a map of the city. The location of a photo is identified on the map by a red flag, and clicking on a flag displays the photograph and more information.

With full maps and geographic search capabilities, PhillyHistory.org on iPhone provides another great way to access historic photographs of the city. So if you’re walking around Philadelphia and want to know what an intersection looked like 60 years ago, pull out your iPhone or cell phone and check out PhillyHistory.org!

Categories
New Features

PhillyHistory.org Photos Now Available on Flickr!

We are excited to announce that a select number of images from PhillyHistory.org are now available on Flickr!

Flickr, a popular online photo sharing website, allows users to upload images and share those images with the public. With millions of users from around the world, placing PhillyHistory.org photos on Flickr provides an opportunity to introduce many new people to the fantastic collection of images in the PhillyHistory.org database. Sixty-six photos, including some of the oldest and most popular images from the City Archives, were hand-picked for inclusion on Flickr. The images are organized into four thematic sets that provide a visual history of Philadelphia’s neighborhoods, schools, construction and transportation projects, and public services and celebrations. Each photo is accompanied by information about the image, the address where it was taken (if available), and a link to the photograph on PhillyHistory.org.

One of the most exciting features on the new PhillyHistory.org Flickr photostream is the public commenting and tagging function. Since the PhillyHistory project began, we’ve received some wonderful stories and comments about the photographs from people around the world. Whenever possible, we try to share such feedback through our newsletter and other reports. The new Flickr photostream, however, gives you a chance to immediately comment on the photos, add notes directly to the images, tag the photos with keywords, and respond to comments left by other users. We’re hoping this feature will let the whole PhillyHistory.org community hear many more wonderful stories and remarks about the photos and what they mean to you.

The PhillyHistory.org photos on Flickr are available at http://www.flickr.com/photos/phillyhistory. We encourage people to visit the photostream and add their comments, notes, and tags to the photos. Let us know what you think about the images!