The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Colonial Architecture of Philadelphia, by
Frank Cousins and Phil M. Riley
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Title: The Colonial Architecture of Philadelphia
Author: Frank Cousins
Phil M. Riley
Release Date: July 6, 2009 [EBook #29334]
Language: English
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_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 Façade; Detail of Bartram
House Façade 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 zoölogical 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 André 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.
CHAPTER II
GEORGIAN COUNTRY HOUSES OF BRICK
Throughout the Colonial period, and to a degree during the early years
of the American nation, Philadelphia clung to the manners and customs of
the mother country as did few other communities in the new world. In
architecture, therefore, it is not surprising to find the oldest houses
and public buildings of the American metropolis of those days reflecting
the tendencies of the times across the water. Wood had already ceased to
be a cheap building material in England, and although it was abundantly
available in America, brick and stone were thought necessary for the
better homes, despite the fact that for some years, until sources of
clay and limestone were found, bricks and lime for making mortar had to
be brought at great expense from overseas. So we find that in 1683, the
year following the founding of the "City of Brotherly Love", William
Penn erected for his daughter Letitia the first brick house in the town,
which was for several years occupied by Penn and his family. It was
located in Letitia Court, a small street running from Market to
Chestnut streets between Front and Second streets. Although of little
architectural value, it was of great historic interest, and when in 1883
the encroachments of the wholesale district threatened to destroy it,
the house was removed to Fairmount Park by the city and rebuilt on
Lansdowne Drive west of the Girard Avenue bridge. It is open to the
public and contains numerous Penn relics.
[Illustration: PLATE VI.--Port Royal House, Frankford. Erected in 1762
by Edward Stiles.]
[Illustration: PLATE VII.--Blackwell House, 224 Pine Street. Erected
about 1765 by John Stamper; Wharton House, 336 Spruce Street. Erected
prior to 1796 by Samuel Pancoast.]
Thus from the very outset brick construction has been favored in
preference to wood in Philadelphia. Homes in the city proper were built
of it chiefly, and likewise many of the elegant countryseats in the
neighboring townships, now part of the greater Philadelphia of to-day.
The wealthier residents very early set the fashion of both city and
country living, following in this custom the example of William Penn,
the founder, who not only had his house in town, but a country place, a
veritable mansion, long since gone, on an island in the Delaware River
above Bristol.
British builders had forsaken the Jacobean manner of the early
Renaissance and come completely under the spell of the English Classic
or so-called Georgian style. Correspondingly, American men of means were
erecting country houses of brick, with ornamental trim classic in
detail, and of marble and white-painted wood. Marked by solidity,
spaciousness and quiet dignity, they are thoroughly Georgian in
conception, and as such reminiscent of the manorial seats of Virginia,
yet less stately and in various respects peculiar to this section of the
colonies. Like the bricks, the elaborate interior woodwork was at first
brought from overseas, but later produced by resident artisans of whom
there was an ever increasing number of no mean order.
Almost without exception the Colonial brickwork of Philadelphia was laid
up with wide mortar joints in Flemish bond, red stretcher and black
header bricks alternating in the same course. The arrangement not only
imparts a delightful warmth and pleasing texture, but the headers
provide frequent transverse ties, giving great strength to the wall.
With this rich background the enlivening contrast of marble lintels and
sills and white-painted wood trim, in which paneled shutters play a
prominent part, form a picture of rare charm, rendered all the more
satisfying by an appearance of obvious comfort, permanence and intrinsic
worth which wood construction, however good, cannot convey.
Many of the splendid old pre-Revolutionary country houses of brick no
longer remain to us. Some are gone altogether; others are remodeled
almost beyond recognition; a few, hedged around by the growing city,
have been allowed to fall into a state of hopeless decay. Woodford,
however, located in the Northern Liberties, Fairmount Park, at York and
Thirty-third streets, is fairly representative of the type of Georgian
countryseat of brick, so many of which were erected in the suburbs of
Philadelphia about the middle of the eighteenth century.
It is a large square structure, two and a half stories in height, with a
hipped roof rising above a handsome cornice with prominent modillions
and surmounted by a balustraded belvedere. Two large chimneys, much
nearer together than is ordinarily the case, emerge within the inclosed
area of the belvedere deck. A heavy pediment springs from the cornice
above the pedimental doorway, and this repetition of the motive imparts
a pleasing interest and emphasis to the façade. The subordinate cornice
at the second-floor level is most unusual and may perhaps reflect the
influence of the penthouse roof which became such a characteristic
feature of the ledge stone work of the neighborhood. Few houses have the
brick pilaster treatment at the corners with corresponding cornice
projections which enrich the ornamental trim. Six broad soapstone steps
with a simple wrought-iron handrail at either side lead up to a fine
doorway, Tuscan in spirit, with high narrow doors. Above, a beautiful
Palladian window is one of the best features of the façade. An
interesting fenestration scheme, with paneled shutters at the lower
windows only, is enhanced by the pleasing scale of twelve-paned upper
and lower window sashes having broad white muntins throughout.
Opening the front door, one finds himself in a wide hall with doorways
giving entrance to large front rooms on each side. Beyond, a beautifully
detailed arch supported by pilasters spans the hall. The stairway is
located near the center of the house in a hall to one side of the main
hall and reached from it through a side door. Interior woodwork of good
design and workmanship everywhere greets the eye, especially noticeable
features being the rounding cornices, heavy wainscots and the floors an
inch and a half in thickness and doweled together. Each room has a
fireplace with ornamental iron back, a hearth of square bricks and a
well-designed wood mantel. In the south front room blue tiles depicting
Elizabethan knights and their ladies surround the fireplace opening.
Brass handles instead of door knobs lend distinction to the hardware.
Woodford was erected in 1766 by William Coleman, a successful merchant,
eminent jurist and a friend of Franklin. He was a member of the Common
Council in 1739, justice of the peace and judge of the county courts in
1751 and judge of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania from 1759 until his
death ten years later.
Coleman's executors sold the place to Alexander Barclay, comptroller of
His Majesty's Customs at Philadelphia, and the grandson of Robert
Barclay of Ury, the noted Quaker theologian and "Apologist."
[Illustration: PLATE VIII.--Morris House, 225 South Eighth Street.
Erected in 1786 by John Reynolds.]
[Illustration: PLATE IX.--Wistar House, Fourth and Locust Streets.
Erected about 1750; Betsy Ross House, 239 Arch Street.]
On Barclay's death in 1771, Woodford became the home of David Franks,
a wealthy Jewish merchant and one of the signers of the Non-Importation
Resolutions of 1765 by which a large body of leading American merchants
agreed "not to have any goods shipped from Great Britain until after the
repeal of the Stamp Act." He was prominent both socially and
politically, a member of the Provincial Assembly in 1748 and the
register of wills. Prior to the outbreak of the Revolution, he was the
agent of the Crown in Philadelphia and was then made commissary of the
British prisoners in the American lines. In 1778, however, he was
arrested by General Benedict Arnold for attempting to transmit a letter
harmful to the American cause, deprived of his commission and property,
and obliged to remove to New York two years later.
One of Franks' daughters, Abigail, married Andrew Hamilton of The
Woodlands, afterwards attorney-general of Pennsylvania. Another
daughter, Rebecca, married General Sir Henry Johnson, who was defeated
and captured by General Anthony Wayne at Stony Point. Rebecca Franks was
one of the most beautiful and brilliant women of her day. Well educated,
a gifted writer and fascinating conversationalist, witty and winsome,
she was popular in society and one of the belles of the celebrated
"Mischianza", which was given May 18, 1778, by the British officers in
honor of General Lord Howe upon his departure for England. This was a
feast of gayety with a tournament somewhat like those common in the age
of chivalry, and was planned largely by Major John André, who was later
hanged by order of an American military commission for his connection
with the treason of General Benedict Arnold.
Following the confiscation of Franks' property in 1780, Woodford was
sold to Thomas Paschall, a friend of Franklin. Later it was occupied for
a time by William Lewis, a noted advocate, and in 1793 was bought by
Isaac Wharton, son of Joseph Wharton, owner of Walnut Grove in Southwark
at about Fifth Street and Walnut Avenue, where the "Mischianza" was
held. A son, Francis Rawle Wharton, inherited the place on his father's
death in 1798 and was the last private owner. In 1868 the estate was
made part of Fairmount Park, and since 1887 it has been used as a
guardhouse.
A country house typical of the time, though unlike most other
contemporary buildings in the details of its construction, is Hope Lodge
in Whitemarsh Valley on the Bethlehem Pike just north of its junction
with the Skippack Pike. It is thoroughly Georgian in conception, and
most of the materials, including all of the wood finish, were brought
from England. The place reached a deplorable state of decay several
years ago, yet the accompanying photograph shows enough remaining to be
of considerable architectural interest.
It is a large, square house two and a half stories high, its hipped roof
broken by handsome pedimental dormers with round-topped windows. The
front is of brick laid up in characteristic Flemish bond, while the
other walls are of plastered rubble stone masonry, the brickwork and
stonework being quoined together at the front corners. A broad plaster
coving is the principal feature of the simple molded cornice, and one
notes the much used double belt formed by two projecting courses of
brick at the second-floor level. The fenestration differs in several
respects from that of similar houses erected a quarter century later.
The arrangement of the ranging windows is quite conventional, but
instead of marble lintels above them there are nicely gauged flat brick
arches, while the basement windows are set in openings beneath segmental
relieving arches with brick cores. The latter are reflected in effect by
the recessed elliptical arches above all the windows in the walls of
plastered rubble masonry. The windows themselves, with nine-paned upper
and lower sashes having unusually heavy muntins, likewise the shutters
on the lower story and the heavy paneled doors, are higher and narrower
than was the rule a few years later. The entrance, with its
characteristic double doors, is reached by a porch and four stone steps,
its low hip roof with molded cornice being supported by two curious,
square, tapering columns. Porches were an unusual circumstance in the
neighborhood, and this one is so unlike any others of Colonial times
which are worthy of note as to suggest its having been a subsequent
addition. Above, a round-arched recess with projecting brick sill
replaces the conventional Palladian window.
Indoors, an exceptionally wide hall extends entirely through the house
from front to back, opening into spacious rooms on both sides through
round-topped doorways with narrow double doors heavily paneled. An
elliptical arch supported by fluted pilasters spans the hall about
midway of its length, and a handsome staircase ascends laterally from
the rear part after the common English manner of that day. Throughout
the house the woodwork is of good design and execution, the paneled
wainscots, molded cornices, door and window casings all being very
heavy, and the broad fireplaces and massive chimney pieces in complete
accord. Deep paneled window seats, very common in contemporary houses,
are a feature of the first-floor rooms. The kitchens and the servants'
quarters are located in a separate building to the rear, a brick-paved
porch connecting the two. This custom, as in the South, was
characteristic of the locality and period.
[Illustration: PLATE X.--Glen Fern, on Wissahickon Creek, Germantown.
Erected about 1747 by Thomas Shoemaker; Grumblethorpe, 5261 Germantown
Avenue, Germantown. Erected in 1744 by John Wister.]
[Illustration: PLATE XI.--Upsala, Germantown Avenue and Upsala Streets,
Germantown. Erected in 1798 by John Johnson; End Perspective of Upsala.]
Hope Lodge was erected in 1723 by Samuel Morris, a Quaker of Welsh
descent, who was a justice of the peace in Whitemarsh and an overseer of
Plymouth Meeting. Morris built it expecting to marry a young
Englishwoman to whom he had become affianced while on a visit to England
with his mother, Susanna Heath, who was a prominent minister among the
Friends. The wedding did not occur, however, and Samuel Morris died a
bachelor in 1772, leaving his estate to his brother Joshua, who sold
Hope Lodge in 1776 to William West. In 1784 West's executors conveyed it
to the life interest of Colonel James Horatio Watmough with a reversion
to his guardian, Henry Hope, a banker. It was Colonel Watmough who named
the place Hope Lodge as a compliment to his guardian. One of his
daughters married Joseph Reed, son of General Joseph Reed, and another
married John Sargent, the famous lawyer. Both the Reeds and Sargents
occupied Hope Lodge at various times, and it eventually passed into the
Wentz family.
No other Colonial country house of brick that now remains holds an
interest, either architectural or historic, quite equal to that of
Stenton, which stands among fine old oaks, pines and hemlocks in a
six-acre park, all that now remains of an estate of five hundred acres
located on Germantown Avenue on the outskirts of Germantown near the
Wayne Junction railroad station. One of the earliest and most
pretentious countryseats of the neighborhood, it combines heavy
construction and substantial appearance with a picturesque charm that is
rare in buildings of such early origin. This is due in part to the
brightening effect of the fenestration, with many small-paned windows
set in white-painted molded frames, and quite as much to the slender
trellises between the lower-story windows supporting vines which have
spread over the brickwork above in the most fascinating manner. Both
features impart a lighter sense of scale, while the profusion of white
wood trim emphasizes more noticeably the delightful color and texture of
the brickwork.
The house is a great, square, hip-roofed structure two and a half
stories high with two large square chimneys and severely plain
pedimental dormers. Servants' quarters, kitchens and greenhouses are
located in a separate gable-roof structure a story and a half high,
extending back more than a hundred feet from the main house, and
connected with it by a covered porch along the back. In the kitchen the
brick oven, the copper boiler and the fireplace with its crane still
remain.
The walls of the house consist of characteristic brickwork of red
stretchers and black headers laid up in Flemish bond, with square piers
at the front corners and on each side of the entrance, and there is the
more or less customary projecting belt at the second-floor level. On the
second story the windows are set close up under the heavy overhanging
cornice, with its prominent modillions, while on the lower story there
are relieving arches with cores of brick instead of stone lintels so
common on houses a few decades later. There are similar arches over the
barred basement windows set in brick-lined areaways. Interesting indeed
is the scheme of fenestration. Although formal and symmetrical on the
front, the windows piercing the other walls frankly correspond to the
interior floor plan, although ranging for the most part. Unlike the
usual arrangement, there are two widely spaced windows above the
entrance, while the narrow flanking windows either side of the doorway
may be regarded as one of the earliest instances of side lights in
American architecture. The severely simple entrance with its high narrow
paneled doors without either knob or latch is reached from a brick-paved
walk about the house by three semicircular stone steps such as were
common in England at the time, the various nicely hewn pieces fastened
securely together with iron bands.
The front door opens into a large square hall with a brick-paved floor
and walls wainscoted to the ceiling with white-painted wood paneling.
There is a fireplace on the right, and beyond an archway in the rear a
staircase ascends to the second floor. To the right of the hall is the
parlor, also with paneled walls, and a fireplace surrounded by pink
tiles. In the wainscoted room back of this the sliding top of a closet
offers opportunity for a person to conceal himself and listen through a
small hole to the conversation in the adjoining hall. To the left of
the hall is the dining room, beautifully wainscoted and having a
built-in cupboard for china and a fireplace faced with blue tiles. The
iron fireback bears the inscription "J. L. 1728." Back of this through a
passageway is a small breakfast room, whence an underground passage for
use during storms or sieges leads from a trap door in the floor to the
barns.
The second-story floor plan is most unusual. The library, a great long
room, extends entirely across the front of the house, with its range of
six windows and two fireplaces on the opposite wall, one faced with blue
tiles and the other with white. Here, with the finest private collection
of books in America at that time, the scholarly owner spent his
declining years, the library going to the city of Philadelphia on his
death. Two small bedrooms, each with a fireplace, were occupied by his
daughters. A little back staircase leads to the third floor, where the
woodwork of the chambers was unpainted.
[Illustration: PLATE XII.--The Woodlands, Blockley Township, West
Philadelphia. Erected in 1770 by William Hamilton; Stable at The
Woodlands.]
[Illustration: PLATE XIII.--Wyck, Germantown Avenue and Walnut Lane,
Germantown. Erected by Hans Millan about 1690; Hall and Entrance
Doorways, Wyck.]
Stenton was erected in 1728 by James Logan, a scholar, philosopher, man
of affairs, the secretary and later the personal representative of
William Penn, the founder, and afterwards chief justice of the colony.
Descended from a noble Scottish family, his father a clergyman and
teacher who joined the Society of Friends in 1761, James Logan himself
was for a time a teacher in London, but soon engaged in the shipping
trade. In 1699 he came to America with William Penn as his secretary,
and on Penn's return to England he was left in charge of the province.
Thereafter Logan became a very important personage, much liked and fully
trusted by all who knew him, including the Indians, with whom he
maintained friendly relations. For half a century he was a mighty factor
in provincial affairs, and to read his life is to read the history of
Pennsylvania for that period, for he was chief justice, provincial
secretary, commissioner of property, surveyor-general and president of
the council. His ample fortune, amassed in commerce with Edward Shippen,
in trade with the Indians, and by the purchase and sale of lands,
enabled him to live and entertain at Stenton in a princely manner many
distinguished American and European personages of that day.
When Logan died in 1751, he was succeeded by his son William, who
continued faithful to the proprietary interests and carried on the
Indian work. His son, Doctor George Logan, was the next proprietor
during the Revolutionary period. Educated in England and Scotland, he
traveled extensively in Europe; after his return to America he became a
member of the Agricultural and Philosophical Societies and was elected a
senator from Pennsylvania from 1801 to 1807.
During Doctor Logan's occupancy Washington, Jefferson, Franklin and many
other distinguished American and European personages were entertained
at Stenton. It was Washington's headquarters on August 23, 1777, while
he was on his way to the Brandywine from Hartsville. Ten years later, on
July 8, 1787, he came again as President of the Constitutional
Convention, then sitting in Philadelphia, to see a demonstration of land
plaster on grass land that had been made by Doctor Logan.
Sir William Howe occupied Stenton as his headquarters during the battle
of Germantown, October 4, 1777, and on November 22 ordered it destroyed,
along with the homes of other "obnoxious persons." The story of its
narrow escape is interesting. Two dragoons came to fire it. Meeting a
negro woman on their way to the barn for straw, they told her she might
remove the bedding and clothing. Meanwhile a British officer and several
men happened along, inquiring for deserters, whereupon the negro servant
with ready wit said that two were hiding in the barn. Despite their
protests, the men were carried away and the house was saved, as the
order to fire it was not repeated.
After Doctor Logan's death in 1821, Stenton was occupied by his widow,
Deborah Logan, until her death in 1839, when it passed to her son
Albanus, an agriculturalist and sportsman. His son Gustavus was the last
private owner, as the house was acquired by the city and occupied as
their headquarters by the Colonial Dames, the descendants of the Logan
family removing to Loudoun near by.
No account of the Colonial houses of Philadelphia would be reasonably
complete which failed to include the home of Stephen Girard. Although of
scant architectural distinction, it is of interest through its
association with one of the chief outstanding figures of a city noted
for its celebrated residents. It is a two-story hip-roofed structure,
rather narrow but of exceptional length, taking the form of two
plaster-walled wings on opposite sides of a central portion of brick
having a pediment springing from the main cornice and a circular,
ornamental window. As at Hope Lodge a broad plaster coving is the
principal feature of the simple cornice. The windows and chimneys differ
in various parts of the house, and the doors are strangely located, all
suggesting alterations and additions. The central part of the house has
casement sashes with blinds as contrasted with Georgian sashes with
paneled shutters elsewhere, and all second-story windows are
foreshortened.
Stephen Girard, a wealthy and eccentric Philadelphia merchant,
financier, philanthropist and the founder of Girard College, was born
near Bordeaux, France, in 1750, the son of a sea captain. He lost the
sight of his right eye when eight years old and had only a meager
education. Beginning a seafaring life as a cabin boy, he in time became
master and part owner of a small vessel trading between New York, New
Orleans and Port au Prince. In May, 1776, he was driven into the port of
Philadelphia by a British fleet and settled there as a merchant.
Gradually he built up a fleet of vessels trading with New Orleans and
the West Indies, and by the close of the Revolution, Girard was one of
the richest men of his time, and he used his wealth in numerous ways to
benefit the nation and humanity. In 1810 he utilized about a million
dollars deposited with the Barings of London to purchase shares of the
much depreciated stock of the Bank of the United States, which
materially assisted the government in bolstering European confidence in
its securities. When the bank was not rechartered, Girard bought the
building and cashier's house for a third of their original cost, and in
May, 1812, established the Bank of Stephen Girard. In 1814, when the
government needed money to bring the second conflict with England to a
successful conclusion, he subscribed for about ninety-five per cent of
the war loan of five million dollars, of which only twenty thousand
dollars besides had been taken, and he generously offered to the public
at par shares which, following his purchase, had gone to a premium.
[Illustration: PLATE XIV.--Mount Pleasant, Northern Liberties, Fairmount
Park. Erected in 1761 by Captain James Macpherson; The Main House, Mount
Pleasant.]
[Illustration: PLATE 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.]
Girard showed his public spirit personally as well as financially.
During the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia in 1793 and in
1797-1798 he took the lead in relieving the poor and caring for the
sick. He volunteered to act as manager of the hospital at Bush Hill
and with the assistance of Peter Helm he cleansed the place and
systemized the work.
On his death in 1831, Girard's estate, the greatest private fortune in
America, was valued at about seven and a half million dollars, and his
philanthropy was again shown in his disposition of it. Being without
heirs, as his child had died soon after its birth and his beautiful wife
had died after many years in an insane asylum, his heart went out to
poor and orphan children. In his will he bequeathed $116,000 to various
Philadelphia charities; $500,000 to the city for improvement of the
Delaware River front, streets and buildings; $300,000 to Pennsylvania
for internal improvements, especially canals, and the bulk of the estate
to Philadelphia, chiefly for founding and maintaining a non-sectarian
school or college, but also for providing a better police system, making
municipal improvements and lessening taxation. The college was given for
the support and education of poor white male orphans, of legitimate
birth and character, between the ages of six and ten; and it was
specified that no boy was to be permitted to stay after his eighteenth
year, and that as regards admission, preference was to be shown, first
to orphans born in Philadelphia, second to orphans born in any other
part of Pennsylvania, third to orphans born in New York City, and fourth
to orphans born in New Orleans.
Work upon the buildings was begun in 1833, and the college was opened
with five buildings in 1848. The central one, an imposing structure in
the Corinthian style of architecture designed by Thomas Ustick Walter,
has been called "the most perfect Greek temple in existence." To it in
1851 were removed the remains of Stephen Girard and placed in a
sarcophagus in the south vestibule. The college fund, originally
$5,260,000, has grown to more than thirty-five million dollars; likewise
the college has become virtually a village in itself. Some twenty
handsome buildings and residences, valued at about three and a half
million dollars, and more than forty acres of land accommodate about two
thousand students, teachers and employes.
Under the provisions of the Girard trust fund nearly five hundred
dwelling houses have been erected by the city in South Philadelphia, all
heated and lighted by a central plant operated by the trustees, and more
than seventy million tons of coal have been mined on property belonging
to his estate. Few philanthropists have left their money so wisely or
with such thoughtful provisions to meet changing conditions.
[Illustration: PLATE 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.]
[Illustration: PLATE XVII.--Cliveden, Germantown Avenue and Johnson
Street, Germantown. Erected in 1781 by Benjamin Chew.]
Perhaps the brick mansion most thoroughly representative of the type of
Georgian country house, of which so many sprang up about Philadelphia
from 1760 to 1770, is Port Royal House on Tacony Street between Church
and Duncan streets in Frankford. This great square, hip-roofed
structure with its quoined corners and projecting stone belt at the
second-floor level; its surmounting belvedere, ornamental dormers and
great chimney stacks; its central pediment springing from a heavy
cornice above a projecting central portion of the façade in which are
located a handsome Palladian window and characteristic Doric doorway;
its large, ranging, twenty-four-paned windows with keyed stone lintels
and blinds on the lower story, is in brick substantially what Mount
Pleasant is in plastered stone, as will be seen in Chapter V. As in the
latter, a broad central hall extends entirely through the house, and the
staircase is located in a small side hall. The rooms throughout are
large and contain excellent woodwork and chimney pieces.
Port Royal House was erected in 1762 by Edward Stiles, a wealthy
merchant and shipowner, who like many others emigrated from Bermuda to
the Bahama island of New Providence and thence to Philadelphia about the
middle of the eighteenth century, to engage in American commerce. He was
the great-grandson of John Stiles, one of the first settlers of Bermuda
in 1635, and the son of Daniel Stiles, of Port Royal Parish, a vestryman
and warden of Port Royal Church and a member of the Assembly of Bermuda
in 1723. Commerce between the American colonies and Bermuda and the West
Indies was extensive, and Stiles' business prospered. He had a store in
Front Street between Market and Arch streets, and a town house in Walnut
Street between Third and Fourth streets. In summer, like other men of
his station and affluence, he lived at his countryseat, surrounded by
many slaves, on an extensive plantation in Oxford township, near
Frankford, that he had purchased from the Waln family. To it he gave the
name Port Royal after his birthplace in Bermuda.
To Edward Stiles in 1775 befell the opportunity to carry relief to the
people of Bermuda, then in dire distress because their supplies from
America had been cut off by the Non-Importation Agreement among the
American colonies. In response to their petition to the Continental
Congress, permission was granted to send Stiles' ship, the _Sea Nymph_
(Samuel Stobel, master), laden with provisions to be paid for by the
people of Bermuda either in gold or arms, ammunition, saltpeter, sulphur
and fieldpieces.
During the occupation of Philadelphia by the British in 1777 and 1778,
Frankford became the middle ground between the opposing armies and
subject to the depredations of both. Port Royal House, like many other
estates of the vicinity, was robbed of its fine furniture, horses,
slaves and provisions.
Under the will of Edward Stiles his slaves were freed and educated at
the expense of his estate. In 1853 the Lukens family bought Port Royal
House and for several years a boarding school was conducted there. As
the manufacturing about Frankford grew, the locality lost its
desirability as a place of residence. The house was abandoned to chance
tenants and allowed to fall into an exceedingly delapidated condition.
The accompanying photograph, however, depicts enough of its former state
to indicate that in its day it was among the best brick country
residences of the vicinity.
CHAPTER III
CITY RESIDENCES OF BRICK
As the city of Philadelphia grew and became more densely populated, land
values increased greatly, and the custom developed of building brick
residences in blocks fronting directly on the street, the party walls
being located on the side property lines. Like the country houses
already described, these were laid up in Flemish bond with alternating
red stretcher and black header bricks, and thus an entire block
presented a straight, continuous wall, broken only by a remarkably
regular scheme of doorways and fenestration, and varied only by slight
differences in the detail of doors and windows, lintels, cornices and
dormers. These plain two-or three-story brick dwellings in long rows, in
street after street, with white marble steps and trimmings, green or
white shutters, each intended for one family, have been perpetuated
through the intervening years, and now as then form the dominant feature
of the domestic architecture of the city proper.
For the most part these were single-front houses, that is to say, the
doorway was located to the right or left with two windows at one side,
while on the stories above windows ranged with the doorway, making three
windows across each story. There were exceptions, however, the so-called
Morris house at Number 225 South Eighth Street being a notable example
of a characteristic double-front house of the locality and period. They
were gable-roof structures with high chimneys in the party walls,
foreshortened, third-story windows and from one to three dormers
piercing the roof.
At the end of the block the wall was often carried up above the ridge
between a pair of chimneys and terminated in a horizontal line,
imparting greater stability to the chimney construction and lending an
air of distinction to the whole house, which was further enhanced by
locating the entrance directly beneath in the end wall rather than in
the side of the building. The famous old Wistar house at the southeast
corner of Fourth and Locust streets is a case in point.
Pedimental dormers were the rule, sometimes with round-headed windows.
Elaborate molded wood cornices were a feature, often with prominent,
even hand-tooled modillions. Slightly projecting belts of brick courses,
marble or other stone marked the floor levels, and keyed stone lintels
were customary, although in some of the plainer houses the window frames
were set between ordinary courses of brickwork, without decoration of
any sort. Most of the windows had either six-or nine-paned upper and
lower sashes with third-story windows foreshortened in various ways.
There were paneled shutters at the first-story windows and often on the
second story as well, although blinds were sometimes used on the second
story and rarely on the third. The high, deeply recessed doorways, with
engaged columns or fluted pilasters supporting handsome entablatures or
pediments, and beautifully paneled doors, often with a semicircular
fanlight above, were characteristic of most Philadelphia entrances.
Before them, occupying part of the sidewalk, was a single broad stone
step, or at times a stoop consisting of a flight of three or four steps
with a simple wrought-iron handrail, sometimes on both sides, but often
on only one side. Other common obstructions in the sidewalk were
areaways at one or two basement windows and a rolling way with inclined
double doors giving entrance from the street to the basement.
[Illustration: PLATE XVIII.--Detail of Cliveden Façade; Detail of
Bartram House Façade.]
[Illustration: PLATE XIX.--The Highlands, Skippack Pike, Whitemarsh.
Erected in 1796 by Anthony Morris.]
Many of these city residences were of almost palatial character, built
by wealthy merchants and men in political life who thought it expedient
to live near their wharves and countinghouses or within easy distance of
the seats of city, provincial and later of national government.
Beautiful gardens occupied the backyards of many such dwellings,
affording veritable oases in a desert of bricks and mortar, yet many of
the more affluent citizens maintained countryseats along the
Schuylkill or elsewhere in addition to their town houses.
The location of many of these early city dwellings of brick was such
that as the city grew they became undesirable as places of residence.
Business encroached upon them more and more, so that, except for houses
which have remained for generations in the same family or have historic
interest sufficient to have brought about their preservation by the
city, relatively few still remain in anything like their original
condition. Of the quaint two-and three-story dwellings of modest though
delightfully distinctive character, which once lined the narrow streets
and alleys, most have become squalid tenements and small alien stores,
or else have been utilized for commercial purposes. To walk through
Combes Alley and Elfret Alley is to sense what once was and to realize
the trend of the times, but there is much material for study in these
rapidly decaying old sections that repay a visit by the architect and
student.
Happily, however, one of these typical little streets is to be
perpetuated in something like its pristine condition. Camac Street, "the
street of little clubs", has become one of the unique features of the
city,--a typically American "Latin Quarter." To enter this little,
narrow, rough-paved alley, running south from Walnut Street between
Twelfth and Thirteenth streets, is like stepping back a century or
more. The squatty little two and a half story houses with picturesque
doorways and dormer windows have become the homes of numerous clubs
representing the best art interests of the city. Poor Richard Club,
Plastic Club, Sketch Club, Coin d'Or and Franklin Inn are among the
names to be seen painted on the signs beside the doors. The houses and
their gardens in the rear have been restored and provide excellent club,
exhibition and lecture rooms, at the same time preserving some fine
examples of a rapidly passing type of early American architecture. Would
that a similar course might be taken by local societies in every large
American city where a wealth of Colonial architecture exists!
Among the fine old single-front houses of particular interest which have
suffered through the encroachment of business upon the former
residential sections of the city are the Blackwell house, Number 224
Pine Street, and the Wharton house, Number 336 Spruce Street.
The former was in many respects the most elegant residence in
Philadelphia, built almost without regard to cost by a man of great
wealth, whose taste and refinement called for luxurious living and a
beautiful home. The interior woodwork surpassed in design and execution
anything to be found elsewhere in the city. Many of the doorways had
fluted pilasters, heavily molded casings and carved broken pediments.
The doors were of mahogany as was likewise the wainscoting of the
staircases. The sides of the rooms where fireplaces were located were
completely paneled to the ceiling, and above the fireplace openings were
narrow panels on which were hunting scenes done in mastic. Some years
ago much of this beautiful woodwork was removed, and to-day, despoiled
of its former architectural splendor, dingy and dilapidated, the shell
of the building is used as a cigar factory.
The house was built about 1765 by John Stamper, a wealthy English
merchant, who had been successively councilman, alderman and finally
mayor of Philadelphia in 1759. He bought the whole south side of Pine
Street from Second to Third from the Penns in 1761, and for many years
the house was surrounded by a garden containing flowers, shrubs and
fruit trees. Later the house passed into the hands of Stamper's
son-in-law, William Bingham, Senior, and afterwards to Bingham's
son-in-law, the Reverend Doctor Robert Blackwell.
Doctor Blackwell was the son of Colonel Jacob Blackwell, of New York,
who owned extensive estates on Long Island along the East River,
Blackwell's Island being included. After graduating from Princeton,
Robert Blackwell studied first medicine and then theology. After several
years of tutoring at Philipse Manor, he was ordained to the ministry and
served the missions at Gloucester and St. Mary's, Colestown, New
Jersey. When both congregations were scattered by the Revolution, he
joined the Continental Army at Valley Forge as both chaplain and
surgeon. In 1870 he married Hannah Bingham, whose considerable fortune,
added to the estate of his father which he soon after inherited, made
him the richest clergyman in America and one of the richest men in
Philadelphia. The following year he was called to assist Doctor White,
the rector of Christ Church and St. Peter's, and to the latter Doctor
Blackwell chiefly devoted himself until his resignation in 1811 due to
failing health. It was the services of these united parishes which
Washington, his Cabinet and members of Congress attended frequently. On
Doctor Blackwell's death in 1831 the house passed into the Willing
family and has since changed owners many times.
The Wharton house, Number 336 Spruce Street, was built in 1796 by Samuel
Pancoast, a house carpenter, who sold it to Mordecai Lewis, a prominent
merchant in the East India trade, shipowner, importer and one-time
partner of William Bingham, the brother-in-law of Doctor Blackwell, and
whose palatial mansion in Third Street above Spruce was one of the most
exclusive social centers of the city. Mordecai Lewis was a director of
the Bank of North America, the Philadelphia Contributorship for the
Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire, the Philadelphia Library, and the
treasurer of the Pennsylvania Hospital. Much of the currency issued by
the Continental Congress of 1776 bore his name. Although a member of the
volunteer military company, he was never in active service.
Following his death in 1799 the house was sold by his executors in 1809
to his son, Samuel N. Lewis, also a successful merchant of great public
spirit. In 1817 the younger Lewis sold the house to Samuel Fisher,
another merchant and prominent Friend noted for his hospitality and his
charity, especially toward negroes and Indians. Because of his
neutrality during the Revolution, he was exiled to Virginia from 1777
until 1779, when he was arrested because of a business letter to his
partner in New York which was regarded as antagonistic to the
government. He was committed to the "Old Gaol", and after refusing bail
was tried and because of the clamor of the mob was sentenced to
imprisonment for the duration of the war. Soon afterward, however, a
pardon was offered him, which he refused, and two years later he left
prison by invitation without terms, his health broken. His wedding gift
to his daughter, Deborah, on her marriage to William Wharton in 1817,
was the Spruce Street house, which has ever since borne Wharton's name.
William Wharton was the son of Charles Wharton, who, with his wife,
Hannah, devoted themselves to a religious life among the Friends.
Deborah Wharton, William Wharton's wife, became a prominent minister of
the Society of Friends, traveling extensively in the interests of Indian
welfare and giving generously of her ample means to various
philanthropic causes. She was one of the early managers of Swarthmore
College, as has been a descendant in each generation of the family since
that time. Of her ten children, Joseph Wharton, also a prominent Friend,
was owner of the Bethlehem Steel Works and one of the most successful
ironmasters in the country. A liberal philanthropist, he founded the
Wharton School of Finance and Economy at the University of Pennsylvania
and was for many years president of the board of managers of Swarthmore
College. On his mother's death in 1888 the Spruce Street house came into
his possession and is still owned by his estate. Although rented as a
rooming house, it remains in a fair state of preservation.
[Illustration: PLATE XX.--Bartram House, Kingsessing, West Philadelphia.
Erected in 1730-31 by John Bartram; Old Green Tree Inn, 6019 Germantown
Avenue, Germantown. Erected in 1748.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXI.--Johnson House, 6306 Germantown Avenue,
Germantown. Erected in 1765-68 by Dirck Jansen; Billmeyer House,
Germantown Avenue, Germantown. Erected in 1727.]
The Wistar house, at the southwest corner of Fourth and Locust streets,
to which architectural reference has previously been made, was built
about 1750 and for nearly three quarters of a century thereafter was the
scene of constant hospitality and lavish entertainment. Here lived
Doctor William Shippen, whose marriage to Alice, the daughter of Thomas
Lee, of Virginia, and the sister of Richard Henry and Arthur Lee, was
one of the numerous alliances which drew the county families of Virginia
and Maryland into close relationship with Philadelphia families.
Doctor Shippen's home quickly became the resort of the Virginia
aristocracy when visiting the national capital, and in consequence there
was a constant succession of balls and dinners during the winter season.
In 1799 the house was occupied by Doctor Caspar Wistar, the eminent
anatomist, known to the élite of the city and nation for his brilliant
social gatherings and as the man for whom that beautiful climbing plant,
the _Wistaria_, was named. Doctor Wistar's geniality, magnetism,
intellectual leadership and generous hospitality made his home a
gathering place for the most distinguished personages of his day in the
professions, arts, sciences, letters and politics. Since he held a chair
at the University of Pennsylvania and carried on an extensive private
practice, the demands upon his time were great, but Sunday evenings, and
later on Saturday evenings, he was at home to his friends, who formed
the habit of calling regularly in numbers from ten to fifty and often
bringing new-found friends, sure of a hearty welcome, brilliant
conversation and choice refreshments. And so began one of the cherished
institutions of Philadelphia, the Wistar Parties, which were continued
after the doctor's death in 1818 by Wistar's friends and their
descendants. The Civil War brought an interruption, but in 1886 the
gatherings were again resumed; few of the distinguished visitors to the
city failed to be invited to attend, and, having attended, to praise
most highly the exceptional hospitality shown them. During Doctor
Wistar's lifetime the personnel of the parties gradually became
substantially the membership of that world-famous scientific
organization, the Philosophical Society, and later membership in that
society became requisite to eligibility for the Wistar Parties.
By far the handsomest old city residence of brick that remains in
anything like its original condition is the so-called Morris house at
Number 225 South Eighth Street between Walnut and Spruce streets.
Although not built until very shortly after the struggle for American
independence had been won, it is pre-Revolutionary in character and
Colonial in style throughout. In elegance and distinction the façade is
unexcelled in early American city architecture. Unlike most houses of
the time and locality, it has a double front with two windows each side
of a central doorway, a range of five windows on the second and third
floors and three simple dormers in the gable roof above. The windows
have twelve-paned upper and lower sashes with paneled shutters on the
first and second stories, and foreshortened eight-paned upper and lower
sashes without shutters on the third story.
The brickwork is of characteristic Flemish bond with alternating red
stretcher and black header bricks. Two slightly projecting courses, two
courses apart, form horizontal belts at the second-and third-floor
levels, while the first thirteen courses above the sidewalk level
project somewhat beyond the wall above and are laid up in running bond,
every sixth course being a tie course of headers. Beautifully tooled,
light stone lintels with fine-scale radial scorings greatly enhance the
beauty of the fenestration. Each lintel appears to consist of seven
gauged or keyed pieces each, but is in reality a single stone, the
effect being secured by deep scorings. A heavy molded cornice and
handsome gutter spouts complete the decorative features apart from the
chaste pedimental doorway with its fluted pilasters and dainty fanlight,
which is mentioned again in another chapter. A rolling way and areaways
at the basement windows pierce the wall at the sidewalk level after the
manner of the time. Indoors, the hall extends entirely through the house
to a door in the rear opening upon a box-bordered garden with rose trees
and old-fashioned flowers. There is a parlor on the right of the hall
and a library on the left. Back of the latter is the dining room, while
the kitchen and service portion of the house are located in an L
extension to the rear.
As indicated by two marble date stones set in the third-story front wall
just below the cornice, this house was begun in 1786 and finished in
1787 by John Reynolds. Some years later it was purchased at a sheriff's
sale by Ann Dunkin, who sold it in 1817 to Luke Wistar Morris, the son
of Captain Samuel Morris. Since that time it has remained in the Morris
family, and its occupants have maintained it in splendid condition. Much
beautiful old furniture, silver and china adorn the interior, most of
the pieces having individual histories of interest; in fact, the place
has become a veritable museum of Morris and Wistar heirlooms. Within a
few years the two old buildings that formerly adjoined the house to the
right and left were removed so that the house now stands alone with a
garden space at each side behind a handsome wrought-iron fence.
An enthusiastic horseman and sportsman, Samuel Morris was until his
death in 1812 president of the Gloucester Fox Hunting Club in which
originated in November, 1774, the Philadelphia Troop of Light Horse,
better known as the City Troop, the oldest military organization in the
United States. In 1775 Morris was a member of the Committee of Safety,
and throughout the Revolution he served as captain of the City Troop and
as a special agent for Washington, in whose esteem he stood high. Later
he was a justice of the peace and a member of the Pennsylvania assembly
from 1781 to 1783. A handsome china punch bowl presented to Captain
Samuel Morris by the members of the Gloucester Fox Hunting Club is one
of the most prized possessions in the Morris house.
Any book devoted to the Colonial houses of Philadelphia might perhaps be
considered incomplete that failed to include the quaint little two and a
half story building at Number 229 Arch Street, with its tiny store on
the street floor and dwelling on the floors above. Devoid of all
architectural pretension and showing the decay of passing years, it is
nevertheless typical of the modest shop and house of its day, and it
interests the visitor still more as the home of Betsy Ross, who for many
years was popularly supposed to have made the first American flag. Betsy
Ross was the widow of John Ross, a nephew of one of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence, who had conducted an upholsterer's business
in the little shop. For a time after his death she supported herself as
a lace cleaner and by continuing the business of her husband.
The romantic tradition goes, unsupported by official record, that,
Congress having voted in June, 1777, for a flag of thirteen stripes,
alternate red and white, with thirteen white stars in a blue field, the
committee in charge consulted with Washington, then in Philadelphia,
concerning the matter. Knowing Mrs. Ross, Washington led the way to her
house and explained their mission. In her little shop under their eyes
she cut and stitched together cloths of the three colors we love so well
and soon produced the first version of the Stars and Stripes.
The tale is a pretty one, and it is a pity that it should not be based
on some good foundation, especially as the records show that
subsequently Betsy Ross did make numerous flags for the government. How
the story started is unknown, but none of the historians who have given
the matter any attention believe it. John H. Flow in "The True Story of
the American Flag" condemns it utterly, and the United States Government
refused to adopt the Betsy Ross house as a national monument after a
thorough investigation. Notwithstanding the facts, however, this ancient
little building still continues to be a place of interest to many
tourists every year.
[Illustration: PLATE XXII.--Hooded Doorway, Johnson House, Germantown;
Hooded Doorway, Green Tree Inn.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXIII. Pedimental Doorway, 114 League Street;
Pedimental Doorway, 5933 Germantown Avenue.]
CHAPTER IV
LEDGE-STONE COUNTRY HOUSES
The use of natural building materials available on or near the site,
when they are suitable or can be made so, always elicits hearty
commendation; it gives local color and distinctive character. And so we
look with particular admiration at the fine old countryseats of local
rock-face and surfaced stone which abound in the neighborhood of
Philadelphia, especially at Germantown, finding among them the most
homelike and picturesque stone dwellings of the past and the best
prototypes for present-day adaptation. Nowhere can one discover better
inspiration for rock-face stonework, and nowhere have the architects of
to-day more successfully preserved and developed the best local
traditions of Colonial times.
Wherein lies the superlative picturesque appeal of the typical ledge
stonework of Germantown? As distinguished from surfaced stonework, it
possesses that flexibility in use so essential to the many and varied
requirements of domestic architecture imposed by the personality and
mode of living of the owner. In a measure this ready adaptability is due
to the irregular lines and rock face of the stone itself, so pleasing in
scale, color and texture, and so completely in harmony with the natural
landscape. But to a far greater extent it is due to the fact that its
predominant lines are horizontal, the line of repose and stability.
Ledge stone, long and narrow, laid up in broken range, with the top and
bottom beds approximately level, but with end joints as the stone works
naturally, has an even more marked horizontal effect than brick,
clap-boarded or shingled walls that tends to a surprising degree to
simulate the impression of greater breadth of the entire mass.
Such matters as color, surface texture and the bond or pattern formed by
the shape of the stones and their arrangement in the wall are the
refinements of stonework; the essentials are strength and durability of
the stone itself and stability of the wall. And this stability should be
apparent as well as actual. The integrity of stonework depends upon its
ability to stand alone, and nothing except high-cost surfaced stone is
so readily conducive to handsome, honest masonry as the natural ledge
stone of greater Philadelphia. A consistent wall should be of sound
construction without the aid of mortar, the mission of which is to chink
the joints and make the structure weather-tight.
Many different examples of stonework, both the pointed and unpointed,
stand virtually side by side for comparison about Philadelphia. Several
methods of pointing have been employed. There is the flush pointing and
the ridge or weathered type commonly known as Colonial or "barn"
pointing. Of them all, however, a method of laying and pointing
generally referred to as the Germantown type has been most widely
favored. It lends itself particularly well to the Colonial style of
house now so popular, the broad lines of the white pointing bringing the
gray stone into pleasing harmony with the white woodwork.
The pointing itself is much like the Colonial or "barn" pointing already
referred to,--the wide open joints being filled with mortar brought well
to the surface of the stones and smoothed off by the flat of the trowel
with little regard to definiteness of line, after which about one-fourth
of the width of the pointing is cut sharply away at the bottom so as to
leave a sloping weathered edge considerably below the center of the
joint. This is sometimes left as cut, in order to preserve a difference
in texture, or is gone over with a trowel, either free hand or along a
straightedge, to give a more finished appearance or more pronounced
horizontal line effect.
Generally gray in effect, a ledge-stone wall provides a delightful
neutral background against which trellises of roses, wistaria,
honeysuckle and other flowering climbers delight the eye, and to which
the spreading English ivy clings in the most charming intimacy.
White-painted woodwork, however, furnishes its prime
embellishment,--doors, windows, porches, dormers and such necessary
appurtenances of comfortable living punctuating its various parts with
high lights which brighten the effect, balance the form and mass and
lend distinctive character. One has but to examine the accompanying
illustrations of a few notable homes of the Colonial period to
appreciate the undeniable charm of white-painted woodwork in a setting
of ledge stone.
In the midst of virgin forest at the end of Livezey's Lane in Germantown
on the banks of Wissahickon Creek, stands Glen Fern, more commonly known
as the Livezey house, with numerous old buildings near by which in years
past were mills, granaries and cooper shops. The house is of typically
picturesque ledge-stone construction and interesting arrangement,
consisting of three adjoining gable-roof structures in diminishing
order, each with a single shed-roof dormer in its roof. It is located on
a garden terrace with ledge-stone embankment wall and steps leading up
to the door, which originally had seats at each side, while a balcony
above was reached by the door in the second story. Two and a half
stories high and having a chimney at each end, the main house attracts
attention chiefly for its quaint fenestration, with two windows on
one side of the door and one on the other, the foreshortened
twelve-paned windows of the second story placed well up under the eaves,
the first-story windows having six-paned upper and nine-paned lower
sashes. As usual, there are shutters for the first-and blinds for the
second-story windows.
[Illustration: PLATE XXIV.--Doorway, 5011 Germantown Avenue; Doorway,
Morris House, 225 South Eighth Street.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXV.--Doorway, 6504 Germantown Avenue; Doorway, 709
Spruce Street.]
A winding stairway leads upward from a rather small hall. White-paneled
wainscots and fireplaces surrounded by dark marble adorn each of the
principal rooms, while the great kitchen fireplace, in an inglenook with
a window beside a seat large enough to accommodate several persons, was
the "courtin' corner" of three generations of the Livezey family.
The old grist mill on Wissahickon Creek, originally a considerable
stream, was built by Thomas Shoemaker, and in 1747 conveyed by him to
Thomas Livezey, Junior, who operated it the rest of his life and lived
at Glen Fern near by. The builder's father, Jacob Shoemaker, who gave
the land upon which the Germantown Friends' Meeting House stands at
Coulter and Main streets, came to this country with Pastorius in the
ship _America_ in 1682 and became sheriff of the town in 1690. Thomas
Livezey, the progenitor of the Livezey family, and the great-grandfather
of Thomas, Junior, came from England in 1680, and the records show that
he served on the first grand jury of the first court held in the
province, January 2, 1681.
Thomas Livezey, Junior, the miller, was a public-spirited and
many-sided man. Something of a wag and given to writing letters in
verse, his life also had its more serious side. Besides being one of the
founders and a trustee of the Union Schoolhouse of Germantown, now
Germantown Academy, he was a justice of the peace and a provincial
commissioner in 1765. Being a Friend, he took no part in the struggle
for independence, although his provocation was great.
For safety's sake the girls of the family, with the eatables and
drinkables, were often locked up in the cellars during the occupancy of
Germantown by the British. On one occasion British soldiers came to the
house and demanded food, and being told by one of the women that after
cooking all day she was too weary to prepare it, one of the soldiers
struck off the woman's ear with his sword. An officer appeared
presently, however, demanded to know who had done so dastardly a thing
and instantly split the culprit's head with his saber.
Livezey cultivated a large farm on the adjoining hillsides, and a dozen
bottles of wine from his vineyard, forwarded by his friend Robert
Wharton, elicited praise from Benjamin Franklin.
Farmers brought their grain hither for miles around, and the mill
prospered. Gradually a large West Indian trade was built up in flour
contaminated with garlic and unmarketable in Philadelphia, the ships
returning with silk, crêpes and beautiful china, so that Livezey's son
John became a prominent Philadelphia merchant. Another son, Thomas,
continued to run the mill, which about the time of the Civil War was
converted to the manufacture of linseed oil. In 1869 the entire property
was purchased for Fairmount Park, and Glen Fern is now occupied by the
Valley Green Canoe Club, which has restored it under the direction of
John Livezey.
Opposite the famous Chew house on Germantown Avenue, amid a luxurious
setting of splendid trees, clinging ivy and box-bordered gardens, stands
Upsala, one of the finest examples of the Colonial architecture of
Philadelphia. A great, square two and a half story house with a gable
roof, three handsome dormers in front, a goodly sized chimney toward
either end, and an L in the rear, it speaks eloquently of substantial
comfort. Like many houses of the time and place, the façade is of faced
stone carefully pointed, while the other walls are of exceptionally
pleasing ledge stone, the two kinds of masonry being quoined together at
the corners.
The pointing of the stonework is a very informal variation of the modern
Germantown type,--flat-trowel pointed with little regard to definiteness
of line. The wide joints are more appropriate in scale and taste than
the ridge or weathered type, in that they harmonize better with the
generally broad effect of the house and the white-painted wood trim of
numerous windows and doors.
Keyed lintels and window sills of marble accentuate the fenestration,
and the façade is further enriched by a handsome cornice and marble belt
at the second-floor level. Four marble steps give approach to the high,
pedimental porch before a door of delightful grace and dignity. As was
often the case, there are white-painted shutters at the lower windows
and green-painted blinds at the upper.
The gable ends of the house are interesting in their fenestration, with
a fanlight of delightful pattern above and between two ordinary windows;
one notices with interest that the returns of the eaves are carried
entirely across the ends of the house from front to back, after the
manner of the characteristic penthouse roof.
Within, a broad hall extends through the house, an archway at the foot
of the winding staircase being its most striking feature. Two rooms on
each side contain handsome mantels, paneled wainscots and other
beautiful wood finish.
As indicated by the date stone in one of the gables, Upsala was begun in
1798 by John Johnson, Junior, who inherited the land from his
grandfather, also named John Johnson, and was some three years in the
building. It is located near the corner of Upsal Street on part of a
tract of land that originally extended from Germantown Avenue, then
Germantown Road, to the township line at Wissahickon Avenue. The house
stands on the spot where the Fortieth Regiment of the British Army
was encamped, and where later General Maxwell's cannon were planted to
assail the Chew house at the Battle of Germantown. It has been
successively occupied by Norton Johnson, Doctor William N. Johnson and
Miss Sallie W. Johnson, all descendants of the builder.
[Illustration: PLATE XXVI.--Doorway, 5200 Germantown Avenue; Doorway,
4927 Frankford Avenue.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXVII.--Doorway, Powel House, 244 South Third
Street; Doorway, Wharton House, 336 Spruce Street.]
Like Upsala, Grumblethorpe, at Number 526 Main Street, Germantown,
opposite Indian Queen Lane, displays ledge-stone walls except for its
façade, which is plastered, and it has the same returns of the eaves
like a penthouse roof across the gables. This large two and a half story
house stands directly on the sidewalk and has areaways at the sunken
basement windows like many modern houses. A sturdy chimney at either end
and two dormers with segmental topped windows are the features of the
roof. The high recessed doorway, with its broad marble lower step in the
brick sidewalk, is located so that there are three windows to the left
and only two to the right. An interesting feature of the fenestration is
the use of wide twelve-paned windows on the first story and of narrower
and higher eighteen-paned windows on the second. Again there are
shutters on the lower story and blinds above. This variation in the
windows of different stories is by no means an uncommon feature of
Philadelphia houses, and, as in this instance, often came about as the
result of alterations.
Grumblethorpe was built in 1744 by John Wister, who came to Philadelphia
from Germany in 1727 and developed a large business in cultivating
blackberries, making and importing wine in Market Street west of Third.
"Wister's Big House" was the first countryseat in Germantown. Originally
it differed materially from its present outward appearance. There were
no dormers, and the garret was lighted only at the ends. Across the
front and sides of the house the second-floor level was marked by a
penthouse roof, broken over the entrance by a balcony reached by a door
from the second story. To the right of the entrance there were two
windows, as at present; to the left there was a smaller door with a
window at each side of it. Both doors were divided into upper and lower
sections and had side-long seats outside. In the course of repairs and
alterations in 1808 the penthouse roof and balcony, also the front
seats, were removed, the upper and smaller lower doors were replaced by
windows, and the front of the house was pebble dashed.
A long wing extends back from the main house, and beyond is a workshop
with many old tools and a numerous collection of interesting clocks in
various stages of completion. Still farther back is an observatory with
its telescope, also a box-bordered formal garden in which still stands a
quaint rain gauge. Indoors, the hall and principal rooms are spacious
but low studded, with simple white-painted woodwork, and in the kitchen
a primitive crane supporting ancient iron pots still remains in the
great fireplace. Much fine old furniture, many rare books and numerous
curios enhance the interest and beauty of the interiors.
Many men illustrious in art, science and literature shared Wister's
hospitality. His frequent visitors included Gilbert Stuart, the artist;
Christopher Sower, one of the most versatile men in the colonies; Thomas
Say, the eminent entomologist and president of the Philadelphia Academy
of Natural Sciences; Parker Cleveland, author of the first book on
American mineralogy; James Nichol, the celebrated geologist and writer,
and many other famous personages. Quite as many unknown persons came to
Grumblethorpe, however, for bread was baked every Saturday for
distribution to the poor.
During the Battle of Germantown, Grumblethorpe was the headquarters of
General Agnew of the British Army, and in the northwest parlor he died
of wounds, staining the floor with his blood, the marks of which are
still visible. In the same room Major Lenox, who occupied the house in
1779, was married. Major Lenox was at various times marshal of the
United States for the District of Pennsylvania, director and president
of the United States Bank, and the representative of the United States
at the Court of St. James.
John Wister's eldest son, Daniel, a prosperous merchant, inherited the
property, and it was his daughter who wrote Sally Wister's well-known
and charming "Journal", the original manuscript of which is among the
many treasures of this charming old house.
It was Daniel Wister's son, Charles J. Wister, who built the observatory
and developed the beautiful formal garden back of the house. Upon
retiring from business in 1819 he devoted himself to science, notably
botany and mineralogy, upon which subjects he lectured at the Germantown
Academy, of which he was secretary of the board of trustees for thirty
years.
In 1865 the place came into the hands of Charles J. Wister, Junior, an
artist, writer and Friend of high repute, who, like his father, was for
many years identified with Germantown Academy. On his death in 1910
Grumblethorpe was shared by his nephews, Owen Wister, the novelist, and
Alexander W. Wister, neither of whom resides there.
[Illustration: PLATE XXVIII.--Doorway, 301 South Seventh Street.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXIX.--Doorway, Grumblethorpe, 5621 Germantown
Avenue; Doorway, 6105 Germantown Avenue.]
One of the noblest old ledge-stone mansions of the vicinity is The
Woodlands, located on high ground along the bank of the Schuylkill River
in Blockley Township, West Philadelphia. It was formerly the countryseat
of the Hamilton family, from which a district of West Philadelphia east
of Fortieth Street and south of Market Street took the name of Hamilton
Village. Many years ago the grounds of The Woodlands became a
cemetery, and the house is now occupied by the superintendent and
contains the cemetery offices. While the gay society of a century and a
quarter ago is lacking the place still retains much of its former beauty
and state.
Of essentially Georgian character, the house is still more strongly
reminiscent of many plantation mansions of the South. It has an entrance
front to the north and a river or garden front to the south, while the
kitchen arrangements are well concealed. Between two semicircular bays
that project from the ends of the building on the entrance front, six
Ionic pilasters support a broad and elaborately ornamented pediment, its
chief features being the notching of the shingles, the circular window
and the frieze with groups of vertical flutings in alternation with
large round flower ornaments. A broad paved terrace three steps above
the drive extends across the front from one bay to the other and gives
approach to a round-arched central doorway with handsome leaded fanlight
beneath a segmental hood supported by round engaged Ionic columns. This
doorway leads into the hall.
On the river front a lofty pedimental-roofed portico centrally located
and supported by six great smooth pillars is of distinctly southern
aspect. Another round-arched doorway flanked by two round-topped windows
opens directly into an oval-shaped ballroom. The beautiful Palladian
windows on either side of this façade and recessed within an arch in the
masonry are among the chief distinctions of the house. An examination of
them indicates as convincingly as any modern work the delightful accord
that may exist between gray stone and white woodwork, and draws
attention to the masonry itself. The use of relatively small stones has
resulted in an unconventional though pleasing wall effect, due to the
prominence and rough character of the pointing which has been brought
well out to the edges of the stones.
A word may well be said in passing in regard to the stable at The
Woodlands, which, while rightly unassuming, lives in complete accord
with the house, as every outbuilding should. A hip-roofed structure with
lean-to wings, it is essentially a Georgian conception. Its walls are of
ledge stone like the house, broken by a symmetrical arrangement of
recessed arches in which the various doors and windows are set, and
further embellished by a four-course belt of brick at the second-floor
level.
The Woodlands was built in 1770 by William Hamilton on an estate
purchased in 1735 by his grandfather, Andrew Hamilton, the first of that
name in America. It is the second house on the site, the first having
made way for the present spacious structure which was designed to give
expression to the tastes and desires of its builder. William Hamilton
was one of the wealthiest men of his day and loved display and the rôle
of a lavish host. Maintaining a large retinue of servants and living in
a style surpassing that of most of his neighbors, his dinner parties and
other social gatherings were attended by the most eminent personages of
the time. A man of culture and refinement, he accumulated many valuable
paintings and rare books, and his gardens, greenhouse and grounds were
his particular pride and joy. To a large collection of native American
plants and shrubs he added many exotic trees and plants. To him is
credited the introduction of the Ginkgo tree and the Lombardy poplar to
America.
William Hamilton was a nephew of Governor James Hamilton, by whose
permission, granted to William Hallam and his Old American Company of
strolling players, the drama was established in Philadelphia in 1754,
despite the strong opposition of the Friends. William Hamilton raised a
regiment in his neighborhood to assist in the Revolution, but being
opposed to a complete break with the mother country, resigned his
commission upon the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Following the evacuation of Philadelphia by the British he was arrested,
charged with assisting the British forces and tried for high treason,
but was acquitted and allowed to retain possession of his estates,
which were duly inherited by his family on his death in 1811.
These charming old ledge-stone mansions, and others of lesser
architectural merit and historical association, too numerous for
description here, constitute the chief distinction of Philadelphia
architecture. Whereas the city residences of brick differ little from
those of several other not far distant places, and the country houses of
that material recall many similar ones in Delaware, Maryland and even
Virginia, the ledge-stone house of greater Philadelphia is a thing unto
itself. It has no parallel in America. Of substantial character and
possessed of rare local color, it combines with picturesque appearance
those highly desirable qualities of permanence and non-inflammability.
It is the ideal construction for suburban Philadelphia where the
necessary building material abounds and new homes can live in accord
with the old.
[Illustration: PLATE XXX.--Doorway, Doctor Denton's House, Germantown.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXXI.--West Entrance, Mount Pleasant, Fairmount
Park; East Entrance, Mount Pleasant.]
CHAPTER V
PLASTERED STONE COUNTRY HOUSES
It is quite possible to preserve random shapes and rock faces in
stonework that is structurally good, yet still fail in a measure to
please the eye and satisfy the artistic sense. A house built of stones
which, although irregular and of variable size, are generally cubical in
shape and set with obvious painstaking to simulate a casual yet
remarkably systematic arrangement, never fails to be clumsy and patchy.
A case in point is Waynesborough in Easttown Township, Chester County,
erected in 1724 by Captain Isaac Wayne. Greame Park, erected in Horsham
Township, Montgomery County, by Sir William Keith five years after he
was appointed governor of Penn's Colony in 1717, instances another
unsuccessful use of stonework and effectively explodes the pet notion of
the indiscriminate that everything which is old is therefore good. The
promiscuous use of rough, long, quarried stones, square blocks and
narrow strips on end results in an utterly irrational effect, a
confusing medley of short lines.
Going to the other extreme, the use of stones so small and irregular as
to suggest a "crazy-quilt" mosaic rather than structural stonework is
equally displeasing. This scheme unquestionably lends texture to the
wall, but it attracts too much attention to itself to the detriment of
such architectural features as doors, windows and other wood trim
intended to provide suitable embellishment as well as to fulfill the
practical requirements of daily use. Inasmuch as rubble used in this
manner becomes merely an aggregate in a concrete wall, the consistent
thing to do is to consider it as such and give the wall an outside
finish or veneer of rough plaster. This fact was recognized and often
acted upon by the early Philadelphia builders wherever the stone readily
available did not make an attractive wall. A few of the best examples
extant serve to indicate that houses of this sort have all the charm of
the modern stucco structure built over hollow tile.
Perhaps the most picturesque of the old houses of this type is Wyck at
Germantown Avenue and Walnut Lane, Germantown, a long, rambling
structure of rubble masonry with an outside veneer of rough white
plaster standing end to the street. Although Colonial in detail and
partaking to a degree of the general character of its neighbors, the
ensemble presents a rare blending of European influences with American
construction. Vine-clad trellises on the entrance front, a long arbor on
the garden front, box-bordered flower beds and a profusion of shade
trees and shrubs all help to compose a picture of rare charm in which
leading American architects have often found inspiration for modern
work.
Wyck is probably the oldest building in Germantown and certainly quaint
of appearance, considering its age, for it has been preserved as nearly
as possible in its early condition. The oldest part was built about 1690
by Hans Millan. Later another house was built near by on the opposite
side of an old Indian trail, and subsequently the two were joined
together, a wide, brick-paved wagon way running beneath the connecting
structure. This passage has since been closed in to form a spacious
hallway with wide double doors and a long transom above, the outer doors
being wood paneled and the inner ones glazed.
Of romantic interest is the use of this great hall of Wyck as a hospital
and operating room after the Battle of Germantown, and later, in 1825,
as the scene of a reception tendered to La Fayette, following his
breakfast at Cliveden, when the townspeople were presented to him by
Charles J. Wister. The doorway to the right, with its molded jambs,
plain, four-paned transom and paneled door divided in the middle like
many of the neighborhood, is of the most modest order, yet its simple
lines and good proportions, together with the green of the climbing
vines about it, in contrast with the white plaster walls, makes a strong
appeal to everybody of artistic appreciation. The position of the knob
indicates the size of the great rim lock within, while the graceful
design of the brass knocker is justly one of the most popular to-day.
Wyck has never been sold, but has passed from one owner to another by
inheritance through the Jansen and Wistar families to the Haines family,
in which it has since remained. One of its owners, Caspar Wistar, in
1740 established the first glassworks in America at Salem, New Jersey.
The most notable house of plastered stone masonry, and one of the
noblest countryseats in the vicinity of Philadelphia, is Clunie, later
and better known as Mount Pleasant, located in the Northern Liberties,
Fairmount Park, on the east bank of the Schuylkill River only a little
north of the Girard Avenue bridge. To see it is to appreciate more fully
the princely mode of country living in which some of the most
distinguished citizens of the early metropolis of the colonies indulged.
[Illustration: PLATE XXXII.--Doorway, Solitude, Fairmount Park; Doorway
Perot-Morris House, 5442 Germantown Avenue.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXXIII.--Entrance Porch and Doorway, Upsala,
Germantown; Elliptical Porch and Doorway, 39 Fisher's Lane, Wayne
Junction.]
Standing on high ground and commanding broad views both up and down the
stream, the house is of truly baronial mien and Georgian character. Two
flanking outbuildings, two and a half stories high, hip-roofed and
dormered, some forty feet from each end of the main house and
corresponding with it in character and construction, provide the
servants' quarters and various domestic offices. Beyond the circle
formed by the drive on the east or entrance front of the house and at
some distance to either side are two barns. Thus the house becomes the
central feature in a strikingly picturesque group of buildings having
all the manorial impressiveness of the old Virginia mansions along the
James River.
The main house rises two and a half stories above a high foundation of
hewn stone with iron-barred basement windows set in stone frames. It is
of massive rubble-stone masonry, coated with yellowish-gray rough-cast
and having heavy quoined corners of red brick, also a horizontal belt of
the same material at the second-floor level, the keyed lintels of the
large ranging windows, however, being of faced stone.
Above a heavy cornice with prominent modillions springs the hipped roof,
pierced on both sides by two handsome dormers and surmounted by a long,
beautifully balustraded belvedere. Two great brick chimney stacks, one
at each end of the building, with four arched openings near the top,
lend an aspect of added dignity and solidity. The principal feature of
the façade on both the east and west or river front is the slightly
projecting central portion with its quoined corners, surmounting
corniced pediment springing from the eaves, ornate Palladian windows in
the second story and superb pedimental doorway in harmony with the
pedimental motive above. Although the detail is heavy, and free use has
been made of the orders, the work is American Georgian at its best and
altogether admirable. The doorways of the two sides are similar but not
the same, and a comparison, as found in another chapter, is most
interesting.
Within, a broad hall extends entirely through the house from one front
to the other, as likewise does a spacious drawing-room on the north side
with an elaborate chimney piece in the middle of the outside wall. The
dining room occupies the west front, and back of it, in an L extension
from the hall, a handsome staircase with gracefully turned balustrade
leads to the bedrooms on the second floor. Throughout the interior the
wood finish is worthy of the exterior trim. Beautifully tooled cornices,
graceful pilasters, nicely molded door and window casings, heavy
pedimental doorheads,--all are of excellent design and more carefully
wrought than in average Colonial work. Finest of all, perhaps, is a
chamber on the second floor overlooking the river that must, according
to the very nature of things, have been the boudoir of the mistress of
Mount Pleasant. The architectural treatment of the fireplace end of this
room, with exquisite carving above the overmantel panel and above the
closet doors at each side, is greatly admired by all who see it.
The erection of Mount Pleasant was begun late in 1761 by John
Macpherson, a sea captain of Clunie, Scotland, who amassed a fortune
and lost an arm in the adventurous practice of privateering. Here he
lived in manorial splendor, entertaining the most eminent personages of
the day with munificent hospitality and employing himself with numerous
ingenious inventions, notably a practical device for moving brick and
stone houses intact. He wrote on moral philosophy, lectured on astronomy
and published the first city directory in 1785, a unique volume giving
the names in direct house-to-house sequence and having such notations
as, "I won't tell you", "What you please", and "Cross woman" against
street numbers where he found the occupants suspicious or unresponsive
to his queries.
Meeting reverses in some of his financial affairs and longing for
further adventures at sea, Macpherson sought the chief command of the
American Navy at the outbreak of the Revolution. This being denied him
he leased Mount Pleasant to Don Juan de Merailles, the Spanish
ambassador. But to be near General Washington, Merailles had to remove
to Morristown and there he soon died.
In the spring of 1779 Macpherson sold Mount Pleasant to General Benedict
Arnold, of unhappy memory, whose remarkable and traitorous career is
known to every American. Arnold had been placed in command of
Philadelphia by Washington, following its evacuation by the British, and
in acquiring the most palatial countryseat in the vicinity he gratified
his fondness for display and apparently saw in it a means of retaining
or increasing his influence and power. It was his marriage gift to his
bride, Peggy Shippen, the daughter of Edward Shippen, a moderate
Loyalist, who eventually became reconciled to the new order and was
chief justice of the State from 1799 to 1805. At Mount Pleasant Arnold
and his wife remained for more than a year, living extravagantly and
entertaining lavishly. Arnold's financial embarrassments and bitter
contentions with persistent enemies became ever more deeply involved.
Here in bitterness, and not without some provocation, he conceived the
dastardly plan of obtaining from Washington command of West Point, the
key to the Hudson River Valley, in order that he might betray it to the
British.
Following the discovery of the plot and Arnold's flight to the British
lines, his property was confiscated, and Mount Pleasant was leased for a
short period to Baron von Steuben, after which it passed through several
hands to General Jonathan Williams, of Boston, in whose family the place
remained until the middle of the nineteenth century, when it was
acquired by the city as a part of Fairmount Park.
At Number 5442 Germantown Avenue, standing directly on the sidewalk as
was often the case, and with a beautiful box-bordered garden of
old-fashioned flowers about one hundred by four hundred feet along the
south end, is one of the most interesting old plastered houses in
Philadelphia. Well known in history, it is no less notable
architecturally. In general arrangement it differs little from numerous
other gable-roof structures of the vicinity, two and a half stories high
with chimneys at each end and handsome pedimental dormers with
round-topped windows between. It is in the excellent detail and nice
proportion of the wood trim, both without and within, that this house
excels. Interest focuses upon the deeply recessed doorway with its
sturdy Tuscan columns and pediment, and the great, attractively paneled
door. The fenestration is admirable with twenty-four-paned windows set
in handsome frames with architrave casings and beautifully molded sills,
the lower windows having shutters and the upper ones blinds. A notable
feature is the heavy cornice with large modillions, and beneath a
relatively fine-scale, double denticulated molding or Grecian fret.
Within, a wide hall extends through the middle of the house, widening at
the back where a handsome winding staircase with landings ascends to the
floor above. Opposite the staircase is a breakfast room overlooking the
garden. The parlor and dining room on opposite sides of the hall, the
bedrooms above and also the halls all have beautifully paneled
wainscots. There are handsome chimney pieces in each room with dark
Pennsylvania marble facings about the fireplaces and ornamental panels
so nicely made that no joints are visible. Throughout the house the
woodwork is of unusual beauty and unexcelled in workmanship.
The house was built in 1772 by David Deschler, a wealthy West India
merchant, the son of an aide-de-camp to the reigning Prince of Baden,
and Margaret, a sister of John Wister and Caspar Wistar. After the
retreat of the American forces at the conclusion of the Battle of
Germantown, Sir William Howe, the British commander, moved his
headquarters from Stenton to the Deschler house. While there he is said
to have been visited by Prince William Henry, then a midshipman in the
Royal Navy, but afterward King William IV of England.
Upon Deschler's death in 1792 the house was bought by Colonel Isaac
Franks, a New Yorker who had served his country well in the Continental
Army and filled several civil commissions after the conclusion of peace
with England. He it was who rented the house to Washington for a short
period in the early winter of 1793 and again for six weeks in the
following summer because of the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia.
Here met the President's cabinet--Jefferson, Hamilton, Knox and
Randolph--to discuss the President's message to Congress and the
difficulties with England, France and Spain. Aside from Mount Vernon, it
is the only dwelling now standing in which Washington lived for any
considerable time.
[Illustration: PLATE XXXIV.--Doorway, 224 South Eighth Street; Doorway,
Stenton.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXXV.--Doorway and Ironwork, Southeast Corner of
Eighth and Spruce Streets]
In 1804 the property was purchased by Elliston and John Perot, two
Frenchmen who conducted a prosperous mercantile business in
Philadelphia. On the death of the former in 1834, the place was
purchased by his son-in-law, Samuel B. Morris, of the shipping firm of
Waln and Morris, in whose family it has since remained. The interiors
remain as in Washington's time, and much of the furniture, silver and
china used by him are still preserved, together with his letter thanking
Captain Samuel Morris for the valuable services of the First City Troop
during the Revolution.
Although not erected until a few years after the treaty of peace
following the Revolution, Vernon is so thoroughly Colonial in
architecture and of such merit as to warrant mention here. It stands in
extensive grounds on the west side of Germantown Avenue, Germantown,
above Chelton Avenue. The main house is a hip-roofed structure two and a
half stories in height of rubble masonry, the front being plastered and
lined off to simulate dressed stone and the other walls being pebble
dashed. A wing in the rear connects the main house with a semi-detached
gable-roof structure in which were located the kitchen and servants'
rooms. The principal features of the symmetrical façade with its ranging
twelve-paned windows, shuttered on the lower story, are the central
pediment with exquisite fanlight between flanking chimneys and
handsomely detailed dormers, and a splendid doorway alluded to later in
these pages. A fine-scale denticulated molding in the cornice, repeated
elsewhere in the exterior wood trim, lends an air of exceptional
richness and refinement.
Vernon was built in 1803 by James Matthews, a whipmaker of the firm of
McAllister and Matthews. In 1812 it was purchased by John Wistar, son of
Daniel Wistar, and a member of the countinghouse of his uncle, William
Wistar. Upon his uncle's death he conducted the business with his
brother Charles and became well known in mercantile circles and
prominent in the Society of Friends. A bronze statue of him in Quaker
garb has been erected in front of the house. Some years after his death
in 1862 the place passed under the control of the city for a park and
was occupied for a time by the Free Library. Since the erection of a
building near by for this latter purpose, it has housed the museum of
the Site and Relic Society, and contains much of interest to the student
of early Germantown.
Another house in the Colonial spirit erected shortly after the close of
the Revolution is Loudoun, at Germantown Avenue and Apsley Street,
Germantown, its grounds embracing the summit of Neglee's Hill. The house
is two and a half stories high with additions which have somewhat
altered its original appearance; it has a gambrel roof, hipped at one
end after the Mansard manner with excellent dormers on both the front
and end just mentioned. Its plastered rubble masonry walls are clothed
with clinging ivy. The architectural interest centers chiefly in the
fenestration and the pillared portico reminiscent of plantation mansions
farther south. This portico, with its simple pediment and wooden columns
surmounted by pleasingly unusual capitals of acanthus-leaf motive, was
added some thirty years after the house was erected. The great
twenty-four-paned ranging windows have heavy paneled shutters on the
first floor and blinds on the second. Tall, slender, engaged columns
supporting a nicely detailed entablature frame a typical Philadelphia
doorway, the paneled door itself being single with a handsome leaded
fanlight above.
Loudoun was built in 1801 by Thomas Armat as a countryseat for his son,
Thomas Wright Armat. The elder Armat originally settled in Loudoun
County, Virginia, and hence the name of the estate. Coming to
Philadelphia about the time of the Revolution, his family moved to
Germantown during the yellow fever epidemic of 1793 and found it such a
pleasing place of residence that the building of Loudoun some years
later came as a natural consequence. It stands at the very outskirts of
Germantown, now the twenty-second ward of Philadelphia, where Germantown
Avenue starts its winding course toward Chestnut Hill. At the original
lottery distribution of the land of the Frankford Company in the cave
of Francis Daniel Pastorius, there being no permanent houses at that
time, the site fell to Thomas Kunders, in whose house at Number 5109
Germantown Avenue the first meeting of Friends was held in Germantown.
After the Battle of Germantown the hill was used as a hospital, and many
dead were buried there. From 1820 to 1835 Loudoun was rented to Madam
Greland as a summer school for young women, and it was during this
period, probably about 1830, that the pillared portico was added.
A successful Philadelphia merchant and well-known philanthropist, Thomas
Armat, gave the site for St. Luke's Church in Germantown and assisted in
its erection, also setting aside a chamber at Loudoun which was known as
the minister's room. He was among the first to suggest the use of coal
for heating, and one of the early patentees of a hay scales. Armat's
daughter married Gustavus Logan, great-great-grandson of James Logan and
grandson of John Dickinson, whose "Farmer's Letters", addressed to the
people of England, are said to have brought about the repeal of the
Stamp Act. Loudoun still remains in the Logan family.
No stranger house can be found in all Philadelphia than Solitude on the
west bank of the Schuylkill in Blockley Township, Fairmount Park. It is
a boxlike structure of plastered rubble masonry twenty-six feet square
and two and a half stories high, with a hip roof having simple
pedimental dormers and two oppositely disposed chimneys. The wood trim
is severely simple throughout, from the heavy molded cornice under the
eaves to the pedimental recessed doorway with its Ionic columns and
entablature. Two slightly projecting courses of brick, one some ten
inches or so above the other, form an unusual belt at the second-floor
level, while a distinctive feature of the fenestration is seen in the
fact that most of the windows have nine-paned upper and six-paned lower
sashes.
Within, the entrance doorway leads into a hall some nine feet wide and
extending entirely across the house from side to side. The remainder of
the first floor consists of a large parlor with windows opening on a
portico overlooking the river. A beautiful stucco cornice and ceiling
and a carved wood surbase are its best features. In one corner a
staircase with wrought-iron railing rises to the second floor, where
there is a library about fifteen feet square with built-in bookcases,
two connecting bedrooms, one with an alcove and secret door where the
owner might shut himself away from intrusive visitors, and a staircase
leading to more bedrooms on the third floor. The cellar is deep and
roomy, with provision for wine storage, and an underground passage
communicates with the kitchen located in a separate building about
twenty-five feet distant.
Solitude was built in 1785 by John Penn, a grandson of William Penn,
the founder of Philadelphia, and a son of Thomas Penn, whose wife was a
daughter of the Earl of Pomfret. A much traveled, scholarly man, poet,
idealist and art patron, he came to Philadelphia in 1783 to look after
proprietary interests in Pennsylvania and intending to become an
American. But his claims were made under hereditary rights, and as the
State was not disposed to honor them he concluded to remain an
Englishman. Vexed with the perversity of human nature, he built Solitude
and named it for a lodge belonging to the Duke of Württemburg. There he
lived somewhat the life of a recluse with his books and trees for three
years. He was on friendly terms with his neighbors, however, who
included his cousin, Governor John Penn, and Judge Richard Peters. Gay
week-end parties also came in boats to enjoy his hospitality, and
Washington once spent a day with him during the sitting of the
Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.
In 1788 Penn suddenly returned to England, built a handsome residence at
Stoke and embarked on a notable career in public life, becoming sheriff
of Bucks in 1798, a member of Parliament in 1802, and royal governor of
the island of Portland in Dorset for many years after 1805. The
University of Cambridge made him an LL.D. in 1811, and he won promotion
to a lieutenant-colonelcy in the Royal Bucks Yeomanry. Later in his
declining years he formed the Outinian Society to encourage young men
and women to marry, although he inconsistently died a bachelor in 1834.
[Illustration: PLATE XXXVI.--Doorway and Ironwork, Northeast Corner of
Third and Pine Streets; Stoop with Curved Stairs and Iron Handrail, 316
South Third Street.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXXVII.--Stoop and Balustrade, Wistar House; Stoop
and Balustrade, 130 Race Street.]
Solitude then passed by inheritance to Penn's youngest brother,
Granville, and on his death ten years later to a nephew, Granville John
Penn, great-grandson of William Penn, and the last Penn at Solitude.
Coming to Philadelphia in middle life about 1851 he was lionized by
society and in acknowledgment gave a grand "Fête Champêtre" and
collation. Following his death in 1867, Solitude and its grounds were
made part of Fairmount Park, and after several years without tenancy the
house in its original condition was made the administration building of
the Zoölogical Society.
The fine old plastered stone houses of Philadelphia comprise one of the
distinctive and most admired types of its Colonial architecture. Those
with pebble-dashed walls which seek to simulate no other building
material or form of construction possess the added charm of frank
sincerity. Fire-proof in character, pleasing in appearance, and readily
adaptable to varied home requirements, they point the way wherever
rubble stone incapable of forming an attractive wall is cheaply
available. Many modern dwellings in the Colonial spirit are being built
in this manner.
CHAPTER VI
HEWN STONE COUNTRY HOUSES
Cost was not an object in building many of the larger old countryseats
about Philadelphia, for their owners were men of wealth and station,
prominent in the affairs of the province and sharing its prosperity.
Influenced by the builders of the Georgian period in England, and often
under their personal supervision, the buildings on numerous great
estates about the early metropolis of the American colonies were
constructed of quarried stone, whether sawed in the form of "brick"
stone or hammered to a relatively smooth surface.
Surfaced stone, however, especially when cut into rectangular blocks, is
to be recommended only for public work or for very large and pretentious
residences of formal character and arrangement. In small buildings, and
unless handled with skill and discretion in larger work, its
psychological effect upon the mind is that of uncompromising and
somewhat repellent austerity; it suggests the prison-like palace rather
than the domestic atmosphere of a true home,--an atmosphere to be had in
stone only by preserving the greater spontaneity of irregular shapes
and rock faces characteristic of Germantown ledge stone.
That the early builders of this vicinity were skilled stone masons and
employed this form of building construction with sympathy and
intelligence is indicated by the splendid old mansions that still remain
as monuments to their genius,--stately, elegant, enduring, yet withal
pleasing, comfortable and eminently livable. The use of "brick" stone
for several of them has given a lighter scale, and by repetition of many
closely related and prominent horizontals has simulated a greater
breadth of façade and a lesser total height, both beneficial to the
general appearance. As in ordinary brickwork, the vertical pointing is
as wide as the horizontal, but the joints break, whereas the course
lines are continuous, thus emphasizing the horizontals of light mortar.
Unquestionably the most notable mansion of hewn stone in Greater
Philadelphia is Cliveden, the countryseat of the Chew family, located in
extensive grounds at Germantown Avenue and Johnson streets, Germantown.
One of the most substantial and elaborate residences of that day, it is
two and a half stories in height and built of heavy masonry, the front
illustrating well the pleasing use of surfaced Germantown stone, flush
pointed, the other walls being of rubble masonry, plastered and marked
off to simulate dressed stone. Two wings, one semi-detached and the
other entirely so, extend back from the main house and contain the
kitchen, servants' quarters and laundry. The classic front entrance
opens into a large hall with small rooms on each side which were
originally used as offices. Beyond and above are many spacious rooms
with excellent woodwork and handsome chimney pieces.
No handsomer Colonial façade is to be found in America. Classic in
feeling and symmetrical in arrangement, it is excellently detailed in
every particular. Above a slightly projecting water table the repeated
horizontals of the limestone belt at the second-floor level, the heavy
cornice with prominent modillions and the roof line impart a feeling of
repose and stability quite apart from the character of the building
material itself. The ranging windows, shuttered on the lower floor, are
distinguished by their keyed limestone lintels and twelve-paned upper
and lower sashes, while the roof is elaborated by two great chimney
stacks, a like number of well-designed dormers with round-topped
windows, and five handsome stone urns mounted on brick piers at the
corners and over the entrance. The central portion of the façade
projects slightly under a pediment in harmony with the splendid Doric
doorway beneath, of which more elsewhere.
[Illustration: PLATE XXXVIII.--Detail of Iron Balustrade, 216 South
Ninth Street; Stoop with Wing Flights, 207 La Grange Alley.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXXIX.--Iron Newel, Fourth and Liberty Streets;
Iron Newel, 1107 Walnut Street.]
Cliveden was erected in 1761 by Benjamin Chew, a friend of Washington
and a descendant of one of the oldest and most distinguished Virginia
families, his great-grandfather, John Chew, having settled at James
Citie about 1621, and, like Benjamin Chew's grandfather and father, who
resided in Maryland, having been prominent in the courts and public
affairs generally. Benjamin Chew studied law with Andrew Hamilton, and
at the age of nineteen entered the Middle Temple, London, the same year
as Sir William Blackstone. Removing to Philadelphia in 1754, he was
provincial counselor in 1755, attorney general from 1755 to 1764,
recorder of the city from 1755 to 1774, a member of the
Pennsylvania-Maryland Boundary Commission in 1761, register general of
the province in 1765, and in 1774 succeeded William Allen as chief
justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Following the Revolution
he served as a judge and president of the High Court of Errours and
Appeals until it was abolished in 1808.
Justice Chew was brought up a Quaker and his attitude coincided with
that of many others who manifested sympathy for the American cause, yet
hesitated at complete independence. In defining high treason to the
April Grand Jury of 1776, the last held under the Crown, he stated that
"an opposition by force of arms to the lawful authority of the King or
his Ministry is high treason, but in the moment when the King, or his
Ministers, shall exceed the authority vested in them by the
Constitution, submission to their mandate becomes treason." It is not
surprising, therefore, that in August, 1777, Judge Chew and John Penn,
the late proprietary, were arrested by the City Troop and on refusing
parole were imprisoned at the Union Iron Works until sometime in 1778.
With fourteen attractive and accomplished children, two sons and twelve
daughters, things were always lively at Cliveden, and it was the scene
of lavish entertainment of Washington, Adams and other members of the
first Continental Congress. Around its classic doorway the Battle of
Germantown raged most fiercely. The house had been occupied by the
British under Colonel Musgrave, the Chew family being away at the time;
and so effective a fortress did it prove that the center of Washington's
advance was checked and the day lost to the American arms. Great damage
was done inside and out by cannon balls, some of it being still visible,
although several workmen spent the entire following winter putting the
house in order. During his triumphal farewell tour of the twenty-four
American States in 1825, a breakfast was tendered to La Fayette at
Cliveden on the day of his reception at Wyck.
In 1779, Justice Chew sold Cliveden to Blair McClenahan, a director of
the Bank of Pennsylvania, for nine thousand dollars, but bought it back
again in 1787 for twenty-five thousand dollars. Since that time it has
remained in the family and is still occupied part of the year. Chew's
Woods, formerly part of the estate, have been presented to the city as a
public park, but the stable behind the house, and connected with it by
an underground passage, still remains much as ever; and therein reposes
the curious old family coach.
Second only to Cliveden in architectural interest is The Highlands,
located on the Skippack Pike overlooking the Whitemarsh Valley from a
lofty site among giant old oaks, pines and sycamores. It is a splendid
example of American architecture after the late Georgian manner, and
although not built until after the Revolution, its character is such
that it deserves to be included among the Colonial houses of the
vicinity. The south or entrance front is built of squared and nicely
surfaced stones laid up with joints breaking much like brickwork, the
pointing being of the ridge or weathered type. The sides are of ordinary
rubble but plastered and lined off to simulate hewn stone. The central
section of the façade projects slightly, two Ionic pilasters of white
marble supporting a pediment within which a semicircular fanlight
ventilates and lights the attic. Marble belts at the first-and
second-floor levels, marble window sills and keystones in the lintels
relieve and brighten the effect, while an unusual diamond fret lends
distinction to the cornice. The windows have six-paned upper and lower
sashes with blinds on all stories, as in the case of most of the later
Colonial houses. Ornamental wrought-iron fire balconies at the
second-story windows are a picturesque feature. The entrance porch, one
of the few of consequence in Philadelphia, is characterized by its
chaste simplicity, the fine-scale reeded columns and wrought-iron
balustrade of the marble steps being its chief features. But for the
double doors characteristic of Philadelphia, the doorway itself, of
excellent proportions and having a handsome elliptical fanlight and side
lights with leaded glass, would suggest Salem design.
Within, a great hall extends through the house to a wide cross hall at
the rear, where a broad and handsome staircase with wing flights above a
gallery landing is located. A beautiful Palladian window in the west end
of the house lights this landing and the entire cross hall. Much
excellent woodwork adorns the spacious rooms, but the splendid Adam
mantels with their delicate applied stucco designs were long ago
replaced by less pleasing creations of black marble.
[Illustration: PLATE XL.--Footscraper, Wyck; Old Philadelphia
Footscraper; Footscraper, Third and Spruce Streets; Footscraper,
Dirck-Keyser House, Germantown.]
[Illustration: PLATE XLI.--Footscraper, 320 South Third Street;
Footscraper, South Third Street; Footscraper, Vernon, Germantown;
Footscraper, 239 Pine Street.]
The Highlands was completed in 1796 by Anthony Morris, son of Captain
Samuel Morris, and a friend of Jefferson, Monroe and Madison, and was
some two years in the building. Morris was admitted to the bar in 1787
and soon went into politics, later engaging extensively in the East
India trade. Representing the city of Philadelphia in the State
Senate, he was in 1793, at the age of twenty-seven, elected speaker,
succeeding Samuel Powel. In this capacity he signed a bill providing for
troops to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion, for which act he was disowned
by the Friends' Meeting of which he was a member. Dolly Madison makes
friendly references to Morris in her memoirs and letters, and for nearly
two years during Madison's administration Morris represented the United
States at the Court of Spain. Through his efforts an adjustment was
effected in the boundary dispute over the Florida cession.
In 1808 Morris sold The Highlands to one Hitner, who conveyed it in 1813
to George Sheaff, in whose family it has since remained.
Nothing quite like Bartram House is to be found anywhere in America.
Situated on the Schuylkill River at Kingsessing, West Philadelphia, just
to the south of what was once the lower or Gray's Ferry, this curious
structure was begun in 1730, and the main part of it was completed the
following year, as indicated by a stone in one of the gables bearing the
inscription in Greek, "May God save", followed in English by "John and
Ann Bartram, 1731." Successive additions and alterations have changed
the inside arrangement more than the exterior appearance, and it can
hardly be said that the house now has any particular floor plan.
Probably the latest important changes were made when a stone bearing
the following inscription was placed over the study window:
It is God above almyty Lord
The holy One by me ador'd.
John Bartram, 1770.
In outward appearance Bartram House is a simple gable-roof structure two
and a half stories in height, of large, roughly hewn stones with east
and west fronts and three dormers lighting the attic. The east or
entrance front has a characteristic trellis-shaded doorway with quaint
Dutch seats at each side, while the west front has an odd, recessed
porch between rude Ionic columns of native stone, the same as the walls
and built up like them. Crudely chiseled, elaborately ornamental window
casings, lintels and sills form a curious feature of this façade.
Clothed as it is with clinging ivy and climbing roses, the house
suggests an effect of both stateliness and rusticity.
Bartram was a farmer, but his interest in plants, shrubs and trees was
such that he became one of the greatest botanists of his day. In autumn,
when his farm labors were finished for the year, he journeyed
extensively about the colonies, gathering specimens with which to
beautify his grounds. His greatest enjoyment in life was to make his
collection of rare species ever more complete, and his remarkable
accomplishments in this direction, despite many handicaps, entitle him
to be known as the father of American botanists. After Bartram's death
his son William, also an eminent botanist, carried on the work, and
later his son-in-law, Colonel Carr, did likewise until the place became
one of the most interesting botanical gardens in the country. In 1851
the estate was purchased by Andrew Eastwick, a railway builder just
returned from an extended commission in Russia, who erected a large
residence in another part of the grounds. In 1893 the city bought
Bartram House and its immediate grounds and in 1897 acquired the balance
of the estate, the whole being converted into a public park and the old
house being furnished and put in excellent condition by the descendants
of the Bartram family.
Undoubtedly the most notable instance of the use of "brick" stone with
the so-called Colonial or "barn" pointing is the Johnson house at Number
6306 Germantown Avenue, Germantown. Typical of the first homes that
lined the street of this historic old town for nearly two miles, it is
solidly built of dark native ledge stone, the front being of dressed
rectangular blocks considerably smaller, somewhat rougher and hence less
formal than the surfaced blocks of Cliveden, for example. It is a single
gable-roofed structure two and a half stories high with ranging windows
throughout, a large chimney at each end and two dormers in the front
between them. Like many others of the time it had a small penthouse roof
at the second-floor level which, with the overhanging eaves of the roof
above, afforded protection from rainy weather for the joints of the
stonework which was at first laid up in clay. Lime for making more
permanent mortar was far from plentiful for many years after America was
first settled, and numerous makeshifts had to be resorted to unless the
builder could afford to import lime from England at great expense. Over
the doorway, with its simple flanking seats, there is the familiar
pedimental and slightly projecting hood, while the door itself is of the
quaint divided type, permitting the upper half to be opened while the
lower half is closed. On the first floor the windows have nine-paned
sashes, both upper and lower, together with nicely paneled shutters,
while on the second floor the upper sashes are foreshortened to six
panes, and there are neither shutters nor blinds.
This excellent example of the Pennsylvania farmhouse type was built by
Dirck Jansen, one of the original settlers of Germantown, for his son
John Johnson at the time of his marriage to Rachael Livezey. The work
was begun in 1765 and completed in 1768, as indicated by a date stone in
the peak of one of the gables. It was one of the largest and most
substantial residences in the town and for that reason gave much concern
to the Society of Friends of which the Johnsons were members. During
the Battle of Germantown it was in the thick of the fight, and following
the warning of an officer John Johnson and his entire family took refuge
in the cellar. Bullet holes through three doors are still visible, also
the damage done to the northwest wall by a cannon ball. The backyard
fence, riddled with bullets, was removed in 1906 to the Museum of the
Site and Relic Society at Vernon.
Since the death of John Johnson in 1805, the house has passed through
many hands, all descendants of the builder, however. During the Civil
War it became a station of the "underground railway" for conducting
fugitive slaves to Canada, and Mrs. Josiah Reeve, a
great-great-granddaughter of the builder, used to tell how, when a
child, she often wondered why so many colored people lived in the attic,
staying only a day or so, when others would appear.
Generally similar to the Johnson house is the old Green Tree Inn, Number
6019 Germantown Avenue, Germantown, erected in 1748. Its principal
distinctions lie in the three small, plain dormers with segmental topped
windows; the coved cornice; the elliptical carving in the pediment of
the hood over the door; the enriched ovolo molding of the penthouse
roof, consisting of a ball and disk in alternation, and the arched
openings of the basement windows.
In this building on December 6, 1759, then the home of Daniel
Mackinett, the public school of Germantown, the Germantown Academy, was
organized, its building being erected the following year. In
Revolutionary times this old house was known as "Widow Mackinett's
Tavern", and it was a famous resort for driving parties from the city.
Many persons of note were entertained at the Green Tree Inn, and when La
Fayette visited Germantown in 1825 it was the intention to tender him a
dinner there. It was concluded, however, that the tavern could not
accommodate the party, and a breakfast at Cliveden was given instead, to
which reference has already been made.
The old Billmeyer house, also on Germantown Avenue, Germantown,
interests the student of architecture primarily as a rare instance of
the early Germantown two-family house. Apart from its two front entrance
doorways and the absence of a hood in the penthouse roof, it is much
like the Johnson house in general arrangement. The "brick" stones are
larger and less pleasing, however, and the high elevation of the
structure is evidently due to a subsequent change in the grade of the
street. This, however, has given opportunity for a quaint double flight
of wing steps with simple wrought-iron balustrades in the characteristic
Philadelphia manner. The seats, back to back, one for each doorway,
recall those of the Johnson house. One notices with admiration the
beautifully detailed pedimental dormers with their round-topped
windows, and with interest the unusual use of shutters on both the first
and second stories. Both upper and lower sashes on the first floor are
twelve-paned, as are also the upper sashes on the second floor, the
foreshortening of these upper windows being accomplished by means of
eight-paned lower sashes.
[Illustration: PLATE 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).]
[Illustration: PLATE XLIII.--Detail of Window and Shutters, Morris
House.]
Erected in 1727 as a single dwelling, this house was occupied during the
battle by the widow Deshler and her family. At that time there was no
building of any sort between the Billmeyer and Chew houses. It was in
front of this house that Washington stopped in his march down Germantown
Avenue on October 4, 1777, having discovered that the Chew house was
occupied by the British. There he conferred with his officers, ordered
the attack and directed the battle. The tradition is that Washington
stood on a horse block, telescope in hand, trying in vain to penetrate
the smoke and fog and discover the force of the enemy intrenched within
the Chew mansion. The stone cap of the horse block is still preserved,
and the telescope is in the possession of Germantown Academy. The house
suffered greatly at the hands of the British soldiers who were quartered
there, and its woodwork still bears the marks of bullets and attempts to
set it on fire. In 1789 it became the home of Michael Billmeyer, a
celebrated German printer who carried on his trade there.
Homes such as the Johnson and Billmeyer houses and numerous similar
ones, two and a half stories high with gable roofs, dormer windows and a
penthouse roof at the second-floor level, are characteristic examples of
the best Pennsylvania farmhouse type which architects of the present day
are perpetuating to a considerable extent. Whether of dressed local or
ledge stone, they are distinct from anything else anywhere that comes
within the Colonial category. In their design and construction sincerity
of purpose is manifest; their sturdy simplicity and frank practicability
give them a rare charm which appeals strongly to all lovers of the
Colonial style in architecture.
CHAPTER VII
DOORWAYS AND PORCHES
Invariably one associates a house with its front entrance, for the
doorway is the dominant feature of the façade, the keynote so to speak.
Truly utilitarian in purpose, and so lending itself more logically to
elaboration for the sake of decorative effect, the doorway became the
principal single feature of a Colonial exterior. When designed in
complete accord with the house it lends distinction and charm to the
building as a whole.
Like men, doorways have character and individuality. Indeed, in their
individuality they reflect the character of those who built them. They
symbolize the house as a whole and usually the mien of its occupants;
they create the first impressions which the guest has of his host, and
foretell more or less accurately the sort of welcome to be expected.
The houses of Philadelphia and vicinity, perhaps more than those of any
other American city, possess the charm of architectural merit combined
with historic interest. To appreciate more fully the important part
played by Philadelphians in early American affairs, we study their
houses and home life, and as the primary index to the domestic
architecture of the vicinity we direct our attention to the doorways and
porches.
Like the houses, the doorways range in architectural pretension from the
unaffected simplicity of Wyck to the stately elaboration of Cliveden and
Mount Pleasant, and possess distinctive characteristics not seen
elsewhere. Wealth made Philadelphia the most fashionable American city
of the time, with all the attendant rivalries and jealousies of such a
condition. Desiring to put the best foot foremost, elaboration of the
doorway provided a ready means to display the self-esteem, affluence and
social position of the owner. Naturally the Quaker severity of former
years was reflected in many of these outward manifestations of home
life, and it is a study of absorbing interest to note the proportions
and resulting spirit, so unlike New England doorways, which the local
builders gave to their adaptations from the same Renaissance motives.
Summed up in a sentence, the high, narrow doorways of Philadelphia, for
the most part without the welcoming side lights of New England, speak
truly of Quaker severity and the exclusiveness of the old aristocratic
families.
[Illustration: PLATE XLIV.--Window and Shutters, Free Quakers' Meeting
House, Fifth and Arch Streets; Second Story Window, Free Quakers'
Meeting House.]
[Illustration: PLATE XLV.--Detail of Windows, Combes Alley; Window and
Shutters, Cliveden; Window, Bartram House.]
As to the doors themselves, four distinct types were common throughout
the Colonial period. Single and double doors were equally popular,
high, narrow double doors being favored for the more pretentious
houses, although instances are not lacking of single doors in the
mansions of Colonial times. With very few exceptions molded and raised
panels with broad bevels were used in all, and it is according to the
arrangement of these panels that the different types of doors are best
classified.
One of the earliest and simplest was the six-panel single door with
three stiles of about equal width, top and frieze rail about the same,
bottom rail somewhat wider and lock rail about double the width of the
frieze rail. The upper pair of panels were not quite high enough to be
square, while the middle and lower pairs were oblong in shape, the
middle one being higher than the lower. Rarely this relation was
reversed, and the lower pair was higher than the middle pair, the door
at Number 6504 Germantown Avenue being an example. As found in the
farmhouses of Germantown and thereabouts, notably Wyck, Glen Fern, the
Green Tree Inn and the Johnson and Billmeyer houses, these six-panel
doors were split horizontally through the lock rail, dividing them into
an upper and lower part. This arrangement made it possible to open the
upper part for ventilation while keeping the lower part closed to
prevent stray animals and fowls from entering the house. Numerous
examples of undivided six-panel doors are shown by accompanying
illustrations and referred to in detail in succeeding paragraphs. Of
these the door of Grumblethorpe is unique in having a double stile in
the middle, giving almost the appearance of double doors.
Three-panel double doors, such as those of Mount Pleasant, Solitude and
Port Royal House, were less common than any of the four principal types
mentioned, and were little used except for a few decades after the
middle of the eighteenth century. Like six-panel single doors, the upper
panel was often almost square, and the middle oblong panel higher than
the bottom one of the same shape. At Mount Pleasant the middle and lower
panels were of the same size.
Eight-panel single doors were employed extensively throughout the
eighteenth century, and this is one of the most picturesque and
distinctive of Philadelphia types. For the most part the panels were
arranged as shown by the doors of the Perot-Morris, Powel and Wharton
houses with a pair of small and large panels in alternation. Other
notable instances are to be seen at Loudoun, Chalkley Hall and the
Blackwell house. The top or first and third pairs were about half as
high as their width, while the second and fourth pairs were oblong and
usually of the same size, their height about one and one-half times
their width. The door at Upsala is a rare instance of the fourth pair of
panels lower than the second, whereas that at Number 301 South Seventh
Street shows this type with molded flat panels. As is well shown by the
door of the Perot-Morris house, the fourth rail was the broad lock rail,
and as in those days the latch was often separate, it was frequently
placed on the rail above, and hence often referred to as the latch rail.
Another less common type of eight-panel single door is shown in
accompanying illustrations by doors at Number 4908 Germantown Avenue,
Number 39 Fisher's Lane, Wayne Junction and Number 224 South Eighth
Street. The panel arrangement consisted of three pairs of nearly square
panels above the lock rail and one pair twice as high below. Of the
doors mentioned, that at Wayne Junction is unique in its flat molded
panels.
A corresponding panel arrangement of double doors is to be seen at The
Highlands. Usually, however, four-panel double doors took the alternate
small and large panel arrangement and were virtually halves of the more
common type of eight-panel single door. Such doors at Stenton, Cliveden
and the Morris house are illustrated in detail, and similar ones gave
entrance to Hope Lodge, Woodford and Vernon. The Woodford doors are
interesting for their glazed quatrefoil openings in the top pair of
panels, the Vernon doors for a handsome brass knocker on the second
panel of each one.
For the most part Philadelphia doorways were deeply recessed in
connection with stone construction because of the great thickness of
the walls. Paneled jambs were let into the reveals of the opening, and
whatever the panel arrangement of the door, a corresponding arrangement
was followed in paneling the jambs and the soffit of the arch or flat
lintel above. Such a distinctive and pleasing feature did this become
that it was widely adapted to brick construction, the outward projection
of pilasters and engaged columns, often both, supporting pediments and
entablatures which had the effect of increasing the depth of brick
walls.
The simplest type of Philadelphia doorway is that common to the ledge
and "brick" stone farmhouses of Germantown, of which the doorway of the
Johnson house is perhaps the best example. These houses usually had a
penthouse roof along the second-floor level, and as in this instance a
pediment springing from this roof usually formed a hood above the
doorway. Although this doorway with its molded casings, four-paned
horizontal transom and single door with six molded and raised panels is
of the most modest character, its simple lines and good proportions
present an effect of picturesque charm. The door is divided horizontally
into two parts, after the Dutch manner, like many farmhouse doors of the
neighborhood. The position of the drop handle replacing the usual knob
indicates the size of the great rim lock within, and the graceful design
of the brass knocker is justly one of the most popular to-day. The
seats flanking the entrance are unique and unlike any others in
Philadelphia, although those between the two doors of the Billmeyer
house near by are similar.
[Illustration: PLATE XLVI.--Window, Stenton; Window and Shutters, 128
Race Street.]
[Illustration: PLATE 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.]
Substantially the same sort of doorway without the seats is to be seen
at the old Green Tree Inn, Number 6019 Germantown Avenue, Germantown,
erected in 1748. Here, however, the effect is slightly enriched by a
nicely hand-tooled ovolo molding in the cornice of the penthouse roof
that is repeated with an elliptical fan design in the pediment of the
hood.
Another type of Philadelphia doorway only a little more elaborate than
the foregoing is well illustrated at Number 114 League Street and Number
5933 Germantown Avenue. Above the architrave casing across the lintel of
these deeply recessed doorways a frieze and pediment form an effective
doorhead. The pedimental League Street doorhead is supported by
hand-carved consoles at opposite ends, that of the Germantown Avenue
doorhead by fluted pilasters. An oval shell pattern adorns the frieze of
the former, while a denticulated molding enriches the latter. As
contrasted with the plain cased frame of the former, the latter has
paneled jambs and soffit, the spacing corresponding with that of the
door. Both doors are of the popular six-panel type with nicely molded
and raised panels, and both doorheads are elaborated by short, broader
sections of the vertical casings near the top. In refinement of detail
and proportion, and in precision of workmanship the Germantown Avenue
doorway surpasses that on League Street.
But the characteristic type of pedimental door trim in Philadelphia
takes a different form. About the middle of the eighteenth century the
plain horizontal transom above outside doors was generally replaced by
the more graceful semicircular fanlight, the glass area of which was
divided by sash bars or leaded lines into numerous radiating patterns of
more or less grace and beauty. By omitting the entablature of the common
horizontal doorhead and breaking the base of the pediment, the round
arch of the fanlight was made to fit very nicely within the sloping
sides of the pediment, the keystone of the arched casing occupying the
upper angle beneath the peak of the gable. Pilasters or engaged columns
support the pediment, their upper molded portion above the necking being
carried across the horizontal lintel of the door frame. From the
capitals up to the short cornice returns, replacing the usual base of
the pediment, the spirit of the entablature is retained by pilaster
projections molded after the manner of cornice, frieze and architrave.
Excellent doorways such as this with fluted pilaster casings, single
doors with six molded and raised panels of familiar arrangement and
paneled jambs and soffit to correspond are to be seen at Number 5011
Germantown Avenue, Germantown, and Number 247 Pine Street. The former
is of considerable breadth, as Philadelphia doorways go, and the
fanlight is of rather too intricate pattern and heavy scale. The latter
is exceptionally narrow, with pilasters in accord and a fanlight of
chaste simplicity. Like many others the door itself is dark painted and
in striking contrast to the other white wood trim. One notices at once
the strange placing of the knob at the top rather than in the middle of
the lock rail, and the footscraper in a separate block of marble in the
sidewalk at one side of the marble steps, the inference being that one
should scrupulously wipe his feet before approaching the door.
Similar to these, but showing better proportion and greater refinement
of detail, is the entrance to the Morris house, one of the best known
doorways in Philadelphia and notable as one of the relatively few
pedimental doorways of this type having the high four-panel double
doors. The pediment framing the simple but very graceful fanlight is
enriched by cornice moldings, hand-tooled to fine scale, the soffit of
the corona being fluted, the bed-molding reeded and the dentil course
being a familiar Grecian fret. Flutings also adorn the short architraves
each side of the fanlight, and the abacus of the pilaster columns which
is carried across a supplementary lintel in front of the lintel proper,
the latter being several inches to the rear because of the deeply
recessed arrangement of the door. The detail combines Doric and Ionic
inspiration. An attractive knocker, simple brass knob and exceptionally
large key plate indicating the great rim lock within, lend a quaint
charm to a doorway distinctly pleasing in its entirety.
Two excellent doorways of this general type having paneled instead of
fluted pilaster casings may be seen at Number 6504 Germantown Avenue,
Germantown, and Number 701 South Seventh Street. The former is broad and
has a six-panel door much like that at Number 5011 Germantown Avenue,
but the fanlight is of simpler pattern and withal more pleasing. A
fine-scale dentil course lends interest to the pedimental cornice, while
the frieze portions of the entablature section of the pilasters are
elaborated by flutings and drillings, the latter suggestive of a
festoon. A knocker of slender grace is the best feature of the hardware.
The South Seventh Street entrance, higher and narrower, presents another
example of the dark-painted door rendered the more interesting by reason
of its eight-panel arrangement, the spacing being that usually employed
for double doors. The wood trim, molded but nowhere carved, commends
itself for effective simplicity. Two marble steps, the upper one very
deep, with an attractive iron rail on the buttresses at each side,
complete a doorway picture that is typically Philadelphian.
[Illustration: PLATE XLVIII.--Shutter Fastener, Cliveden; Shutter
Fastener, Wyck; Shutter Fastener, Perot-Morris House; Shutter Fastener,
6043 Germantown Avenue.]
[Illustration: PLATE XLIX.--Detail of Round Headed Window, Congress
Hall; Detail of Round Headed Window, Christ Church.]
Surpassing both of the foregoing, however, is the doorway at Number 709
Spruce Street. Indeed, it is among the best of its type in the city. It
has the simple excellence in detail of the South Seventh Street doorway,
with better proportion, less height of pediment and greater apparent
breadth, owing to the six-panel arrangement of the door and the fact
that it is white like the wood trim about it. The only carved molding is
the Grecian fret of the dentil course in the pedimental cornice. Here
again another favorite knocker pattern greets the eye.
Engaged round columns, usually smooth and standing in front of wide
pilasters, were often pleasing features of these pedimental doorways. In
such instances the projection was so great that the entablature sections
above the columns were square, and the soffit of the corona in the
pediment was paneled. Two notable instances may be cited at Number 5200
Germantown Avenue, Germantown, and Number 4927 Frankford Avenue. Both
have the familiar six-panel doors with corresponding paneled jambs and
arch soffit, attractively simple fanlights and much fine-scale hand
carving in the pedimental cornice and architrave casing of the keyed
arch. The former displays better taste. Effective use is made of a
reeded ovolo, and the fascia of the architrave bears a pleasing
hand-tooled band of vertical flutes with a festooned flat fillet
running through it. The most distinctive feature, however, is the double
denticulated molding of the pedimental cornice with prominent drilled
holes in each dentil alternately at top and bottom.
Although representing a high degree of the wood-carvers' art, the other
doorway is rather over-ornate in its detail. The reeded ovolo is again
prominent, and the fascia of the architrave of the arch bears a familiar
decorative motive consisting of groups of five flutes in alternation
with a conventionalized flower. The dentil course of the pedimental
cornice takes the form of a peculiar reeded H pattern which is repeated
in much finer scale on the edge of the corona, the abacus of the
capitals and its continuation across the lintel of the door. Least
pleasing of all is the fluting of the frieze portion of the entablature
sections with three sets of drillings suggestive of festoons.
Another admirable type of doorway, of which there are many examples in
Philadelphia, frames the high, round-headed arch of the doorway with
tall, slender engaged columns supporting a massive entablature above the
semicircular fanlight over the door. Almost without exception the
entablature is some variation of the Ionic order with denticulated
bed-mold in the cornice, plain flat frieze and molded architrave, the
latter sometimes enriched by incised decorative bands. The columns are
Doric and smooth. They stand in front of more widely spaced pilasters,
which are virtually a broadening of the casings of the door frame, and
which support a second entablature back of the first and somewhat wider.
The two combined form a doorhead with projection almost equal to a hood,
but the effect is far more stately.
Such a doorway in its simplest form, with columns tapering considerably
toward the top, in accordance with a prevalent local custom of the time,
is to be seen on the Powel house, Number 244 South Third Street. The
sash divisions of the fanlight are unique, suggesting both Gothic
tracery and the lotus flower. The single, high eight-panel door recalls
many having a similar arrangement of molded and raised panels, but
differs from most of them in that the lock rail is about double the
width of the two rails above.
Narrower, with more slender columns, and thus seemingly higher, is the
doorway of the Wharton house, Number 336 Spruce Street. While the
entablature is generally similar, the moldings adhere less closely to
the classic order, and the same is true of the exceptionally slender
columns. An enriched ovolo suggesting a quarter section of a cylinder
and two disks in alternation lends added refinement to the paneled jambs
and the architrave casing of the arch with its hand-carved keystone. The
fanlight is of simple but pleasing pattern, and the eight-panel door is
of characteristic design.
At Number 301 South Seventh Street the doorway itself strongly resembles
that of the Powel house, except that it is higher, narrower and rather
lighter in scale. However, the wing flights of stone steps on the
sidewalk leading to a broad landing before the door and the handsome
wrought-iron rail lend individuality and rare charm to this notable
example of a familiar type.
The doorway of Grumblethorpe, Number 5621 Germantown Avenue, Germantown,
differs little in general appearance, if considerably in detail, from
that of the Powel house. One notices first how deeply recessed it is
because of the thickness of the stone walls. With the projecting
entablature it affords almost as much shelter as a porch. The single
door next attracts attention. Of six-panel and familiar arrangement, it
differs from most of this sort in having a double stile in the middle,
the effect simulating double doors. A simple, hand-tooled ovolo
ornaments the jambs and architrave casings of the keyed arch. It is also
repeated above the double denticulated member of the cornice, the latter
enriched by a hole drilled in each dentil alternately above and below.
Daintiness and simplicity characterize the fanlight pattern set in lead
lines.
The doorway at Number 6105 Germantown Avenue, Germantown, may be
regarded as one of the best of the more ornate examples of this type.
[Illustration: PLATE L.--Fenestration, Chancel End, St. Peter's
Church.]
[Illustration: PLATE LI.--Details of Round Headed Windows, Christ
Church.]
It has fluted columns, an intricately hand-tooled dentil course in the
cornice, richly incised architraves and carved ovolo moldings. The
denticulated molding has fluted dentils with horizontal connecting
members forming a sort of continuous H pattern. An incised band of
dainty grace adorns the architrave of the entablature. It consists of
groups of five vertical flutes in alternation with drillings forming
upward and downward arcs or double festoons. The architrave of the arch
and lintel has a slightly different incised pattern. There are the same
fluted groups with oval ornaments composed of drillings between. The
door itself is of the regulation six-panel arrangement.
Few doorways in the Corinthian order are to be found in what may
properly be termed the Colonial architecture of Philadelphia, for this
order was little used by American builders until early in the nineteenth
century. The doorway of Doctor Denton's house in Germantown instances
its employment in a somewhat original manner. The entablature follows
the classic order closely, except for the tiny consoles of the dentil
course and the incised decoration of the upper fascia of the architrave,
consisting of a band of elongated hexagons which is repeated across the
lintel of the door and the imposts of the arch. A Latin quotation,
"Procuc este profans", meaning "Be far from here that which is unholy",
is carved in the architrave casing over the fanlight. The columns are
fluted, but have the Doric rather than the usual Corinthian capitals.
Double blind doors such as are a feature of this entrance were the
predecessor of the modern screen door. Arbor vitæ trees in square wooden
tubs on the broad top step each side of the doorway complete a formal
treatment of dignity and attractiveness.
Rarely occurred a doorway having a complete entablature above a fanlight
surmounted by a pediment. The east and west entrances of Mount Pleasant
offer two splendid examples, massive and dignified. While much alike in
several respects, they differ sufficiently in detail to afford an
interesting comparison. In size and general arrangement in their double
three-panel doors and smooth columns, they greatly resemble each other.
Although not pure, the doorway of the west or river front is essentially
Tuscan and of the utmost simplicity. Its chief distinction lies in the
rustication of the casings, jambs and soffit, simulating stonework, and
the heavy fanlight sash with its openings combining the keystone and
arch in outline. The doorway of the east front, which is the entrance
from the drive, is Doric and has the customary triglyphs, mutules and
guttæ. There is the same rustication of casings and jambs up to the
height of the doors, but molded spandrils occupy the spaces each side of
the round arch with its wide ornate keystone. Exceptionally broad
tapering and fluted mullions lend distinction to the heavy fanlight
sash with its round-ended openings. Neither of these doorways has the
double projection of those previously described. The background
pilasters are omitted, and the engaged columns stand directly against
the stone masonry. A beautiful Palladian window in the second-story wall
above each doorway forms a closely related feature, the two being
virtually parts of the same effect.
Oftener, where an entablature supported by engaged columns was
surmounted by a pediment, the fanlight over the door was omitted. Of the
several instances in Philadelphia, the best known is undoubtedly the
classic doorway of Cliveden, about which the Battle of Germantown raged
most fiercely. The damage done by cannon balls to the stone steps may
still be plainly seen. This doorway is one of the finest specimens of
pure mutulary Doric in America, very stately and somewhat severe. Every
detail is well-nigh perfect, and the proportions could hardly be better.
A similar arrangement of the high, narrow, four-panel double doors is
found elsewhere in Philadelphia, while the blinds used instead of screen
doors recall those of Doctor Denton's house, although divided by two
rails respectively toward the top and bottom into three sections, the
middle section being the largest. Two small drop handles with pendant
rings comprise the entire visible complement of hardware on the doors.
As compared with the east entrance of Mount Pleasant, the Cliveden
detail is richer in the paneled soffits of the corona and the paneled
metopes in alternation with the triglyphs of the frieze. One notices
also that it is not deeply recessed according to the prevailing custom
in the case of stone houses.
Another doorway of this general character and having double doors is the
entrance to Solitude. Conventionally Ionic in detail, with smooth
columns and voluted capitals, it pleases the eye but lacks the
impressiveness of the doorway at Cliveden. The three-panel double doors
are narrower, and this fact is emphasized by the deep recess with
paneled jambs. There is but one broad step, which also serves as the
threshold.
The doorway of the Perot-Morris house, deeply recessed because of the
thick stone walls, presents at its best another variation of this
sturdiest of Philadelphia types with a single, eight-panel, dark-painted
door and a very broad top stone step before it. Virtually a pure Tuscan
adaptation, it differs in a few particulars from others of similar
character, notably in the pronounced tapering of the columns toward the
top and the recessing of the entablature above the door to form pilaster
projections above the columns. In other words, the recessed entablature
of this doorhead replaces the fanlight of another type already referred
to and of which the doorways at Number 5200 Germantown Avenue and
Number 4927 Frankford Avenue are examples. The brass knob, the heavy
iron latch and fastenings inside are the ones Washington, Jefferson,
Hamilton, Knox and Randolph handled in passing in and out during
Washington's occupancy.
[Illustration: PLATE LII.--Chancel Window, Christ Church; Palladian
Window and Doorway, Independence Hall.]
[Illustration: PLATE LIII.--Palladian Window, The Woodlands.]
Above the pediment is to be plainly seen the picturesque, cast-iron,
hand-in-hand fire mark about a foot high, consisting of four clasped
hands crossed in the unbreakable grasp of "My Lady Goes to London" of
childhood days. This ancient design, to be seen on the Morris, Betsy
Ross and numerous other houses, was that of the oldest fire insurance
company in the United States, organized in 1752 under Franklin's
leadership. This and other designs, such as the green tree, eagle, hand
fire engine and hose and hydrant still remain on many old Philadelphia
buildings, indicating in earlier years which company held the policy.
For a long time it was the custom to place these emblems on all insured
houses, the principal reason for doing so being that certain volunteer
fire companies were financed or assisted by certain insurance companies
and consequently made special efforts to save burning houses insured by
the company concerned.
Porches were the exception rather than the rule in the early
architecture of Philadelphia. Only a few old Colonial houses now
remaining have them, and for the most part they are entrances to
countryseats in the present suburbs rather than to residences in the
city proper. The Highlands and Hope Lodge have such porches to which
reference has already been made in connection with the houses
themselves. Of scant architectural merit, the porch at Hope Lodge may
possibly be of more recent origin than the house. Except for the narrow
double doors the entrance to The Highlands is strongly reminiscent of
New England doorways and porches. Both have hipped roofs so low as to be
almost flat.
A splendid example of the gable roof or pedimental porch more typical of
Philadelphia architecture is that at Upsala. Although displaying free
use of the orders, it is regarded as one of the best in America. On a
square stone platform reached by three broad stone steps, slender,
fluted Doric columns, with engaged columns each side of the doorway,
support a roof in the form of a pediment of generally Ionic character,
the architrave and cornice being notable for fine-scale hand tooling. It
will be noticed that the motive of the cornice with its jig-sawed
modillions, rope molding and enriched dentil course suggests Ionic
influence; that of the architrave, with its groups of five vertical
flutings in alternation with an incised conventionalized flower, Doric.
The same entablature is carried about the inside of the roof, projecting
over the doorway to form a much favored Philadelphia doorhead supported
by flanking engaged columns. The doorway itself is distinctly of
Philadelphia type, high, relatively narrow, and deeply recessed, with
the soffit of the arch and the cheeks of the jambs beautifully paneled
and a handsome semicircular fanlight above the single eight-panel door
but with no side lights. The effect of the keystone and imposts, also
the enrichment of the semicircular architrave casings are
characteristic. The paneling of the door consists of pairs of small and
large panels in alternation, the upper pair of large panels being
noticeably higher than the lower pair.
Of far more modest character is the porch of the old Henry house, Number
4908 Germantown Avenue, long occupied by Doctor W. S. Ambler. It is much
smaller, extremely simple in its detail and of generally less pleasing
proportions. Two slender, smooth columns and corresponding pilasters on
the wall of the house support a pediment rather too flat for good
appearance. Except for the Ionic capitals, the detail is rather
nondescript as to its order. The round-arched, deeply recessed doorway
has the usual paneled jambs and soffit, but the reeded casings and
square impost blocks are of the sort that came into vogue about the
beginning of the nineteenth century. The single door with its eight
molded and raised panels is of that type, having three pairs of small
panels of uniform size above a single pair of high panels, the lock rail
being more than double the width of the rails above and wider than the
bottom rail. Unlike the usual fanlight, this one is patterned after a
much used Palladian window with sash bar divisions suggested by Gothic
tracery.
At Number 39 Fisher's Lane, Wayne Junction, in connection with a doorway
much like the above, is an elliptical porch much like those of Salem,
Massachusetts, although devoid of their excellent proportion and nicety
of detail. Both the porch platform and steps are of wood, but the
slender, smooth columns supporting the roof, which takes the form of an
entablature, stand on high stone bases. Only simple moldings have been
employed, and the detail can hardly be said to belong to any particular
order of architecture. The door itself is unusual in having molded flat
rather than raised panels, while the fanlight is of more conventional
pattern than that of the Henry house.
Side lights and elliptical fanlights, so characteristic of New England
doorways, are as rare as porches in the Colonial architecture of
Philadelphia. The entrance of The Highlands is thus unique in combining
the three. The doorway at Number 224 South Eighth Street has the New
England spirit in its breadth and general proportion; in the beauty of
its leaded side lights and fanlight, but the broad stone steps on the
sidewalk and the iron rails are typically Philadelphian. So, too, is the
paneling of the wide single door. The ornate woodwork of the frame
and casings, however, especially the frieze across the lintel, with its
oval and elliptical fluted designs elaborately hand-tooled, suggests the
Dutch influence of New York and New Jersey. The iron rails of the steps
present an interesting instance of the adaptation of Gothic tracery,
arches and quatrefoils.
[Illustration: PLATE LIV.--Great Hall and Staircase, Stenton.]
[Illustration: PLATE LV.--Hall and Staircase, Whitby Hall; Detail of
Staircase, Whitby Hall.]
The front doorway at Stenton may be regarded as the earliest instance of
side lights in Philadelphia, and one of the earliest in America. The
width of the brick piers or munions is such, however, that there are
virtually two high narrow windows rather than side lights in the
commonly accepted sense of the term. Indeed, they are treated as such,
being divided into upper and lower sashes like those of the other
windows, only narrower. Neither door nor windows have casings, the
molded frames being let into the reveals of the brickwork and the
openings, as in most early Colonial structures, having relieving arches
with brick cores. A six-paned, horizontal toplight above the doors
corresponds in scale with the windows. This simple entrance, with its
high, narrow, four-panel doors having neither knob or latch, is reached
from a brick-paved walk about the house by three semicircular stone
steps, such as were common in England at the time, the various nicely
hewn pieces being fastened securely together with iron bands. Severity
is written in every line, yet there is a picturesque charm about this
quaint doorway that attracts all who see it. In this the warmth and
texture of the brickwork play a large part, but much is also due to the
flanking slender trellises supporting vines which have spread over the
brickwork above in the most fascinating manner.
Toward the beginning of the nineteenth century and for a few decades
thereafter, under the influence of the Greek revival, a new type of
round-arched doorway was developed in Philadelphia,--broader, simpler,
heavier in treatment than most of the foregoing. There were no
ornamental casings, the only woodwork being the heavy frame let into the
reveals of the brick wall. Above a horizontal lintel treated after the
manner of an architrave the semicircular fanlight was set in highly
ornamental lead lines forming a decorative geometrical pattern. Double
doors were the rule, most of them four-panel with a small and large
panel in alternation like many earlier doors, but the panels were molded
and sunken rather than raised. In a few instances there was a single
vertical panel to each door, sometimes round-topped as on the doors of
the Randolph house, Number 321 South Fourth Street.
The most distinctive of these doorways is that at the southeast corner
of Eighth and Spruce streets, where elliptical winding flights lead to a
landing before the door. The ironwork is undoubtedly among the most
graceful and best preserved in the city. This low, broad entrance
resembles Southern doorways rather than the Philadelphia type, although
there are a few others of similar character near by. The wide, flat
casings and single-panel doors seem severe indeed by comparison with
most of the earlier doorways with their greater flexibility of line.
Generally similar, the doorway of the old Shippen mansion, Number 1109
Walnut Street, with its straight flight of stone steps unadorned in any
way, is less attractive except in the paneling of the doors. It lacks
the grace of the winding stairs and the charm of the iron balustrade so
much admired in the former. The fanlight pattern, good as it is, fails
to make as strong an appeal as that of the other doorway.
At the northeast corner of Third and Pine streets is to be found a very
narrow doorway of this character, its double doors paneled like those of
the Shippen mansion and its graceful fanlight pattern more like that of
the doorway at Eighth and Spruce streets, though differing considerably
in detail. Like many others in Philadelphia this doorway is reached by
four stone steps leading to a square stone platform, the entire
construction being on the brick-paved sidewalk. The simple, slender rail
of wrought iron, its chief decoration a repeated spiral, is the best
feature.
Philadelphia, perhaps more than any other American city, is famous for
the profusion and beauty of its ironwork, wrought and cast. For the
most part it took the form of stair rails or balustrades, fences and
foot scrapers, and many are the doorways of little or no architectural
merit which are rendered beautiful by the accompanying ironwork. On the
other hand, accompanying illustrations already discussed show the rare
beauty of architecturally notable doorways enriched by the addition of
good ironwork.
Fences were the exception rather than the rule in Colonial times,
although rarely employed along the front of a house to prevent passers
from accidentally stepping into areaways in the sidewalk in front of
basement windows. The danger of such a catastrophe was remote, however,
for Philadelphia sidewalks were very broad in order to make room for the
customary stoop before the doorway and the frequent rolling way or
basement entrance. These sidewalk obstructions being the rule, people
formed the habit of walking near the curb, and accidents were thus
avoided. It was not until late in the nineteenth century, when basement
entrances with an open stairway along the front of the house began to be
provided, that fences came into vogue, except in the suburbs, where a
small front yard was sometimes surrounded by an iron fence.
[Illustration: PLATE LVI.--Hall and Staircase, Mount Pleasant; Second
Floor Hall Archway and Palladian Window, Mount Pleasant.]
[Illustration: PLATE LVII.--Hall and Staircase, Cliveden; Staircase
Detail, Cliveden.]
Stoops divide themselves into four principal classes, of which the
first, consisting only of a single broad stone step before the doorway,
perhaps hardly warrants the term. As at Grumblethorpe and the Morris
house, these broad stone steps often had no ironwork other than a foot
scraper set in one end or in the sidewalk near by. Again, as at the
entrance to the Wistar house, there were iron handrails or balustrades
at both sides. Less common, though by no means infrequent, were the
stoops of this sort with a single handrail at one side.
These handrails or balustrades, replacing the stone parapets so common
in other American cities, are patterned after the cathedral grilles and
screens of the Middle Ages and consist of both Gothic and Classic detail
utilized with ingenuity and good taste. Most of the earlier designs are
hand wrought. Later, cast iron came into use, and much of the most
interesting ironwork combines the two. The balustrade at the Wistar
house just referred to is a typical example of excellent cast-iron work,
the design consisting of a diaper pattern of Gothic tracery with
harmonious decorative bands above and below.
The Germantown farmhouse presents another variant of this first and
simplest type of stoop with a hooded penthouse roof above and quaint
side seats flanking the doorway. As at the Johnson house, the broad
stone step was sometimes flush with the sidewalk pavement.
The second type of stoop consists of a broad stone step or platform
before the door with a straight flight of stone steps leading up to it.
Cliveden, Mount Pleasant and Doctor Denton's house are notable
instances of such stoops without handrails of any sort. The Powel house
stoop of this type has one of the simplest wrought-iron rails in the
city, while that of the house at Number 224 South Eighth Street, with
its effective Gothic detail, combines wrought and cast iron. Two very
effective wrought-iron handrails for stoops of this type, depending
almost entirely upon scroll work at the top and bottom for their
elaboration, are to be seen at Number 130 Race Street and Number 216
South Ninth Street, the handsome scroll pattern of the latter being the
same as at the southeast corner of Seventh and Spruce streets, already
referred to, and the former being given a distinctive touch by two large
balls used as newels. Sometimes, as at Number 701 South Seventh Street,
there was only one step between the platform of the stoop and the
sidewalk, when its appearance was essentially the same as a stoop of the
first type such as that of the Wistar house.
The third type of stoop has the same broad platform before the door, but
the flight of steps is along the front of the house at one side rather
than directly in front. While these were oftener straight, as in the
case of the doorway at the northeast corner of Third and Pine streets,
already referred to, they were frequently curved, as at Number 316 South
Third Street. Both have a wrought-iron rail with the same scroll
pattern of effective simplicity, a pattern much favored in modern
adaptation. Another stoop of this type at Number 272 South American
Street is high enough to permit a basement entrance beneath the
platform. The ironwork is beautifully hand-wrought in the Florentine
manner, its elaborate scroll pattern beneath an evolute spiral band
combining round ball spindles with flat bent fillets, and the curved
newel treatment at each side adding materially to the grace of the
whole.
The fourth type of stoop has double or wing flights each side of the
platform before the door. The doorway at Number 301 South Seventh
Street, already referred to, is the most notable instance of straight
flights in Philadelphia, while that at the southeast corner of Eighth
and Spruce streets occupies the same position in respect to curved
flights. The wrought ironwork of the latter is superb. Rich in effect,
yet essentially simple in design, it has grace in every line, is not too
ornate and displays splendid workmanship. Again a spiral design is
conspicuous in the stair balustrades, and the curved newel treatment
recalls that of the foregoing stoop. The balustrade of the platform
consists of a simple diaper pattern of intersecting arcs with the
familiar evolute band above and below. The wing flight was a convenient
arrangement for double houses, as instanced by the old Billmeyer house
in Germantown, with its exceedingly plain iron handrail and straight
spindles. Of more interest is the balustrade at Number 207 La Grange
Alley with its evolute spiral band and slender ball spindles beneath.
During the nineteenth century more attention was given to newels in
ironwork, and elaborate square posts combining cast and wrought pieces
were constructed, such as that at Fourth and Liberty streets. In the
accompanying balustrade are to be seen motives much employed in the
other examples here illustrated. Scroll work is conspicuous, as are
rosettes, but a touch of individuality is given by a Grecian band
instead of the more common evolute spiral above the diaper pattern. The
pineapple, emblem of hospitality, was attractive in cast iron and as
utilized at Number 1107 Walnut Street provided a distinctive newel.
[Illustration: PLATE LVIII.--Detail of Staircase Balustrade and Newel,
Upsala; Staircase Balustrade, Roxborough.]
[Illustration: PLATE LIX.--Staircase Detail, Upsala; Staircase
Balustrade, Gowen House, Mount Airy.]
The roads on the outskirts of all Colonial cities were very bad, and
many of the less important streets of Philadelphia had neither pavements
nor sidewalks. After rains shoes were bemired in walking, and as rubbers
were then unknown it was necessary to remove the mud from the shoes
before entering a house. Foot scrapers on the doorstep or at the foot of
the front steps were a necessity and became ornamental adjuncts of the
doorways of early Colonial homes. For the most part of wrought iron,
some of the later ones were cast in molds, that at Wyck being a
particularly interesting example. It consists of two grotesque
griffins back to back, their wings joined tip to tip forming the scraper
edge, and the whole being mounted in a large tray with turned-up edges.
This scraper can thus be moved about as desired, and the tray catches
the scrapings, which can be emptied occasionally without sweeping the
entire doorstep.
Some of the earlier and simpler scrapers, such as that at Third and
Spruce streets, consisted merely of two upright standards with a
sharp-edged horizontal bar between them to provide the scraper proper.
This horizontal part was made quite broad to take care of anticipated
wear, which in this particular instance has been great during the
intervening years.
Similar to this, except for the well-wrought tops of the standards and
the curved supplementary supports, is the scraper of the Dirck Keyser
doorway, Number 6205 Germantown Avenue, Germantown. Regarded as a whole
this design suggests nothing so much as the back and arms of an early
English armchair.
On the same page with these is shown another strange Philadelphia
scraper. Apart from its outline it has no decoration, and what the
origin of the design may be it is difficult to determine. To a degree,
however, it resembles two crude, ancient battle-axes, the handles
forming the scraper bar.
A favorite design consisted of a sort of inverted oxbow with the curved
part at the top and the scraper bar taking some ornamental pattern
across the bottom from side to side. At the top, both outside and inside
the bow, and sometimes down the sides, spiral ornaments were applied in
the Florentine manner. Accompanying illustrations show two scrapers of
this type at Number 320 South Third Street and another one elsewhere on
the same street. The use of a little urn-shaped ornament at the top of
the latter scraper is most effective.
At Number 239 Pine Street is seen a scraper employing two large spirals
themselves as supports for the scraper bar. The turn of the spiral is
here outward as contrasted with the inward turn of the scrapers at
Upsala.
A scraper of quaint simplicity standing on one central standard at
Vernon, Germantown, suggests the heart as its motive, although having
outward as well as inward curling spirals at the top.
Another clever device of Philadelphia ironworkers was to make the foot
scraper a part of the iron stair rail. Usually in such a scheme it was
also made part of the newel treatment on the lower step of the stoop,
but at Seventh and Locust streets, for example, it stands on the second
step beside and above the ornate round newel with its surmounting
pineapple. Here, as in the case of the simpler handrail in South Seventh
Street, one of the iron spindles of the rail is split about a foot from
the bottom, and the two halves bent respectively to the right and left
until they meet the next spindle on each side, the scraper bar of
ornamental outline being fastened across from one to the other of these
spindles below. The principal charm of the South Seventh Street rail
lies in its extreme simplicity, the twisted section of the spindles near
the bottom being a clever expedient. The pleasing effect of the design
at Seventh and Locust streets is largely due to appropriate use of the
evolute spiral band. Only a little more ornate than the South Seventh
Street stair rail is that in South Fourth Street. A special spiral
design above the foot scraper, however, virtually becomes a newel in
this instance. The same is true of another much more elaborate stair
rail at Seventh and Locust streets with its attractive diaper pattern
between an upper and lower Grecian band, the whole grille being
supported by a graceful three-point bracket.
CHAPTER VIII
WINDOWS AND SHUTTERS
Philadelphia windows and window frames during the Colonial period were
not so much a development as a perpetuation of the initial types,
although of course some minor changes and improvements were made with
passing years. From the very beginning sliding Georgian sashes were the
rule. Penn's house has them and so have all the other historic homes and
buildings of this vicinity now remaining. There are none of the diamond
paned casement sashes, such as were employed in the first New England
homes half a century earlier, for builders in both the mother country
and the colonies had ceased to work in the Elizabethan and Jacobean
manner and were completely under the influence of the Renaissance. In
the earlier houses the upper sash was let into the frame permanently,
only the lower sash being movable and sliding upward, but in later years
double-hung sashes with weights began to be adopted. Stiles, rails and
sash bars were all put together with mortise and tenon joints and even
the sash bars were pegged together with wood. The glass was set in
rabbeted edges and held in place by putty according to the method still
in use.
[Illustration: PLATE LX.--Detail of Stair Ends, Carpenter House, Third
and Spruce Streets; Detail of Stair Ends, Independence Hall (horizontal
section).]
[Illustration: PLATE LXI.--Chimney Piece in the Hall, Stenton; Chimney
Piece and Paneled Wall, Great Chamber, Mount Pleasant.]
At first the panes were very small, and many were required in large
windows, but as glass making advanced, the prevailing size was
successively enlarged from about five by seven inches to six by eight,
seven by nine, eight by ten, and nine by twelve. As the size of
individual panes of glass was increased, their number in each sash was
in some instances correspondingly decreased, although oftener larger
sashes with the same number of panes resulted. Philadelphia architects
always manifested a keen appreciation of the value of scale imparted by
the sash bar divisions of their windows, and for that reason small-paned
sashes never ceased to be popular.
Although numerous variations exist, the custom of having an equal number
of panes in both upper and lower sashes predominated. Six, nine and
twelve-paned sashes forming twelve, eighteen and twenty-four paned
windows were all common throughout the Colonial period. Twelve-paned
sashes were used chiefly in public buildings and the larger private
mansions, six-paned sashes in houses of moderate size. While there are
several notable instances of nine-paned upper and lower sashes,
particularly Hope Lodge, Cedar Grove in Harrowgate, Northern Liberties,
and the Wharton house at Number 336 Spruce Street, this arrangement
frequently, although not always, resulted in a window rather too high
and narrow to be pleasing in proportion. A comparison of the
accompanying photographs of the window of a Combes Alley house with that
of a house at Number 128 Race Street well illustrates the point.
Sometimes, where used on the lower story, six-paned upper and lower
sashes are found in the windows of the second story.
Waynesborough, in Easttown Township, Chester County, not far from
Philadelphia, is a well-known case in point. Grumblethorpe presents the
anomalous reverse arrangement of six-paned sashes on the first story and
nine-paned sashes on the second story. Still oftener six-and nine-paned
sashes were combined in the same window, the larger sash being sometimes
the upper and again the lower. Bartram House and the Johnson house are
instances of nine-paned upper and lower sashes on the first story and
nine-paned lower and six-paned upper sashes on the second story. Greame
Park in Horsham, Montgomery County, not far from Philadelphia, has
nine-paned upper and lower sashes on the lower story and twelve-paned
lower and nine-paned upper on the second floor. Penn's house in
Fairmount Park and Glen Fern are instances of nine-paned lower and
six-paned upper sashes on the first story and six-paned upper and lower
sashes on the second story. Solitude and the Blackwell house, Number 224
Pine Street, exemplify the reverse arrangement of nine-paned upper and
six-paned lower sashes on both stories.
Six-paned upper and lower sashes on both the first and second floors
were, perhaps, more common on houses of moderate size and some large
mansions throughout the Colonial period than any other window
arrangement. Notable instances are The Highlands; Upsala; Vernon;
Wynnestay in Wynnefield, West Philadelphia; Carlton in Germantown; the
Powell house, Number 244 South Third Street; the Evans house, Number 322
De Lancy Street; and the Wistar house, Fourth and Locust streets.
Among the more pretentious countryseats and city residences having
twelve-paned upper and lower sashes on both the first and second stories
may be mentioned Cliveden, Stenton, Loudoun, Woodford, Whitby Hall, the
Morris house, the Perot-Morris house, Chalkley Hall and Port Royal House
in Frankford.
Twelve-paned sashes were also used in various ways in combination with
six, eight and nine paned sashes. For example, the Waln house, Number
254 South Second Street, has twelve-paned upper and lower sashes on the
first story with six-paned upper and lower sashes on the second story,
whereas Mount Pleasant has the reverse arrangement. Laurel Hill, in the
Northern Liberties, Fairmount Park, has twelve-paned upper and lower
sashes on the first story and eight-paned upper and lower sashes on the
second story, whereas the Billmeyer house has all twelve-paned sashes
except the lower ones on the second story, which are eight-paned. Wyck,
consisting as it does of two buildings joined together, probably has the
most heterogeneous fenestration of any house in Philadelphia. On the
first floor are windows having nine-paned lower and six-paned upper
sashes, while on the second story are windows having twelve-paned lower
and eight-paned upper sashes and others having six-paned upper and lower
sashes. The Free Quakers' Meeting House at Fifth and Arch streets has
twelve-paned upper and lower sashes on the first story and eight-paned
upper and twelve-paned lower sashes on the second floor.
[Illustration: PLATE LXII.--Chimney Piece and Paneled Wall, Parlor,
Whitby Hall.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXIII.--Chimney Piece, Parlor, Mount Pleasant;
Chimney Piece, Parlor, Cliveden.]
To reduce their apparent height, three-story houses were foreshortened
with square windows. Two-piece sashes were used, and the number of panes
differed considerably. While a like number in both upper and lower
sashes was the rule, the Blackwell house, Number 224 Pine Street, and
the Powel house, Number 244 South Third Street, are notable instances of
foreshortened windows having three-paned upper and six-paned lower
sashes. The Wharton house, Number 336 Spruce Street, and the Evans
house, Number 322 De Lancy Street, have foreshortened windows with
six-paned upper and lower sashes. The Waln house, Number 254 South
Second Street, the Stocker house, Number 404 South Front Street, and
Pen Rhyn in Bensalem Township, Bucks County, have foreshortened windows
with three-paned upper and lower sashes. Such foreshortened windows as
all the above were usually employed with six-and nine-paned sashes on
the stories below. Where eight-and twelve-paned sashes were used for the
principal windows of the house, the foreshortened windows of the third
story usually had eight-paned upper and lower sashes, as on the Morris
house, the Wistar house at Fourth and Locust streets, Whitby Hall and
Chalkley Hall in Frankford.
Most Philadelphia houses, whether gable or hip-roofed, have dormers to
light the attic. Two or three on a side were the rule, although a few
small houses have only one. For the most part they were pedimental or
gable-roofed. Segmental topped dormers were rare, although a row of them
is to be seen in Camac Street, "the street of little clubs", and
occasional individual instances are to be found elsewhere. Lean-to or
shed-roof dormers never found favor, the only notable instances about
Philadelphia being at Glen Fern, Cedar Grove in Harrowgate, Northern
Liberties, and Greame Park in Horsham, Montgomery County.
An accompanying illustration of a dormer on the Witherill house, Number
130 North Front Street, shows the simplest type of gable-roof dormer
with square-headed window and six-paned upper and lower sashes. Similar
dormers, differing chiefly in the detail of the moldings employed, are
features of the Morris house; Wistar house, Fourth and Locust streets;
Wynnestay, Wynnefield, West Philadelphia; Wyck; the Johnson house;
Carlton, Germantown; and Chalkley Hall, Frankford. Grumblethorpe and
Bartram House have dormers of this sort with a segmental topped upper
window sash. Solitude has this sort of dormer with three-paned upper and
six-paned lower sashes, while Stenton and the Evans house, Number 322 De
Lancy Street, have eight-paned upper and lower sashes.
Houses usually of somewhat later date and notable for greater refinement
of detail had gable-roof dormers with round-headed Palladian windows
extending up into the pediment. As in the accompanying illustration
showing a dormer on the house at Number 6105 Germantown Avenue,
Germantown, the casings usually take the form of fluted pilasters,
supporting the pediment with its nicely molded cornice, often, as in
this instance, with a prominent denticulated molding. Narrower
supplementary pilasters supported a molded and keyed arch, forming the
frame within which the window is set. The lower sash is six-paned, while
the upper one has six rectangular panes above which six ornamental
shaped panes form a semicircle.
Similar dormers, differing chiefly in ornamental detail, are features of
Loudoun, Vernon, Upsala, Hope Lodge, Port Royal House, the Perot-Morris
house, the Billmeyer house, the Wharton house, Number 336 Spruce Street;
the Powel house, Number 244 South Third Street; and the Stocker house,
Number 404 South Front Street. The dormers of Cliveden and Mount
Pleasant are of this type but further elaborated by projecting
ornamental scrolls at the sides.
As the architecture of Philadelphia is almost exclusively in brick and
stone, there were none of the architrave casings and ornamental heads
consisting of a cornice above the architrave and often of a complete
entablature which characterized much contemporary New England work in
wood. Brick and stone construction require solid rather than cased wood
frames let into the reveals of the brick wall and have no projections
other than a molded sill, as on the Morris house, while a stone lintel
or brick arch must replace the ornamental head, often such a pleasing
feature of wood construction. The frames were of heavy construction held
together at the corners by large dowel pins and were ornamented by
suitable moldings broken around the reveals of the masonry and by molded
sash guides in the frame. In the earlier brick houses the square-headed
window openings had either gauged arches, as at Hope Lodge, or relieving
arches of alternate headers and stretchers with a brick core, as at
Stenton. Later, as in the case of hewn stonework, prominent stone
lintels and window sills were adopted. Marble was much favored for this
purpose because it harmonizes with the white-painted woodwork, brightens
the façade and emphasizes the fenestration. Most of the lintels take the
shape of a flat, gauged arch with flutings simulating mortar joints that
radiate from an imaginary center below and mark off voussoirs and a
keystone. Usually there is no surface ornamentation, the shape of the
parts being depended upon to form a decorative pattern, the shallow
vertical and horizontal scorings on the lintels of the Morris house
being exceptional. These, the lintels of Cliveden and of the Free
Quakers' Meeting House, exemplify the three most common types.
[Illustration: PLATE LXIV.--Chimney Piece and Paneled Wall on the Second
Floor of an old Spruce Street House; Detail of Mantel, 312 Cypress
Street.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXV.--Parlor Mantel, Upsala; Detail of Parlor
Mantel, Upsala.]
Unquestionably the most distinctive feature of the window treatment of
this neighborhood was the outside shutters. Colonial times were
troublous, and glass was expensive. In the city, protection was wanted
against lawlessness at night, and in the country there was for many
years the ever-present possibility of an Indian attack, despite the
generally friendly relations of the Quakers with the tribes of the
vicinity. There were also some British soldiers not above making
improper use of unshuttered windows at night. Except for a relatively
few country houses which had neither outside shutters nor
blinds--notably Stenton, Solitude, Mount Pleasant, Bartram House and The
Woodlands--the use of shutters on the first story was the rule. Above
that the custom varied greatly. Where outside shutters were totally
absent, inside hinged, folding and sometimes boxed shutters were almost
invariably present. Only a few important instances of old Colonial
houses having blinds on the lower story now remain. Port Royal House,
for example, two and a half stories high, has blinds on the first story
and none above. The Highlands has blinds on both the first and second
stories, while Chalkley Hall in Frankford has blinds on all three of its
stories.
Often there are shutters on the lower story and none above. Three-story
instances of this are the Waln house, Number 254 South Second Street;
the Blackwell house, Number 224 Pine Street; and the Wistar house,
Fourth and Locust streets. Two and a half story instances are Cliveden,
Hope Lodge, Vernon, Woodford, the Johnson house and Laurel Hill in the
Northern Liberties, Fairmount Park.
Less common are three-story houses having shutters on the first and
second stories and none on the third. Whitby Hall, the Morris house and
the Wharton house, Number 336 Spruce Street, are examples. Rare are two
and a half story houses having shutters on both the principal stories.
Wyck, Cedar Grove in Harrowgate, Northern Liberties, and Wynnestay in
Wynnefield, West Philadelphia, are good examples. Most two and a half
story houses have shutters on the first story and blinds on the second,
as instanced by Upsala, Grumblethorpe, Loudoun, Glen Fern and the
Perot-Morris house. The Powel house, Number 244 South Third Street, is a
rare instance of shutters on all three stories, while the Evans house,
Number 322 De Lancy Street, and Pen Rhyn in Bensalem Township, Bucks
County, are rare instances of shutters on the first story and blinds on
the second and third stories.
[Illustration: PLATE LXVI.--Mantel at Upsala; Mantel at Third and De
Lancey Streets.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXVII.--Mantel, Rex House, Mount Airy; Mantel at
729 Walnut Street.]
These outside shutters are of heavy construction like doors, the stiles
and rails having mortise and tenon joints held together by dowel pins
and the panels being molded and raised. Usually frieze and lock rails
divide the shutter into three panels, the two lower ones being the same
height and the upper one square. Accompanying illustrations show
eighteen-paned windows having shutters arranged in this manner at Number
128 Race Street and in Combes Alley. At Cliveden the upper panel is not
quite high enough to be square, and the same is true of the Morris house
shutters, which are also notable for the fact that the lower panel is
not quite so high as the middle one. Sometimes an opening of ornamental
shape was cut through the top panel to admit a little light, as for
instance the crescent in the shutters at Wynnestay, Wynnefield, West
Philadelphia. On a relatively few houses the shutters had four panels,
the most common arrangement being a small and a large panel in
alternation from the top downward. Such shutters were features of
Loudoun, the Wistar house, Fourth and Locust streets; the Blackwell
house, Number 224 Pine Street; the Powel house, Number 244 South Third
Street; the Evans house, Number 322 Spruce Street; and the Wharton
house, Number 336 Spruce Street. An accompanying illustration shows an
unusual four-panel arrangement on the Witherill house, Number 130 North
Front Street, the three upper almost square panels being of the same
size and the lowest one being about twice as high as one of the small
ones. Top, frieze and lock rails are usually the same width as the
stiles, and the bottom rail is about double width. The meeting stiles
and sometimes those on the opposite side have rabbeted joints, the
latter fitting the jambs of the window frame.
As indicated by an accompanying illustration showing the typical
treatment of a second-floor twelve-paned window at Number 6105
Germantown Avenue, Germantown, most blinds were strengthened by a lock
rail about midway of the height, or slightly below, dividing the blind
into an upper and lower section. Blinds of this sort are to be seen at
Loudoun, Grumblethorpe, Upsala, The Highlands and Port Royal House. At
Waynesborough in Easttown Township, Chester County, this division is
considerably below the middle, making the upper section much the larger.
Less common are blinds divided into three sections by two lock rails,
such as those of the Perot-Morris house. The Evans house, Number 322 De
Lancy Street, has two-section blinds on the third story and
three-section blinds on the second story. Unusual indeed are blinds
having only top and bottom rails. They are found now and then on small
upper windows, as at Glen Fern. Chalkley Hall in Frankford is a rare
instance of such blinds on all three stories of a large countryseat.
All of these blinds are of heavy construction, having top and lock rails
about the same width as the stiles, and bottom rails about double width.
Except for heavy louvers instead of panels, they are much like shutters.
The frame is of the same thickness, with mortise and tenon joints
doweled together.
A picturesque feature of Philadelphia window treatment is the quaint
wrought-iron fixtures with which shutters and blinds are hung and
fastened. As clearly shown by the accompanying detail photograph of a
window of the Morris house, outside shutters are generally hung by means
of hinges to the frame of the window. As these frames are set back in
the reveal of the masonry, these hinges are necessarily of special
shape, being of large projection to enable the shutters to fold back
against the face of the wall. They were strap hinges tapering slightly
in width, corresponding in length to the width of the shutter and
fastened to it by means of two or three bolts. Small pendant rings on
the inside of the meeting stiles were provided for pulling the shutters
together and closing them. They were fastened together by a long
wrought-iron strap, usually bolted to the left-hand shutter, that
projects to overlap the opposite shutter five or six inches when the
shutters are closed. Near the projecting end of the strap a pin at right
angles to it sticks through a hole in an escutcheon plate in the lock
rail of the opposite shutter, and an iron pin, suspended by a short
length of chain to prevent loss, is inserted through a vertical drilling
in the pin. Later, sliding bolts were used, as seen on the shutters at
Number 128 Race Street and the blinds at Number 6105 Germantown Avenue,
Germantown.
Shutters and blinds were held back against the face of the wall in an
open position by quaint wrought-iron turn buckles or gravitating catches
and other simple fasteners. That on the shutters of the Perot-Morris
house is the most prevalent pattern. The scroll at the bottom is longer
and heavier than the round, flattened, upper portion, so that the
fixture is kept in position by gravity. In this instance it is placed in
the masonry wall near the meeting stile of the shutter. A similar
fastener on the Chew house is placed in the window sill near the outer
stile of the shutter. Another type of turning fastener that was quite
popular is seen at Number 6043 Germantown Avenue, Germantown. It is
held in place by a long iron strap screwed to the window sill, and the
weight of the gravitating catch consists of a casting representing a
bunch of grapes. More primitive and less satisfactory in use and
appearance is the spring fastener bearing against the edge of the
shutter seen at Wyck. Crude as these fixtures were, they have hardly
been improved upon in principle, and similar designs of more finished
workmanship are still used in modern work.
Twelve appears to be the largest number of panes employed in a sliding
sash in Philadelphia architecture, even in public buildings, except a
few churches. There are such sashes in Independence Hall, Congress Hall,
Carpenters' Hall, the Free Quakers' Meeting House at Fifth and Arch
streets and the main building of the Pennsylvania Hospital. In Congress
Hall and Carpenters' Hall there are also round-topped windows with
twelve-paned lower sashes and upper sashes having ten small ornamental
panes to make up the semicircle above twelve rectangular panes. A few
similar windows with seven ornamental panes in the round top are to be
seen in Christ Church.
[Illustration: PLATE LXVIII.--- Parlor, Stenton; Reception Room,
Stenton.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXIX.--Dining Room, Stenton; Library, Stenton.]
The Old Swedes' Church has a few rectangular windows with fifteen-and
sixteen-paned upper and lower sashes, while over the front entrance
there is a window having a twelve-paned upper and a sixteen-paned
lower sash. In Christ Church are to be seen two windows having ten-paned
upper and fifteen-paned lower sashes set in a recessed round brick arch.
For the most part, however, the church windows of this period were
round-topped, the upper sash being higher than the lower. Most of the
windows of St. Peter's Protestant Episcopal Church have fifteen-paned
lower sashes, the upper sashes consisting of twenty rectangular panes
above which twelve keystone-shaped panes and one semicircular pane form
the round top.
The windows of Christ Church are larger still and particularly
interesting because of the heavy central muntin to strengthen the sash.
On the first story the lower sashes have twenty-four panes and the upper
ones eighteen rectangular panes with sixteen keystone-shaped and two
quarter-round panes to form the semicircular top. On the second floor
the windows are the same except for the eighteen-paned lower sashes.
Each side of the steeple on the lower story is a window of this size,
notable for the ornamental spacing of twenty-one sash bar divisions, the
sweeping curves of which form spaces for glass reminiscent of the Gothic
arch.
These windows slide in molded frames set in the reveals of the brickwork
under plain arches with marble or other stone imposts, keystone and
sill. The imposts and keystone were often molded and otherwise
hand-tooled, as on Christ's Church, and the sills were sometimes
supported by a console at each end, as on St. Peter's Protestant
Episcopal Church. Some of the windows of both of these churches
illustrate the frequent employment of slightly projecting brick arches
and pilaster casings at the sides.
The great Palladian chancel windows of Renaissance churches were often
much larger. Usually they were stationary, especially the central
section, although sometimes, as in Christ's Church, the two side windows
had sliding sashes. The central section of this window has ninety-six
rectangular panes with twenty-four keystone-shaped and two quarter-round
panes forming the round top. The narrow side windows have fifteen-paned
upper and twelve-paned lower sashes. The treatment of this chancel end
with heavy brick piers and pilasters, stone entablature, projecting
brick spandrels and the bust of George II, King of England, between
them, above the arch of the Palladian window, is most interesting.
The chancel window of St. Peter's Protestant Episcopal Church has one
hundred and eight rectangular panes in its central section with
twenty-eight keystone-shaped panes and a semicircular pane forming the
round top. Each side of this end of the church, with four smaller
round-headed windows ranged about the chancel window and a circular
window in the pediment above, is a superb example of symmetrical
arrangement.
Although large and more ornate, the Palladian window above the entrance
to Independence Hall on the Independence Square side is more like that
found in domestic architecture. All three of its lower sashes are
sliding. The central window consists of a twenty-four-paned lower sash
and an upper sash with twenty-one ornamental-shaped panes forming the
round top above twenty-four rectangular panes. The narrow side windows
have six-paned upper and twelve-paned lower sashes. Owing to its good
proportion, the chaste simplicity of the detail and the pleasing
combination of brick pilasters with wood trim, this has been referred to
by architects as the best Palladian window in America. The use of such a
window in the Ionic order above a Doric doorway adds another to the many
notable instances of free use of the orders by Colonial builders.
In domestic architecture Palladian windows were employed chiefly to
light the stairway landing, as at Whitby Hall; to light the upper hall,
as at Mount Pleasant; and rarely to light the principal rooms each side
of the front entrance, as at The Woodlands. They not only charm the eye
as interior features, but when viewed outdoors relieve the severity of
many ranging square-headed windows and provide a center of interest in
the fenestration, lending grace and distinction to the entire façade.
No Palladian windows in Philadelphia so thoroughly please the eye or so
convincingly indicate the delightful accord that may exist between gray
ledge-stone masonry and white woodwork as those set within recessed
arches at The Woodlands. The proportion and simple, clean-cut detail
throughout are exquisite. The engaged colonnettes of the mullions
contrast pleasingly with the pilasters of the frame, each of the two
supporting an entablature notable for its fine-scale dentil course, and
these two in turn supporting a keyed, molded arch. The central window
has twelve-paned upper and lower sliding sashes with an attractively
spaced fanlight above. The narrow ten-paned side windows are stationary.
Unusual as is the use of these Palladian windows, their charm is
undeniable, and they are among the chief distinctions of the house.
[Illustration: PLATE LXX.--Pedimental Doorway, First Floor, Mount
Pleasant; Pedimental Doorway, Second Floor, Mount Pleasant.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXI.--Doorways, Second Floor Hall, Mount Pleasant;
Doorway Detail, Whitby Hall.]
CHAPTER IX
HALLS AND STAIRCASES
The hall is of particular moment in the design of a house. There guests
are welcomed to the fireside, and there their first impressions of the
home are formed. The architectural treatment of the hall sets the
keynote of the entire home interior, so to speak. Its doorways and open
arches frame vistas of the principal adjoining rooms, and its staircase,
usually winding, affords a more or less complete survey of the whole
house from various altitudes and angles. It is the place where the
master puts his best foot foremost, as the expression goes, and happily
the recognized utilitarian features of the typical Colonial hall permit
a notable degree of elaboration at once consistent and beautiful.
Throughout the feudal period of the Middle Ages the hall was the main
and often the only living, reception and banquet room of castles,
palaces and manor houses. It was the common center of home activities.
There the lord and family retainers, servants and visitors were
accommodated, and all the common life of the household was carried on.
In early times there were, besides the hall, only a few sleeping rooms,
even in the greatest establishments. Later, more retired rooms were
added, and gradually the hall became more and more an entranceway or
passageway in the house, communicating with its different parts.
When houses began to be built more than a single story in height, the
staircase became an important feature of the hall, and balconies were
also introduced overlooking this great room, which was often the full
height of the building. In fact, balconies were for a time more
conspicuous than staircases, which were frequently located in any
convenient secluded place. However, as builders came to appreciate more
fully the attractiveness of this utilitarian structure, when embellished
with suitable ornament, the staircase was accorded a more prominent
position. Eventually it became the most important architectural feature
of the hall, for the most part supplanting the balcony, which was in a
measure replaced by the broad landings of broken, winding and wing
flights.
Throughout the Georgian period of English architecture, the hall of the
better houses retained something of the size and aspect of the great
halls of feudal days, while at the same time accommodating the staircase
and serving as a passageway leading to the principal rooms on the
various floors. In the more pretentious houses of the period they were
the scene of dancing and banqueting on special occasions, and for that
reason were of spacious size, often running entirely through the
building from front to back with the staircase located in a smaller side
hall adjoining. Where space or expense were considerations, or where
spacious parlors and drawing-rooms rendered the use of the hall for
social purposes unnecessary, the staircase ascended in various ways at
the rear of the main hall, usually beyond a flat or elliptical arch,
where it added very materially to the effectiveness of the apartment
without detracting at all from the use of the front portion as a
reception room.
Such halls as the latter are as typical of the better Provincial
mansions of Philadelphia, especially its countryseats, as of the
plantation houses of Virginia and the early settled communities farther
south. In the city residences of Philadelphia, built in blocks as
elsewhere, the halls were of necessity narrower, mere passageways
notable chiefly for their well-designed staircases, which consisted for
the most part of a long straight run along one side with a single turn
near the top to the second-floor passageway directly above that to the
rear of the house on the floor below. In a few of the earlier country
houses there are, however, halls reminiscent of medieval times, for the
influences of the mother country were very strong in Philadelphia, and
its Colonial architecture displays marked Georgian tendencies, some of
it the very earliest Georgian characteristics still somewhat influenced
by the life and manners of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods.
At Stenton, the countryseat of James Logan, to which detailed reference
has been made in a previous chapter, there is a hall and staircase
arrangement such as can be found only in some of the earliest
eighteenth-century country houses. This great brick-paved room
wainscoted to the ceiling, with a fireplace across the right-hand
corner, reflects the hall of the English manor house, which was a
gathering place for the family and for the reception of guests, as
instanced by the reception tendered to LaFayette in the great hall at
Wyck on July 20, 1825.
[Illustration: PLATE LXXII.--Inside of Front Door, Whitby Hall;
Palladian Window on Stair Landing, Whitby Hall.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXIII.--Window Detail, Parlor, Whitby Hall; Window
Detail, Dining Room, Whitby Hall.]
Admirable bolection molded wood paneling of the dado and wall space
above, a heavy molded cornice and high, fluted and slightly tapering
pilasters standing on pedestals flanking the entrances on all four sides
indicate more eloquently than words the charm of white-painted interior
woodwork. As in many houses of equally early date, the absence of a
mantel over the fireplace is characteristic, yet it seems a distinct
omission in beauty and usefulness. Through the high arched opening in
the rear, with its narrow double doors, is seen the winding staircase in
a smaller stair hall beyond. In this hallway stands an iron chest to
hold the family silver, the cumbrous old lock having fourteen
tumblers. Above there are wooden pegs in the wall on which to hang hats.
The broad staircase with its plain rectangular box stair ends is one of
unusually simple stateliness, yet typical of the sturdy lines of
Philadelphia construction, the window with its built-in seat on the
landing being an ever pleasing arrangement. Severely plain square newels
support an exceptionally broad and heavy handrail capped with dark wood,
while attractive turned balusters of distinctive pattern complete a
balustrade of more than ordinarily substantial character. A nicely
paneled dado with dark-capped surbase along the opposite wall greatly
enriches the effect.
About the middle of the eighteenth century wide halls leading entirely
through the center of the house from front to back were common in large
American houses. Where country houses had entrance and garden fronts of
almost equal importance, with a large doorway at each end of the hall,
the staircase was usually located in a small stair hall to one side of
the main hall and at the front or back, as happened to be most
convenient with respect to the desired floor plan. Where a small door at
the rear opened into a secluded garden, the staircase was located at the
rear of the main hall with the door under the staircase. In either case
the staircase took the form of a broken flight, with a straight run
along one wall rising about two-thirds of the total height to a broad
landing across the hall where the direction of the flight reversed. The
landing was usually lighted by a large round-topped Palladian window
which provided one of the most charming features of the interior as well
as the exterior of the house. Inside it was often graced by the "clock
on the stairs", a handsome mahogany chair or a tip-table with
candlesticks for lighting guests to their rooms.
Whitby Hall at Fifty-eighth Street and Florence Avenue, Kingsessing,
West Philadelphia, offers a notable instance of this latter type of hall
and staircase. The wide hall extends entirely through the western wing,
the main entrance being on the flag-paved piazza of the south front. On
the north front there is a tower-like projection in which the staircase
ascends with a broad landing across the rear wall and a low outside door
beneath. This unusual arrangement permits side windows on the landing in
addition to the great Palladian window in the middle, so that both the
upper and lower halls are flooded with light.
A great beam architecturally embellished with a complete entablature
with pulvinated frieze, the soffit of the architrave consisting of small
square molded panels, spans the hall over the foot of the stairs along
the line of the rear wall of the western wing. It is supported on
opposite sides by well-proportioned fluted pilasters with nicely tooled
Ionic capitals and heavy molded bases. Thus the staircase vista from
the front end of the hall is framed by an architectural setting of rare
beauty. The heavy cornice of the beam, with its molded and jig-sawed
modillions, continues all around the hall ceiling, the turned and molded
drops of the newels on the floor above tying into it very pleasingly
over the stairs. A molded surbase and skirting, with a broad expanse of
plastered wall between, provides an effective dado all around the hall.
Where it follows up the stairs, it corresponds to the handrail of the
balustrade opposite. The molding is the same; there is the same upward
sweep of the ramped rail, and it is also capped with dark wood. On the
landing dainty little fluted pilasters support the surbase, their fine
scale lending much grace and refinement. One notices there also the
beautiful beveled paneling of the window embrasures, the paneled soffit
of the Palladian window and its built-in seat. The balustrade is of
sturdy conventional type characteristic of the period. Two attractively
turned balusters grace each stair, their bases alike and otherwise
differing only in the length of their tapering shafts. The newel
treatment is especially appropriate, inasmuch as it reflects the Ionic
order, the balustrade winding scroll-fashion about a slender fluted
colonnette, and the first stair tread taking the outline of the rail
above. Graceful scroll brackets adorn the stair ends beneath the molded
projections of the treads. Altogether this is one of the most notable
halls of this type in Philadelphia.
The oldest part of Whitby Hall as it now stands was erected in 1754 by
James Coultas, wealthy merchant, shipowner, soldier and enthusiastic
promoter of many public and philanthropic enterprises. In 1741 he
established himself in a house then existing on the plantation that
corresponds to the present east wing, which was reconstructed with rare
fidelity in 1842 to match the western wing erected by Colonel Coultas.
The walls of the entire present house all around are of nicely squared
and dressed native gray stone, and to afford extra protection against
prevailing winds a penthouse with coved cornice runs along the northern
and western ends at the second-floor level. The gables of the west wing
face north and south with quaint oval windows to light the attic. A
flag-paved piazza extends across the south front, forming part of the
main entrance, while in a tower projection on the north front is located
the staircase already described. Both the hall doorway and windows in
this tower have brick trim, an unusual feature, while the bull's-eye
light in the tower pediment, also set in brick trim, was a porthole
glass from one of Colonel Coultas' ships.
[Illustration: PLATE LXXIV.--Ceiling Detail, Solitude; Cornice and
Frieze Detail, Solitude.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXV.--Independence Hall, Independence Square Side.
Begun in 1731.]
As a merchant and in numerous other private enterprises, Colonel Coultas
amassed a substantial fortune. From 1744 to 1755 he was the lessee of
the Middle Ferry, where Market Street bridge now stands, and it was
chiefly due to his initiative that steps were first taken to make the
Schuylkill River navigable. He was one of the commissioners who surveyed
the stream and the first to demonstrate that large boats could be taken
above the falls. In 1748 he was a captain of the Associates, a battery
for the defense of Philadelphia against French insolence, and in 1756
during the Indian uprisings he became lieutenant-colonel of the county
regiment. He was repeatedly justice of the peace, high sheriff of the
county from 1755 to 1758, and in 1765 was appointed judge of the
Orphans' Court, Quarter Sessions, and Common Pleas. He carried on a farm
in Blockley, operated a sawmill on Cobb's Creek north of the Blue Bell
Inn, was a devout vestryman and enthusiastic huntsman. He it was who
laid the corner stone of the Church of St. James in 1762, and as a
member of the Colony in Schuylkill and the Gloucester Fox Hunting Club
he was also prominently identified with the more convivial activities of
the community.
On Colonel Coultas' death in 1768, Whitby Hall was inherited by his
niece, Martha Ibbetson Gray, and later passed by inheritance to her
great-great-grandchildren in the Thomas family, in whose hands it still
remains.
Eloquently typical of the broad hall running entirely through the house
from front to back, with the staircase located in a smaller side hall,
is the arrangement at Mount Pleasant to which reference has already been
made in a previous chapter. It is one which affords delightful vistas
through the outside doorways at each end and an ample open space for
dancing on occasion. Handsome doorways along the sides open into the
principal rooms and are notable for their beautifully molded architrave
casings and nicely worked pedimental doorheads. In fact, the woodwork
here, as well as that throughout the house, is heavier and richer in
elaboration of detail than usual in Georgian houses of the North, the
classic details of the fluted pilasters and heavy, intricately carved
complete entablature being pure mutulary Doric and more ornate than the
Ionic detail of Whitby Hall. However, this was quite in keeping with the
larger and more pretentious character of the former. The entablature is
a positive triumph in cornice, frieze and architrave. The moldings are
of good design and carefully worked; the guttæ of the mutules, the
triglyphs with paneled metopes between, and the guttæ of the architrave
all closely follow the classic order and exemplify the finest hand
tooling of the period.
So similar as a whole yet so different in detail are the staircase hall
of Mount Pleasant and the staircase end of the main hall at Whitby Hall
that they invite comparison. In general arrangement they are much the
same, except that the staircases are reversed, left for right. As at
Whitby Hall a flat arch frames the staircase vista, a great beam bearing
the entablature surrounds the hall at the ceiling, spanning the entrance
to the staircase hall and being supported by square, fluted columns. In
this smaller hall a simple, though only a molded cornice in harmony with
that of the main hall suffices. Unlike the plain dado of the main hall,
however, elaborated only by a molded surbase and skirting, a handsome
paneled wainscot runs around the staircase hall and up the stairs. The
spacing and workmanship displayed in this heavily beveled and molded
paneling could hardly be better. At the foot of the flight, on the
landing and at the head of the stairs, the ramped surbase with its dark
wood cap, corresponding to the handrail opposite, is supported by
slender fluted pilasters which materially enrich the effect. The space
under the lower run of the staircase is entirely paneled up with a small
diagonal topped door opening into the little closet thus afforded. The
scroll-pattern stair ends, balustrade and spiral newel treatment are
much the same as at Whitby Hall. Although similar in pattern the
balusters are more slender and placed three instead of two on each
stair.
On the second floor, as below, the hall extends entirely through the
house, and following a frequent custom of the time was finished in a
different order of architecture, the pulvinated Ionic being chosen, no
doubt, for its lighter grace and greater propriety adjoining
bedchambers. In furtherance of this thought, only the cornice with its
jig-sawed modillions was employed at the ceiling and the flat dado was
paneled off by the application of moldings to give it a lighter scale.
The complete entablature was used only over the archway at the head of
the stairs, where it was supported by square, fluted columns with
beautifully carved capitals. Another mannerism of the time is the
variation in the treatment of the doorways, the pedimental doorheads on
one side being broken, whereas the others are not.
But the handsomest features of this upper hall are the Palladian
windows, admitting a flood of light at each end, with their rectangular
sashes each side of a higher, round-arched central window and a
delightful arrangement of curved sash bars at the top. The many small
panes lend a pleasing sense of scale, while the architectural treatment
of the frames adds to the charm of the interior woodwork quite as
materially as to the exterior façade. In working out the scheme, the
entire Ionic order is utilized on a small scale. Both the casings and
the mullions take the form of fluted square columns with typical carved
capitals. These support two complete entablatures forming the lintels of
the rectangular windows and being carried around into the embrasure of
the central window, the keyed arch of which springs from the
entablatures. It is a design which has never been improved upon.
[Illustration: PLATE LXXVI.--Independence Hall, Chestnut Street Side.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXVII.--Independence Hall, Stairway; Liberty Bell,
Independence Hall.]
The hall and staircase at Cliveden combine distinctive characteristics
of the halls at Stenton and Mount Pleasant. As at Stenton, the hall
itself consists of a large reception room centrally located, and about
which the other principal rooms of the house are grouped. Through an
archway at the rear is a slightly narrower though spacious staircase
hall extending through to the back of the house, where the broken
staircase rises to a broad landing and the direction of the run
reverses. The architecture is as pure Doric as at Mount Pleasant, but of
the denticulated rather than the mutulary order, and altogether more
satisfactory for interior trim in wood. The cornice only is carried
around the room at the ceiling, and in the staircase hall only the
cymatium and corona of the cornice; but over the archway, supported by a
colonnade of four fluted round columns, a complete entablature with
nicely worked classic detail is employed and given added emphasis by
several inches' projection into the reception hall. The columns are
spaced so as to form a wide central archway flanked by two narrow ones,
the effect being a staircase vista unexcelled in the domestic
architecture of Philadelphia. The picture is enriched by a heavily
paneled wainscot and handsome, deeply embrasured doorways with
architrave casings, paneled jambs and soffits.
Except for the single, simple turned newel, the staircase is much like
that at Mount Pleasant. There is the similar ramped balustrade and
paneled wainscot with ramped surbase and dark wood cap rail along the
wall opposite. Little pilasters likewise support this rail, but they are
paneled rather than fluted. There are similar scroll-pattern stair ends
and paneling under the stairs. In this instance the under side of the
upper run is paneled in wood rather than plastered. The turned balusters
are slightly more elaborate than at Mount Pleasant, but are used in the
same manner, three to the stair.
Not built until nearly the dawn of the nineteenth century, Upsala
belongs to a later period than most of the notable houses in
Philadelphia. The lighter grace of Adam design had begun to dominate
American building and is to be seen in the staircase as well as in the
mantels and other interior woodwork at Upsala. The staircase combines
features of the broken flight with a midway landing, such as the
foregoing examples, and of the later development in long halls where the
direction of the flight was reversed by a curved portion of the run
instead of a landing. The breadth and length of the hall made landings
possible and desirable, but instead of one wide midway landing between
the upper and lower runs of the flight, there were two square landings
separated by three steps, the stair stringers, balustrade and wainscot
swinging upward in broad-sweeping curves. The wainscot consists of a
charmingly varied paneling, while the balustrade is lighter in treatment
than was usually the case. A simple dark wood handrail, slender, square
molded balusters and stairs having a low rise and broad treads lend
grace of appearance rarely equaled. Jig-sawed outline brackets of
unusually harmonious scroll pattern placed under the molded overhang of
the treads provide additional ornamentation of a refined character. The
spiral newel is but a simpler form of those already alluded to.
Altogether it is a staircase that charms the eye through its unaffected
simplicity, a quality that never loses its power of appeal whether found
inside the house or out.
Two other stairways with balustrades of slender grace are worthy of
note, especially as instances of a single, small turned newel on the
lower step, the handrail terminating in a round cap on the top. The
simpler of these is at Roxborough and has balusters of unique contour
standing not on the stair treads but on the cased-up stair stringer. The
staircase in the Gowen house, Mount Airy, has a balustrade with three
slender, but more or less conventional, balusters on each step, the
treads, like the handrail and newel, being painted dark. A graceful
jig-sawed bracket of scroll pattern adorns each stair end under the
overhang of the tread, and the space under the stairs is closed in by
well-spaced molded and raised paneling.
Another distinctive scroll outline bracket for stair ends forms the
principal feature of a graceful staircase in the Carpenter house, Third
and Spruce streets. The pattern manifests great refinement and has
excellent proportion. In contrast with these lighter designs for
domestic architecture, it is interesting to examine the stair-end
treatment in Independence Hall, which is equally pleasing as an example
of heavier, richer detail for public work. The brackets are solid, of
evolute spiral outline and beautifully hand carved.
CHAPTER X
MANTELS AND CHIMNEY PIECES
In Colonial times fireplaces were a necessity. They supplied the only
means of heating the house, and much of the cooking was done by them
also. Indeed, the hanging of the crane was regarded as a signal event in
establishing a new home, and often a cast-iron fireback bore the date of
erection of the house and the name or initials of its owner. Each of the
principal rooms had its fireplace and often a large parlor, drawing-room
or library had two fireplaces, usually at opposite ends or sides, though
rarely on the same side, as in the library at Stenton. The hearthstone
was the center of family life, and architects, therefore, very properly
made the mantels and chimney pieces with which they embellished the
fireplace the architectural center of each room,--the gem in a setting
of nicely wrought interior woodwork.
Then came the Franklin stove, throwing more heat out into the room and
less up the chimney. Fireplaces were accordingly bricked up to
accommodate it, a pipe was run into it, and presently the air-tight
stove supplanted Franklin's open grate. Later central heating plants for
hot air, steam and hot water were developed in the basement and
connected by pipes with registers and radiators in the various rooms
above. They gave greater and more even heat, consumed less fuel and were
more easily taken care of than several fires in various parts of the
house. For a time houses were built for the most part without
fireplaces, but gradually a sense of loss began to be generally felt.
These registers and radiators warmed the flesh, but they left the spirit
cold; there was no poetry or sentiment whatever about them.
The outcome was obvious. The central heating plant has of course
remained, but recent years have witnessed the general reopening of
bricked-up fireplaces in old houses large and small, and to-day few new
houses are built without a fireplace in the living room at least. To a
degree it is a luxury, perhaps, though not a very expensive one, yet it
is something for which all able to do so are very glad to pay. Besides,
on chilly spring and autumn days and rainy summer evenings it provides a
cheap and convenient auxiliary heating plant. But an open fire warms
more than the hands and feet; it reaches the heart. Its appeal goes back
to the tribal camp-fire and stirs some primitive instinct in man.
"Hearth and home" are synonymous; there is a whole ritual of domestic
worship which centers around an open fire. A blaze on a hearth is
more than a luxury, more than a comfort; it is an altar fire.
[Illustration: PLATE LXXVIII.--Stairway Landing, Independence Hall;
Palladian Window at Stairway Landing.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXIX.--Declaration Chamber, Independence Hall.]
And so in building the modern Colonial home we find ourselves ever going
back to study the creations of the master builders of provincial times
in America, when fireplaces meant even more than they do to-day, and
finding in their achievements ideas and inspiration of great beauty and
practical value. The neighborhood of Philadelphia is as rich in its
collection of fine old mantels and chimney pieces as in its splendid
interior woodwork generally. Like the latter they are for the most part
of the early Georgian period, mostly chimney pieces, many without
shelves, and usually somewhat heavy in scale and detail.
As in other important architectural features the development of mantels
and chimney pieces in America followed to a degree the prevailing mode
in the mother country. For many years after the Italian classic orders
were brought to England by Inigo Jones, early in the seventeenth
century, chimney pieces usually consisted merely of a mantel shelf and
classic architraves or bolection moldings about the fireplace opening,
the chimney breast above being paneled like the rest of the room. Toward
the end of that century, and for several decades following, the shelf
was omitted and the paneling on the chimney breast took the form of two
horizontally disposed oblongs, the upper broader than the lower.
Such an arrangement in its simplest form is to be seen in the great hall
at Stenton, where a fireplace is located across one corner. The
elliptical arch of the white pilastered brickwork and the height of the
horizontal architrave above this arch impart a touch of quaint
distinction. One notices with admiration the beautiful brass andirons
and fire set, and with interest the floreated cast-iron fireback.
Going to the other extreme we find in the parlor at Whitby Hall a
magnificently ornate example of the chimney piece without a mantel shelf
which, as in many Colonial houses, has been made the central feature of
one side of the room, symmetrically arranged and architecturally treated
with wood paneling throughout. A heavy cornice with prominent double
denticulated string course or crenelated molding runs entirely around
the room, tying the fireplace end of the room into the general scheme.
The chimney piece projects slightly, lending greater emphasis, and at
each side the wall space is given over to high round-topped double doors
of closets divided into upper and lower parts, beautifully flush-paneled
and hung with quaint iron H hinges. Like those of the other doors and
windows, the casings are of architrave pattern and in the center of the
round arch is a keystone-shaped ornament hand-tooled in wood. The
fireplace opening is faced beautifully with cut black marble brought
from Scotland and outlined with a nicely chiseled ovolo molding in wood
similar to the familiar egg and dart pattern, but incorporating the
richer Lesbian leaf instead of the dart, a closely related reed-like
motive replacing the conventional bead and reel. Two handsomely carved
consoles resting on the fillet of this ovolo molding support the superb
molded panel of the overmantel some three by five feet, in which to this
day not a joint is to be seen. A band of exquisite floreated carving in
high relief fills the long, narrow, horizontal panel between the
consoles. The precision of the tooling in this intricate tracery is
indeed remarkable. Nicely worked but simple parallel moldings with the
favorite Grecian fret sharply delineated between them and Lesbian leaf
ornaments in the square projections at the corners compose a frame of
exceptional grace of detail and proportion. Rarely is an ensemble so
elaborate accompanied by such a marked degree of good taste and
restraint.
In the great chamber on the second floor, which is believed to have been
the boudoir of the mistress of Mount Vernon, there is a very similar,
though even more elaborate, architectural treatment of the fireplace and
of the room. Closets with round-topped doors again occupy the spaces
each side of the fireplace; the cornice surrounding the entire room with
its conspicuous Grecian fret motive again ties the paneled end of the
room into the general scheme, and in this instance the relation is made
closer by the paneled wainscot which is carried about all four walls. In
this wainscot two panel sections under each closet are hung as double
doors opening into small supplementary closets. Owing to the loftiness
of the room, the closet doors have been elaborated by ornate broken
pedimental heads repeating the cornice on a smaller scale, and which are
supported by paneled pilasters and large consoles superbly carved with
an acanthus leaf decoration.
Beautiful as these doorways are in themselves, they are so much heavier
in treatment than the overmantel as to detract from it; they do not
occupy an unobtrusive subordinate position, as do the closet doors of
the parlor at Whitby Hall. Moreover, the trim of each door occupies such
a breadth of wall space that the fireplace and overmantel are narrowed,
the latter taking the form of a vertical rather than a horizontal
oblong. In fact, the dominant lines throughout are here vertical as
contrasted with the dominant horizontal lines at Whitby Hall. The
loftiness and stateliness of the room are thereby emphasized, but the
effect is less restful.
[Illustration: PLATE LXXX.--Judge's Bench, Supreme Court Room,
Independence Hall; Arcade at Opposite End of Court Room.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXXI.--Banquet Hall, Second Floor, Independence
Hall; Entrance to Banquet Hall.]
In architectural detail the fireplace and overmantel recall that of the
Whitby Hall chimney piece. There are similar black marble facings about
the fireplace opening outlined by a hand-tooled molding, and similar
elaborately carved consoles supporting a handsomely molded panel with
projecting ornamental corners, but in this instance the panel is
surmounted by a highly ornamental top, consisting of a swag or broken
pediment with an exquisitely hand-carved floreated design in high relief
between the volutes which imparts a charming lightness and grace to the
ensemble. Pilaster projections bearing nicely delineated leaf ornaments
above the corners of the overmantel panel tie into corresponding
projections in the cornice and unify the whole construction. Otherwise
the chimney piece differs from that of Whitby Hall chiefly in its
moldings, in which the Lesbian leaf is prominent. The ovolo about the
marble facings of the fireplace bears the conventional bead and reel and
egg and dart motives, the latter having a leaf design in alternation
with the egg. The ogee molding outlining the overmantel panel is
enriched with a larger and a smaller leaf motive in alternation, while
the torus of the inner molding of this panel bears a little
conventionalized flower in alternation with crossed flat fillets.
Altogether more pleasing is the chimney piece in the parlor at Mount
Pleasant. In fact, it is regarded as one of the handsomest chimney
pieces without a mantel shelf in America. Its excellence is due not to
superiority of detail, but to better proportion, the breadth of the
chimney breast being sufficient to make the overmantel panel practically
square. This great fireplace construction for burning four-foot logs
projects into the room some eighteen inches, with wood-paneled sides,
the adjoining walls being plastered. Around it are carried the chaste
Ionic cornice with its prominent dentil course; and the paneled wainscot
below corresponds to the pedestal of the order. In the general
arrangement of the design, this chimney piece follows closely that of
the one above, except that top, sides and bottom of the overmantel panel
frame are alike. As at Whitby Hall the familiar Grecian fret very
acceptably occupies the space between the inner and outer moldings of
this frame and obviates the need of any elaborate carved decoration
above the panel. Contrasting pleasingly with this fret and on opposite
sides of it are a plain molded ovolo outlining the panel and a small
floreated torus supplemented by a molded cymatium within. The pilaster
projections tying the panel treatment to the cornice bear three nicely
tooled vertical flower designs in a row, an unusual conception. An ovolo
of conventional egg and dart motive with the customary bead and reel
astragal outlines the black marble facings of the fireplace opening. The
console ornamentation is strongly reminiscent of that at Whitby Hall.
The mantel shelf proper was far too practical and attractive a feature
of the fireplace to be long abandoned, however. It furnished a
convenient place for clocks, candlesticks, china and other ornaments,
and it appealed to the eye because of the homelike, livable appearance
these articles of decoration gave to the room. About the middle of the
eighteenth century the shelf of former times was reinstated and the
overmantel was developed into a single large and elaborately framed
panel over the chimney breast in which often hung a family portrait, a
gilt-framed mirror or girandole.
Such a chimney piece is to be seen in the parlor at Cliveden, its
fireplace opening partly closed up to convert it for use with the coal
grate shown by the accompanying illustration. In this instance the
carved consoles support the shelf rather than the panel of the
overmantel, which engages neither the shelf nor the cornice with its
prominent double denticulated molding. Otherwise, the chimney piece is
essentially the same in arrangement as that in the parlor at Mount
Pleasant. It has the same pleasing breadth and generally good
proportions, but is severely simple in detail, the conventional ovolo of
egg and dart motive without the astragal which outlines the black marble
fireplace facings being the only enriched molding. As was customary, the
shelf takes the form of a cymatium, and the projections above the
consoles and central panel are characteristic details.
Much like this, though simpler in the absence of any enriched moldings
and having less projection, is the chimney piece on the second floor of
an old Spruce Street house shown by an accompanying illustration. It
has substantially the same overmantel frame and mantel treatment.
Incidentally it furnishes an excellent example of the complete paneling
of one end of a room with the familiar six-panel ordinary inside doors
each side of the fireplace. The architrave casings of the doors with
their horizontal projections over the lintel are in pleasing accord with
the corresponding projections of the overmantel frame and of the facing
of the fireplace opening.
Toward the end of the eighteenth century and for some years thereafter,
mantels with a shelf, but without any overmantel treatment of the
chimney breast, became the rule. The whole construction was usually
projected from twelve to eighteen inches into the room, however, and as
the surbase and skirting or a paneled wainscot and the cornice above was
carried around it, the effect was much like that of a chimney piece,
especially when a large, ornamental framed mantel mirror occupied the
space over the chimney breast.
The mantel itself took the form of a complete entablature above the
fireplace opening, supported by pilasters at each side, the pilasters
usually being carried up through the entablature by projections in
architrave, frieze and cornice respectively, and the cymatium of the
cornice forming the mantel shelf. The classic orders supplied much of
the ornamental detail with which these mantels were embellished, and
the work gave full scope to the genius of English and American
wood-carvers, of whom there were many of marked ability in America.
The thriving condition of the ship-building industry in the colonies was
instrumental in attracting and developing skilled wood-carvers. Many of
them became apt students of architecture and proficient in executing
hand-tooled enriched moldings and other ornament for mantels and chimney
pieces. Not content with the conventional detail of the classic orders,
they varied it considerably to suit their purposes, using familiar
motives in new ways, securing classic effects with detail of their own
conception, and at times departing far from all precedent. For the most
part their achievements displayed that good taste and restraint combined
with a novelty and an ingenuity which have given our best Colonial
architecture its principal charm and distinction.
Numerous examples of this sort of hand-carved mantels are to be found in
Philadelphia, but none elicits greater admiration than those in two
rooms at Upsala which are shown by accompanying illustrations. Enriched
with a wealth of intricate, fine-scale hand-tooling of daintiness and
precision, they indicate the influence of Adam design and detail,
although quite unlike the typical Adam mantel. They form an especially
interesting study for comparison because of the marked similarity of
the general scheme in all three and the difference in effect resulting
from variations in detail.
The simplest of the three is a mantel for an iron hob grate with dark
marble facings outlined by simple moldings. Familiar fluted pilasters
support a mantel board entablature of rare beauty. Beneath a
conventional cymatium and corona, with projections above the pilasters
and central panel of the frieze, is a nicely worked dentil course,--a
band of vertical flutes with a drilled tooth in the upper half of each
alternate flute. The pilaster projections of the frieze are fluted in
dots and dashes arranged in vertical lines, while a similar treatment of
the central panel is so arranged that a pattern suggesting four festoons
and five straight hanging garlands is produced. The upper fascia is
enriched with groups of five vertical flutes in alternation with an
incised conventionalized flower.
[Illustration: PLATE LXXXII.--Congress Hall, Sixth and Chestnut Streets.
Completed in 1790; Congress Hall from Independence Square.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXXIII.--Stair Hall Details, Congress Hall.]
Resembling the foregoing, but more elaborate, is the mantel in the
parlor with its richer moldings and intricate carving. An astragal with
the customary bead and reel separates the cymatium and the corona, while
a drilled rope supplies the bed molding above the dentil course. The
latter consists of a continuous pattern of vertical and shorter
horizontal flutes, the alternate vertical half spaces above and below
the cross line of the H being cut out flat and deeper. The pilaster
projections of the frieze, the central panel and the pilasters at
each side of the fireplace opening supporting the entablature are
vertical fluted in short sections which break joints like running bond
in brickwork. In both the pilaster projections and the central panel the
carving has been done in such a manner as to leave four-sided decorative
figures with segmental sides in slender outline flush with the surface.
The upper fascia of the architrave is adorned by shallow drillings
suggesting tiny festoons and straight hanging garlands with a
conventionalized flower above each festoon. A cavetto molding, enriched
with a bead and reel astragal and another drilled rope torus, outlines
the dark marble facings about the fireplace opening. Handsome brass
andirons, fender and fire set, together with the large gilt-framed
mirror above, combine with the mantel to make this one of the most
beautiful fireplaces in Philadelphia.
The third example in another room at Upsala is virtually the same as the
mantel just described, except for the greater elaboration of the
pilasters, pilaster projections of the frieze and central panel. Apart
from these three features, the only essential differences are a dentil
course in the cornice like that of the first Upsala mantel described and
a vertical fluted belt in the capital of the pilasters and associated
moldings. In the pilaster projections of the frieze there are flush
outline ornaments taking the form of a shield, while other graceful
outline patterns running through the flutings adorn the upper half of
the pilasters proper. The lower half is fluted in the short running bond
sections. The central panel of the frieze retains and elaborates the
motive of festoons and straight hanging garlands, the space above the
festoons in this instance being left flush except for an incised
conventionalized flower design in each of the three sections.
Rarely are three mantels of such attractive design, good proportion,
distinctive detail and dainty appearance to be found in a single house.
Seldom are three mantels to be found which are so similar and yet so
different. They present an eloquent illustration of the infinite
possibilities of minor variation in architectural design.
The same influences were at work elsewhere, however, and two other
mantels shown by accompanying illustrations, one in a house at Third and
DeLancy streets and another in the Rex house, Mount Airy, show numerous
variations of similar motives. In both, vertical flutings are depended
upon chiefly for decoration, ornamental patterns being formed by flush
sections where the cutting of the flutes is interrupted. In both
instances the original fireplace opening has been partially closed up,
in one case for a Franklin stove, and in the other for a hob grate, both
for burning coal.
The mantel at Number 312 Cypress Street, with its well-proportioned
entablature and paneled pilasters, displays a central panel in the
frieze similar to the foregoing examples, but possesses a more distinct
Adam character in the human figures in composition applied to the
pilaster projections of the frieze, and in the drillings of the upper
fascia of the architrave, simulating festoons. A reeded ovolo and deeply
cut and drilled denticulated member lend sufficient emphasis to the
string course of the cornice.
At Number 729 Walnut Street is to be seen a typically Adam mantel of
exceptional grace and beauty. Instead of the usual pilasters the
entablature is supported by two pairs of slender reeded colonnettes, and
the fireplace opening is framed by moldings in which a torus enriched
with a rope motive is prominent. The shelf or cymatium of the
entablature has round corners and is supported by pilaster projections
above the colonnettes at each end and by a projecting central panel, all
of these projections being vertical fluted in the frieze portion. Both
the central panel and the sunken panels each side of it bear graceful
festoons and straight hanging garlands suspended from flower ornaments,
the central space of both sunken panels being occupied by a small,
sharply delineated medallion in white, suggestive of wedgewood. This
composition work was nicely detailed and is still well preserved. Below,
the upper fascia of the architrave is enriched in accord with the Adam
spirit. Drillings forming festoons with a tiny ornament above alternate
with groups of seven vertical dotted lines. The fireplace opening has
been closed up with stone slabs to inclose a Franklin stove for burning
coal, the effect being much the same as a hob grate. In terms of dainty
grace and chaste simplicity this is one of the best mantels in
Philadelphia.
CHAPTER XI
INTERIOR WOOD FINISH
Mantels and staircases, the most important architectural features of
interiors, were very properly elaborated considerably beyond the
somewhat negative character of background accessories by the builders of
Colonial times. Virtually furnishings as well as necessary parts of the
house, the application of tasteful ornamentation to them seems amply
justified. Each is a subject in itself, as indicated by the fact that
stair building and mantel construction still remain independent trades
quite apart from ordinary joinery. For that reason two separate chapters
of this book have been devoted to these important subjects, the present
chapter being devoted to interior woodwork in general.
What the interior wood trim of the average eighteenth-century
Philadelphia house consists of is shown by accompanying photographs,
especially those in Stenton, Mount Pleasant and Whitby Hall. It is found
that the principal rooms of pretentious mansions, such as the hall,
parlor and reception room at Stenton, were sometimes entirely paneled
up on all sides. About this time, however, hand-blocked wall paper began
to be brought to America, and a favorite treatment of Colonial
interiors, including halls, parlors, dining rooms and even the principal
bedrooms of large houses, combined a cornice, or often a cornice and
frieze, and sometimes a complete entablature, with a paneled wainscot or
a flat dado with surbase and skirting, the wall between being papered.
Sometimes a dado effect was secured by means of a surbase above the
skirting, the plaster space between being left white as in the parlor at
Cliveden or in the hall and dining room at Whitby Hall, or papered like
the wall above, as in the parlor at Whitby Hall and in some of the
chambers at Upsala. Later the skirting only was frequently employed with
a simple cornice or picture mold, even in the principal rooms of the
better houses, as in the dining room at Whitby Hall. Several
accompanying illustrations show it with the dado, while a few interiors
of Mount Pleasant, Upsala and Cliveden show it with the paneled
wainscot. This general scheme constitutes a pleasing and consistent
application of the classic orders to interior walls, the dado, the wall
above it and whatever portion of the entablature happens to be employed
corresponding to the pedestal, shaft and entablature of the complete
order respectively. In a room so treated the dado becomes virtually a
continuous pedestal with a base or skirting and a surbase above the die
or plane face of the pedestal. Usually this surbase is molded to
resemble the upper fascia or the complete architrave of the various
orders. Again it may be hand-carved with vertical flutings, continuous,
as in the parlor at Upsala, or in groups of three or more in alternation
with an incised flower pattern, as in the Rex house.
For the most part the surmounting cornice and frieze of the room was of
wood, beautifully molded and often hand-carved, the architrave usually
being omitted. In the library at Solitude, however, is to be seen a
handsome cornice and frieze entirely of plaster or composition work in
the Adam manner, including familiar classic detail in which enriched
cavetto and ogee moldings, festoons, flower ornaments and draped human
figures are prominent. When chandeliers for candles began to be used in
private houses they were hung from ornamental centerpieces of plaster on
the ceiling, the motives usually being circles, ovals, festooned
garlands and acanthus leaves. Such a centerpiece and ornamental
treatment of the ceiling is also a feature of this room.
In most of the better houses during the Provincial period, important
rooms had paneled wainscots, papered walls and molded cornices, as in
the parlor and second-story hall at Mount Pleasant and in the parlor at
Upsala. Sometimes the plaster walls were left white or painted, as in
the hall at Cliveden and the library at Stenton. A fireplace with
paneled chimney piece was an important feature of most rooms, and the
entire wall including it was often completely paneled up, closely
relating the fireplace, doors or windows in a definite architectural
scheme, as already shown by examples in Stenton, Whitby Hall and Mount
Pleasant. Embrasured windows with two-part paneled folding shutters and
seats jutting somewhat into the room were customary in early brick and
stone houses, as at Stenton. These were fastened by bars of wood thrust
across from side to side and fitting into slots in the jambs. Later,
outside shutters came into vogue, and the jambs and soffit of the
embrasures were paneled, as at Whitby Hall, the treatment of the
Palladian window on the staircase landing in this house being an
especially fine example.
The parlor at Stenton is among the most notable instances in
Philadelphia of this architectural treatment of the fireplace in a room
with wood paneling throughout. Along Georgian lines and decidedly
substantial in character, it is essentially simple in conception and
graceful in form and proportion, the spacing of the large bolection
molded raised panels being excellent. First attention properly goes to
the wide chimney piece with its unusual, but attractive overmantel
paneling, low arched and marble-faced fireplace opening, beautiful brass
fender and andirons. The symmetrical arrangement of two flanking china
closets, with round-headed double doors recalling those shown at Whitby
Hall and Mount Pleasant, is most effective. The work is executed in a
masterly manner, the proportions being well calculated and the precision
of the hand tooling remarkably well maintained. Both the doors and
embrasured windows of this room merit careful study.
Of more modest, but generally similar treatment, is the paneling of the
reception room at Stenton, the fireplace opening here having been closed
for installation of a Franklin stove.
At Whitby Hall there are two interesting and characteristic examples of
embrasured windows with paneled jambs and soffits, and molded architrave
casings. In the dining room the embrasures are cased down to the window
seats, while in the parlor the casings with their broader sections at
top and bottom do not extend below the surbase, although the embrasure
continues to the floor. In this latter room one of the Colonial
builder's favorite motives, ever recurring with minor variations
throughout many houses, occupies the string course of the cornice. This
double denticulated member or Grecian fret band is formed by vertical
cross cuttings, alternately from top and bottom of a square molding, the
plain ogee molding beneath giving it just the proper emphasis.
Conforming to the characteristic panel arrangement of the time, most of
the inside doors of Philadelphia have six panels, the upper pair being
not quite square and the two lower pairs being oblong, the middle pair
being longer than the lower. Like outside doors they were for the most
part molded and raised with broad bevels, although occasionally, as on
the second floor at Mount Pleasant, they were flat and bolection molded,
giving the door a considerably different aspect. Generally speaking, the
workmanship was excellent, the beveling of the panels and the molding of
the stiles and rails manifesting the utmost painstaking. A simple knob
and key-plate, usually of brass, completed the complement of hardware,
apart from the H hinges of early years and the butts which soon
followed. It will be noted that all of these six-panel doors have stiles
and muntins of virtually equal width, any variation being slightly wider
stiles. Top and frieze rails are alike and about the same width as the
muntin, but the bottom rail is somewhat broader and the lock rail the
broadest of the four. Moldings are very simple and confined to the edge
of the panels, with the splayed or beveled panels of earlier years
gradually being abandoned in favor of plain, flat surfaces.
[Illustration: PLATE LXXXIV.--Interior Detail of Main Entrance, Congress
Hall; President's Dais, Senate Chamber, Congress Hall.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXXV.--Gallery, Senate Chamber, Congress Hall.]
Architrave casings were the rule, sometimes extending to the floor and
often standing on heavy, square plinth blocks the height of the
skirting beneath its molding. There are instances of both types at
Mount Pleasant and Whitby Hall. The thickness of the walls in houses of
brick and stone encouraged the custom of paneling the jambs and soffit
of doorway openings to correspond with the paneling of the doors, the
effect being rich and very pleasing. Generally the architrave casing was
miter-joined across the lintel, as at Upsala, but in many of the better
houses this horizontal part of the casing was given an overhang of an
inch or two to form the doorhead. How pleasing this simple device was,
especially when a rosette of stucco was applied to each jog of the
casing, is well exemplified by the doors on the first floor at Whitby
Hall. Very similar door trim without the rosette is to be seen at
Cliveden and in numerous other houses.
At Mount Pleasant, and in several of the more pretentious old Colonial
mansions of Philadelphia, this type of door trim was elaborated by a
surmounting frieze and heavy pediment above the architrave casing. The
first floor hall at Mount Pleasant presents the interesting combination
of a pulvinated Ionic pediment with a mutulary Doric cornice and frieze
about the ceiling. Here one notices the flat dado and doors with raised
and molded panels as contrasted with the paneled wainscot and
bolection-molded, flat-paneled doors of the second-story hall. In this
latter, also, some of the pediments are complete, others broken,
illustrating another whim of the early American builders. Here the
cornice is also Ionic with jig-sawed modillions, and the ensemble is
generally more pleasing. In proportion and precision of workmanship this
woodwork is hardly excelled in Philadelphia. The simple, carefully
wrought dentil course of the doorheads lends a refining influence and
pleasing sense of scale that seems to lighten the design very
materially.
Philadelphia has no handsomer example of the enriched pedimental
doorhead than the interior treatment of the entrance doorway of the
Blackwell house, Number 224 Pine Street. Above the horizontal overhang
of the architrave casing across the lintel two beautifully carved
consoles, the width of the frieze in height, support a cornice which is
the base of a broken pediment. The familiar Grecian band or double
denticulated molding in the string course gives character to the
cornice, while an attractive leaf decoration in applied composition
adorns the recessed frieze panel. Projections of the cornice above the
consoles lend an added touch of refinement. This elaboration of the
white wood trim is further emphasized by the dark red-brown painting of
the door to simulate old mahogany, which became a frequent feature of
the houses of this period.
Round-headed doorways here and there, not only at the front entrance,
but elsewhere, as in the hall at Hope Lodge, provided a welcome
variation from the customary square-headed types and have been a
pleasing feature of Colonial interiors since early times. As framing the
glazed doorways of china closets already referred to, they were a
charming feature of the interior wood finish. At the front entrance the
round-headed doorway was utilized to provide an ornamental yet practical
fanlight transom over the door which admitted considerable light to
brighten the hall. As contrasted with this more graceful arrangement,
the broad front entrance to Whitby Hall, with its severely plain
unmolded four-panel double doors and wrought-iron strap hinges, bolts,
latch and great rim lock, is of quaint interest. The accompanying
photograph shows well the dado effect secured by a surbase and skirting,
and one notes with interest the cornice with its prominent modillions
and the heavy plinth blocks on which the architrave casings of the doors
stand.
Round-headed windows were employed for landing windows in stair halls,
as at Whitby Hall, and in the central part of the Palladian windows over
entrances, as at Mount Pleasant, where they became decorative interior
features of the front end of the second-floor halls.
Elliptical-headed openings are rare in Philadelphia, and in most
instances were arches across the main hall, as at Hope Lodge. Sometimes
they framed the staircase vista at the head or foot of the flight,
where they became one of the most charming features of the best Colonial
interiors.
The illustrations of interiors at Stenton accompanying this chapter,
serve, as might many others, to show that white-painted interior
woodwork, although one of the greatest charms of the Colonial house,
finds its principal mission in providing the only architectural
background that sets off satisfactorily the warmth of color and grace of
line possessed by eighteenth-century furniture in mahogany and other
dark woods. Bright and cheerful, chaste and beautiful, it emphasizes the
beauties of everything before it, yet seldom forces itself into undue
prominence. It is a scheme of interior treatment which has stood the
test of time and indicates what excellent taste the Colonial builders
manifested in resorting to its subtle influence to display their rare
pieces of furniture brought from England and the Continent.
The admirable work of Philadelphia joiners indicates conclusively the
many possibilities of white-painted soft woods. Unlike hardwood finish,
the natural grain of the wood is concealed by painting, so that broad
flat surfaces and simple moldings would be monotonous. Beauty of form is
therefore substituted for the beauty of wood grain. Classic motives and
detail are brought to bear upon the interior woodwork in such a manner
as to delight the eye, yet not to detract unduly from the furnishings
of the room. And the charm of much of the resulting woodwork indicates
an early realization by American craftsmen of the fact that a nice
balance between plain surface and decoration is as important as the
decoration itself. It was by their facility in the design and execution
of this woodwork that skilled wood-carvers were able to impart that
lightness, grace and ingenuity of adaptation to which the Colonial style
chiefly owes its charm.
CHAPTER XII
PUBLIC BUILDINGS
As in its domestic architecture of Colonial times, Philadelphia is so
rich in its fine old public buildings that a readable and instructive
book could be made about them alone. Intended for religious, political
and commercial purposes, erected from one to two centuries ago and
ranging from the frugal simplicity of the Mennonite Meeting House in
Germantown to the stately beauty of Independence Hall, these noble
edifices of bygone days were the scenes of momentous events in the most
glorious and troublous period of the world's first republic. Their
histories are inspiring and likewise their architecture. Exigencies of
space in a book of this sort render it impossible to include all worthy
examples, but an effort has been made to present a representative
collection that does justice to the annals and building genius of this
remarkable city.
[Illustration: PLATE LXXXVI.--Carpenter's Hall, off Chestnut Street,
between South Third and South Fourth Streets. Erected in 1770; Old
Market House, Second and Pine Streets.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXXVII.--Main Building, Pennsylvania Hospital.
Erected in 1755.]
Probably the most famous historical monument in the United States is
Independence Hall, on Chestnut Street between Fifth and Sixth streets.
Here the American nation really came into being and began to
function, and here come thousands of visitors annually to view in awed
admiration the greatest patriotic shrine of a free people. The building,
designed by Andrew Hamilton, speaker of the Assembly, and built under
his direction for the State House, was used for that purpose until 1799.
The foundations were laid in 1731, and the main building was ready for
occupancy in 1735, although the wings and steeple were not completed
until 1751. The steeple was taken down in 1781, but was restored to its
original condition by William Strickland in 1828, and further
restorations of the building to its original condition were effected
later by the city government. The east, or "Declaration" chamber, still
appears substantially as it did when that famous document was signed,
but the restoration of certain other rooms has been less satisfactory.
The building has been set apart by the city, which purchased it from the
State in 1816, as a museum of historical relics, and during the past
century has been used by various public offices and societies.
Many famous buildings of Colonial times were the work of amateur
architects, but this is without exception the finest contemporary
administrative building in America; a noble building rich in glorious
memories; nobler even than the Bulfinch State House at Boston or the
Maryland State House at Annapolis. It is an enduring monument to
Hamilton's versatility, showing that with his genius he might have won
distinction as an architect no less than as a barrister. His sense of
design, mass and proportion, his appreciation of the relative value and
most effective uses of classic detail and his ability to harmonize the
exigencies of the floor plan with attractive appearance were second to
those of no professional architect of his time.
Independence Hall is a stately structure of exceptionally well-balanced
symmetrical arrangement, beautiful alike in its general mass and
minutest details, and presenting a delightful appearance from whatever
viewpoint it is seen,--dignified, spacious and picturesque, a building
that seems to typify the serenity of mind and steadfastness of purpose
of those sturdy patriots who made it famous.
The structure comprises three parts; a large central building with
hip-roofed wings for offices connected with the main building by open
arcaded loggias. The present wings are restorations. Beyond the wings
are two buildings erected after the close of the Revolution, but forming
part of the group. That at the corner of Fifth and Chestnut streets was
erected as the Philadelphia County Court House, while that at the corner
of Sixth and Chestnut streets was the City Hall.
The entire group is of characteristic Philadelphia brick construction,
delightfully mellowed by age, with marble and white-painted wood trim.
The main building is two stories high with a decked gable roof, heavily
balustraded between large, arched quadruple chimney stacks at each end,
corners heavily quoined with marble and ends without fenestration other
than a round bull's-eye window in each. Across the one hundred and seven
feet of the Chestnut Street façade there is a range of nine broad, high,
twenty-four-paned windows with flat gauged brick arches and high marble
keystones, the central window being replaced by a simple, very high and
deeply recessed doorway with a broad stone stoop before it. Tying into
the keystones is a horizontal belt of marble across the entire front. A
similar belt is located immediately beneath the window sills of the
second story, and between the two belts and ranging with the windows are
nine oblong marble panels set into the brickwork.
On the Independence Square façade everything is subordinated to the
great square steeple-like clock tower, centrally located, which stands
its entire height outside but adjoining the walls of the main building.
In construction the lower two stories of the tower correspond to those
of the building itself, and the cornice of the latter is effectively
carried around the tower. Above, the tower rises two more stories of
brick with pedimented and pilastered walls in the Ionic order and
surmounted with classic urns and flame motives. Above this level the
construction of the clock tower is of white-painted wood, one story
with Corinthian pilasters and another balustraded, rising in four-sided
diminutions to the octagonal, open arched belfry and superstructure,
above which is a tapering pinnacle and gilt weathervane. It is a tower
of grace, dignity and repose, a tower suggestive of ecclesiastical work,
perhaps, yet withal in complete harmony with its situation and purpose.
In the base of this tower is the main entrance, a simple and dignified
pillared doorway in the mutulary Doric order with double four-panel
doors, and a magnificent Palladian window in the Ionic order above, to
which reference was made in a previous chapter. Thus three distinct
orders of architecture are used in this tower alone, presenting another
instance of the great freedom with which early American architects
utilized their favorite motives.
Entering this doorway one comes into a great, square, lofty, brick-paved
hall in the base of the tower where now reposes the Liberty Bell at the
foot of what has often been called the finest staircase in America. And
where, indeed, is to be found a more splendid combination of nicely
worked white wood trim with touches of mahogany and dark green stairs?
Done in the Ionic order, with a heavy cornice having carved modillions
and a prominent dentil course, deeply embrasured windows with paneled
jambs and broad sills supported by beautifully hand-tooled consoles, and
a nicely spaced paneled wainscot, this entrance is a fitting frame for
the broad winding staircase. Rising ramp after ramp by broad treads and
low risers, it leads first to a broad landing in front lighted by the
Palladian window over the entrance, and thence upward and around to a
gallery across the opposite wall, where a broad double doorway with
delightful fanlight above leads into the main hall of the second floor.
To the right a narrow staircase rises to the belfry. The classic
balustrade, with its mahogany-capped rail and simple landing newels is
heavy but well proportioned; the paneled wainscot along the wall follows
the contour of the ramped rail opposite, and the under side of the
landings, gallery and upper runs are nicely paneled. Elaborately carved
scroll brackets adorn the stair ends, and a harmonious floreated volute
spiral band runs along the edge of the gallery; while the pilaster
casings of the upper doorway and of the Palladian window are enriched
with straight hanging garlands. At the foot of the staircase the newel
treatment takes the scroll form of the Ionic volute, the rail and
balusters on the circular end of the broad lower step winding around a
central column like the landing newels.
Hanging from its original beam, but within an ornamental frame erected
in the center of this staircase hall, is the best-known relic of the
building, the famous Liberty Bell, which is supposed, without adequate
evidence, to have been the first bell to announce the adoption of the
Declaration of Independence. It was cast in England early in 1752 and
bears the following inscription: "By order of the Assembly of the
Province of Pennsylvania for the State House in Philadelphia, 1752", and
underneath: "Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the
inhabitants thereof, Lev. XXV, V, X." In August, 1752, the bell was
received in Philadelphia, but was cracked by a stroke of the clapper the
following month. It was recast, but the work being unsatisfactory, it
was again recast with more copper, in Philadelphia during May, 1753, and
in June was hung in the State House steeple, where it remained until
taken to Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1777, to prevent it from falling
into the hands of the British. In 1781 the bell was lowered and the
steeple removed. In 1828 a new steeple was erected, and a new bell put
in place, the Liberty Bell being given a place in an upper story of the
tower to be rung only on occasions of great importance. On July 8, 1835,
it suddenly cracked again while being tolled in memory of Chief Justice
John Marshall, and on February 22, 1843, this crack was so increased as
nearly to destroy its sound. In 1864 it was placed in the east or
Declaration room, but in 1876, the Centennial year, it was again hung in
the tower by a chain of thirteen links. From the time of its second
recasting in 1753, until it lost its sound in 1843, the Liberty Bell
was sounded on all important occasions, both grave and gay. It convened
town meetings and the Assembly, proclaimed the national anniversary,
ushered in the new year, welcomed distinguished men, tolled for the
honored dead, and on several occasions was muffled and tolled as an
expression of public disapproval of various acts of British tyranny.
Passing through a high, round-headed arch with paneled jambs and soffit
one enters the central hall, a magnificent apartment in the mutulary
Doric order, extending through the building to the Chestnut Street
entrance. Fluted columns standing on a high, broad pedestal which runs
about the walls like a wainscot, support a heavy complete entablature
enriched with beautifully hand-carved moldings, notably an egg and dart
ovolo between cornice and frieze and foliated moldings about the mutules
and the panels of the soffit and metopes. It is a hall of charming
vistas in a noble architectural frame,--straight ahead to the Chestnut
Street entrance; back through the great single arch to the staircase; to
the left through an arcade of three pilastered arches into the west or
Supreme Court chamber; to the right through a broad, double doorway into
the east or "Declaration" room, the original Assembly chamber.
The treatment of the latter wall of the hall is most elaborate. Three
cased arches correspond to the open arches opposite. On the wall within
the two end ones are handsome, pedimental-topped, inscribed tablets,
while in the middle one is located the doorway with an ornate, broken,
pedimental doorhead taking the form of a swag.
Like the hall, the Supreme Court chamber is Doric with fluted pilasters
instead of engaged columns, and walls entirely paneled up. There are
three windows at each end and two back of the judge's bench with its
paneled platform and rail, and balustraded staircases at each end. In
this room the convention to form a new constitution for Pennsylvania met
July 15, 1776, and unanimously approved the Declaration of Independence,
and pledged the support of the State. Delegates to Congress were elected
who were signers of the Declaration. In this room now stands the statue
of Washington carved out of a single block of wood by Colonel William
Rush, after Stuart.
Across the hall is the Declaration chamber, forty feet and two inches
long, thirty-nine feet and six inches wide and nineteen feet and eight
inches high. As in size, its architecture is substantially the same as
the chamber opposite, and like it the two corners near the hall are
rounding. Also it is of spacious appearance, light, beautiful and
cheerful, a room to inspire noble deeds. Instead of the high judge's
bench at the side opposite the entrance, there is a relatively small
platform or dais of two steps on which stands the presiding officer's
desk in front of a large, elaborate, pedimental-topped frame with
exquisitely enriched carved moldings, within which is a smaller frame
containing a facsimile of the Declaration of Independence. To either
side, between fluted pilasters, are segmental arched fireplaces with
heavy mantel shelves above, supported by carved consoles, while beyond
these are single doors with pedimental heads. Otherwise the room is
substantially like that across the hall. They are regarded as the best
of the restored rooms of the building, and of the two the courtroom is
perhaps rather the better in its greater simplicity.
In the east or so-called Declaration chamber, the second Continental
Congress met May 10, 1775; George Washington was chosen commander in
chief of the Continental Army June 15, 1775; and the Declaration of
Independence was adopted July 4, 1776. The American officers taken
prisoners at the Battle of Brandywine, September 11, and of Germantown,
October 4, 1777, were held here as prisoners of war, and on July 9,
1778, the Articles of Confederation and perpetual union between the
States were signed here by representatives of eight States. The room
contains much of the furniture of those days. The table and high-backed
Chippendale chair of mahogany used by the presidents of the Continental
Congress and occupied by John Hancock at the signing still remain, and
on the table is to be seen the silver ink-stand with its quill box and
sand shaker, in which the delegates dipped their pens in autographing
the famous document. There are also fourteen of the original chairs used
by delegates. On the walls hang portraits of forty-five of the fifty-six
signers, also a portrait of Washington by Rembrandt Peale.
In fact, the collection of portraits is largely based on canvases
secured from the famous Peale Museum which at one time occupied the
upper floors of the building. There are also valuable paintings by
Benjamin West, Gilbert Stuart, Edgar Pine, Thomas Sully and Allan
Ramsay. The bronze statue of Washington standing in front of
Independence Hall on Chestnut Street is a replica of the original one in
white marble by Bailey, which was removed on account of its
disintegration. Forty-five crayons and pastels by John Sharpless,
purchased by the city in 1876, form a notable collection estimated to be
worth half a million dollars. What is supposed to be the earliest
exhibition of paintings ever held in America was that of Robert Edge
Pine, which occurred in Independence Hall in 1784.
[Illustration: PLATE LXXXVIII.--Main Hall and Double Staircase,
Pennsylvania Hospital.]
[Illustration: PLATE LXXXIX.--Custom House, Fifth and Chestnut Streets.
Completed in 1824; Main Building, Girard College. Begun in 1833.]
On the second floor the principal room is a great banqueting hall
extending across the entire building on the Chestnut Street side with
its range of nine windows and having a fireplace at each end. There are
smaller rooms on each side of the broad entrance corridor; its wide,
flat arch has four fluted columns supporting a heavy pedimental head
with elliptical fanlight. Architecturally the restoration of the second
floor is less happy than that of the first. It is not in the spirit of
the work below; nor does it accord with typical Colonial work of
pre-Revolutionary days. It lacks that simple, straight-forward dignity
of design; that fine sense of proportion; that refinement and
appropriateness of detail. The spacing of the paneling of both the
wainscot and the fireplace mantels is not characteristic; the detail of
the latter is poorly chosen and assembled, and the whole aspect,
especially the entrance arch, suggests a studied effort to achieve
picturesque effect.
On the northwest corner of Independence Square, which is the southeast
corner of Sixth and Chestnut streets, is old Congress Hall, erected in
1787, in which Congress sat from 1790 to 1800, and in which Washington
was inaugurated in 1793 for a second term with Adams as vice-president,
and in which Adams, in 1797, was inaugurated president with Jefferson as
vice-president.
Here Washington presented his famous message concerning Jay's treaty
with England; here, toward the close of his second administration, he
pronounced his farewell address, which is still regarded as a model of
dignity and farsightedness. Here, too, was officially announced the
death of Washington, when John Marshall offered a resolution that a
joint committee of the House and Senate consider "the most suitable
manner of paying honor to the memory of the man first in war, first in
peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen", thus originating a
phrase never to be forgotten in America. For some years after 1800 the
building was occupied by the criminal courts, now located in the City
Hall.
Were it not so near the more pretentious Independence Hall, this demure
little building would receive much more attention, for it is
architecturally a gem of the Colonial period, and such of its interior
woodwork as has been restored has been more happily treated than is
often the case. It is an oblong structure of brick, with marble and
white wood trim, two stories high, hip-roofed and surmounted in the
center by a well-proportioned, octagonal open cupola. On the front a
pediment springs from the cornice over a slightly projecting central
section of the façade, while a three-sided bay breaks the rear wall and
enlarges the building. The stoop and doorway are of simple dignity, the
double doors having the appearance of being four separate, very narrow
four-panel doors, and the graceful fanlight above being in accord with
the round-headed windows of the lower story. These windows are set
effectively in brick arches with marble sills, keystones and imposts. On
the upper story the windows are twenty-four-paned and square-headed
with gauged brick arches and marble keystones. Under the central front
window over the entrance there is a handsome wrought-iron fire balcony.
The best exterior feature of the building is the beautifully hand-tooled
cornice with its coved member having a series of recessed arches and the
well-known Grecian band or double denticulated molding beneath. At the
second-floor level a white marble belt accords well with the general
scheme.
No less interesting than the outward appearance of the entrance is its
inward aspect, with its deeply paneled embrasures and soffit, its quaint
strap hinges and rim lock. The arrangement of the double staircases with
a halfway landing in this lofty, airy stair hall compels admiration for
effective simplicity. The stair ends are unadorned, but the spaces under
the lower run of both flights are nicely paneled up. The balusters are
of good, though familiar pattern, and the lines of the dark ramped rail
gracefully drawn.
Interest centers in the Senate chamber with its barrel ceiling and
panel-fronted galleries along both sides supported by slender round
columns. Here momentous business was transacted during the early years
of the American nation, and many relics of those troublous times are
here preserved. In the bay at the rear end the President's dais has
been restored from remains found beneath an old platform. It is of
graceful design with free-flowing curves and an elliptical swell front
where the balustrade has a solid three-panel insert. The turned
balusters are of slender grace, while the paneled pilasters or newels at
the ends and corners are adorned with straight hanging garlands in
applied work. There is also a festooned border in applied work above the
opening into the bay that is carried about the room above the galleries.
The central decoration of the ceiling and the eagle over the President's
dais furnish excellent examples of eighteenth-century frescoes.
A short distance east of Independence Square, in a narrow court off
Chestnut Street, between South Third and South Fourth streets, hedged
about by high modern office buildings that dwarf its size, is
Carpenters' Hall, in which the first Continental Congress assembled,
September 5, 1774, and in which the National Convention, in 1787, framed
the present Constitution of the United States. The building was also the
headquarters of the Pennsylvania Committee of Correspondence; the
basement was used as a magazine for ammunition during the Revolution,
and from 1791 to 1797 the whole of it was occupied by the first United
States Bank.
[Illustration: PLATE XC.--Old Stock Exchange, Walnut and Dock Streets;
Girard National Bank, 116 South Third Street.]
[Illustration: PLATE XCI.--Christ Church, North Second Street near
Market Street. Erected in 1727-44; Old Swedes' Church, Swanson and
Christian Streets. Erected in 1698-1700.]
The Carpenters' Company, established in 1724, was patterned after the
Worshipful Company of Carpenters of London, which dates back to 1477,
and the early organization of such a guild in America indicates the
large number and high character of the Colonial builders of Philadelphia
and explains the excellence of the architecture in this neighborhood.
The present building was begun in 1770, but was not completed until
1792, so that throughout the Revolutionary period it was used in a
partly finished condition. Since 1857 it has been preserved wholly for
its historic associations. Here was conceived that liberty which had its
birth in Independence Hall, so that its claim to fame is second only to
the latter. Like it, too, there are many interesting relics of those
glorious days to be seen within. An inscription on a tablet outside very
properly reads, "Within these walls, Henry, Hancock, and Adams inspired
the delegates of the Colonies with nerve and sinew for the toils of
war."
The building is in the form of a Greek cross with four projecting gable
ends and an octagonal cupola of graceful design and proportions at the
center of the roof. It is of characteristic Philadelphia brickwork, with
handsomely cased twenty-four-paned windows shuttered on the lower floor.
The entrance façade, with its broad, high stoop and pedimental doorway,
double doors and fanlight above; its pleasing fenestration, especially
the round-headed, Palladian windows of the second floor, above
balustrade sections resting on a horizontal belt of white at the
second-floor level, and its pediment with a handsome hand-tooled cornice
in which an always pleasing Grecian band is prominent, does credit to
its design, and altogether the structure was worthy of its purpose.
Within, the meeting room is of surprisingly generous size, considering
the small impression given by the exterior aspect of the building. The
restored woodwork is unfortunate, yet the general effect of bygone years
remains.
For two centuries Philadelphia has been justly famous for its public
markets, numerous and readily accessible to the entire community.
Marketing has ever been one of the duties of the thrifty housewife, to
which Philadelphia women have given particular attention, and everything
possible has been done to make the task easy and satisfactory to them.
When the city was first laid out its few wide streets, with the
exception of Broad Street, were laid out for the convenience of markets,
which in those days were placed in their center. A few of these old-time
markets still remain, notably that at Second and Pine streets, its
market house or central building of quaintly interesting design
embracing features such as the octagonal cupola, marble lintels, sills
and belt, and the elliptical and semicircular fanlights which are
typically Colonial.
To Benjamin Franklin, Philadelphia is largely indebted for the
Pennsylvania Hospital fronting on Pine Street between South Eighth and
South Ninth streets, the first hospital in the United States, which was
projected in 1751, erected in 1755 and still continues to be the
foremost of some one hundred institutions in the city. The main building
was designed by Samuel Rhodes, mayor of Philadelphia, and in
architectural excellence is regarded as second only to Independence
Hall.
Individuals gave funds freely for its erection; the British Parliament
turned over to it some funds unclaimed by a land company; Bishop
Whitefield gave a considerable sum; Benjamin West painted a replica of
his famous work, "Christ Healing the Sick", now in the entrance hall,
which was exhibited and earned four thousand pounds sterling in
admissions; some players gave "Hamlet" for the benefit of the hospital,
and money was raised in numerous other ways.
The building is a large and beautiful one of noble appearance, three
stories high, having long, balanced wings two and a half stories high,
with dormers and an octagon tower over the cross wings at each end. The
total frontage is some two hundred and seventy-five feet. It is of
reddish-brown brick, faced on the front of the first story of the main
building with gray marble, and pierced by two large round-topped windows
each side of a central doorway with a balustraded stoop and handsome
semicircular fanlight and side lights. Above, six Corinthian pilasters
support a beautifully detailed entablature at the eaves, from which
springs a pediment with ornamental oval window. Surmounting the hip roof
is a square superstructure of wood, paneled and painted white, above
which is a low octagonal belvedere platform with a huge, round
balustrade. Brick walls and an ornamental wistaria-clad iron fence
surround the grounds, and no visitor has entered the central gate since
La Fayette.
Within the building there is much splendid interior wood finish. Its
best feature, however, is the high, broad hall, with fluted Ionic
columns supporting a mutulary Doric entablature, leading back to a
double winding staircase, which is a marvelous work of art, combining
the simplicity and purity as well as the beauty of the middle Georgian
period. There are two landings on each flight, and from the spiral
newels at the bottom the balustrades with ramped rails and heavy, turned
balusters swing upward, as do the staircases, to the third floor. One
notes with interest the unusual outline of the brackets under the
overhang of the stair treads.
A few important public buildings of Philadelphia that were not erected
until early in the nineteenth century had their inception directly or
indirectly in the outgrowth of the War of Independence, and their
omission would render any treatise of the public buildings of the city
noticeably incomplete. Their inclusion here finds still further
justification in the fact that they are of classic architecture and so
to a degree in accord with Colonial traditions.
The Custom House, a classic stone structure, on the south side of
Chestnut Street between Fourth and Fifth streets, was built for the
second United States Bank, authorized by Congress in April, 1816,
because of the bad financial condition into which the government had
fallen during the War of 1812. The building was designed by William
Strickland, in his day the leading American architect, being modeled
after the Parthenon of Athens. It was completed in 1824 and was put to
its present use in 1845.
The main building of Girard College on Girard Avenue between North 19th
and North 25th streets, of which Thomas Ustick Walter, a pupil of
Strickland's, was the architect, is one of the finest specimens of pure
Greek architecture in America. Indeed, this imposing Corinthian
structure of stone has been called "the most perfect Greek temple in
existence." Work upon it was begun in 1833, and the college was opened
January 1, 1848. To a sarcophagus in this main building were removed the
remains of Stephen Girard in 1851. The building is 111 feet wide and 169
feet long, and is surrounded by thirty-four fluted columns fifty-six
feet high and seven feet in diameter at the base, which cost thirteen
thousand dollars each. The total height of the building is ninety-seven
feet, and it is arched throughout with brick and stone, and roofed with
marble tiles. The weight of the roof is estimated at nearly one thousand
tons.
The old Stock Exchange at Third and Walnut and Dock streets, facing a
broad open space once an old-time market, is also the work of William
Strickland, who likewise designed St. Paul's Church, St. Stephen's
Church, the almshouse and the United States Naval Asylum. It is an
impressive round-fronted classic structure of gray stone in the
Corinthian order, with a semicircular colonnade above the first story
supporting a handsomely executed entablature with conspicuous antefixes
about the cornice. Instead of a central flight of steps leading to a
main entrance, there were two well-designed flights at each side.
Surmounting the whole is a daring, tall, round cupola, its roof
supported by engaged columns and the spaces between pierced by classic
grilles. The structure is notable throughout for excellence in mass and
detail.
[Illustration: PLATE XCII.--St. Peter's Church, South Third and Pine
Streets. Erected in 1761; Lectern, St. Peter's Church.]
[Illustration: PLATE XCIII.--Interior and Chancel, Christ Church;
Interior and Lectern, St. Peter's Church.]
At Number 116 South Third Street stands the oldest banking building in
America, and withal one of the handsomest of such buildings. Erected in
1795 by the first Bank of the United States, this beautiful stone and
brick structure in the Corinthian order, with its fine pedimental
portico bearing in high relief a modification of the seal of the
United States, was owned and occupied by Stephen Girard from 1812 to
1831, and since 1832 by the Girard Bank and the Girard National Bank. It
is one of those classic structures which by reason of nicety in
proportion and precision in detail still compares favorably with the
best modern buildings of the city. The high, fluted columns and
pilasters with their nicely wrought capitals lend an imposing nobility
that immediately arrests attention, while the refinement of detail
throughout well repays careful scrutiny. In this latter respect its best
features are the cornice with its beautifully enriched moldings and
modillions, the balustrade above, the window heads supported by
hand-tooled consoles and the insert panels under the portico.
The first Bank of the United States was incorporated in 1791 with a
capital of ten million dollars. It was the first national bank of issue
essential to the system of banking built up by Alexander Hamilton in
organizing the finances of the Federal Government under the constitution
of 1789. It issued circulating notes, discounted commercial paper and
aided the government in its financial operations. Although the
government subscribed one-fifth of the capital, it was paid for by a
roundabout process which actually resulted in the loan of the amount by
the bank to the treasury. Other loans were made by the bank to the
government, until by the end of 1795 its obligations had reached
$6,200,000. In order to meet these obligations, the government
gradually disposed of its bank stock and by 1802 had sold its entire
holdings at a profit of $671,860. A statement submitted to Congress
January 24, 1811, by Albert Gallatin, then Secretary of the Treasury,
showed resources of $24,183,046, of which $14,578,294 was in loans and
discounts, $2,750,000 in United States stock and $5,009,567 in specie.
The expiration of the charter of the bank, in 1811, was the occasion for
a party contest which prevented renewal and added greatly to the
financial difficulties of the government during the War of 1812.
Although foreign stockholders were not permitted to vote by proxy, and
the twenty-five directors were required to be citizens of the United
States, the bank was attacked on the ground of foreign ownership, and it
was also claimed that Congress had no constitutional power to create
such an institution.
Thereupon the bank building and the cashier's house in Philadelphia were
purchased at a third of the original cost by Girard, who, in May, 1812,
established the Bank of Stephen Girard and thereafter assisted the
government very materially. He was, in fact, the financier of the War of
1812.
No less interesting than the governmental and commercial public
buildings of Philadelphia are its churches, of which several of noble
architecture date back to the Colonial period.
On North Second Street, just north of Market, is located Christ Church,
Protestant Episcopal, the first diocesan church of Pennsylvania. It is a
fine old building designed mainly by Doctor John Kearsley, a vestryman
and physician. The corner stone was laid in 1727, and the building was
completed in 1744, but the steeple, in part designed by Benjamin
Franklin and containing a famous chime of eight bells, was not erected
until 1754. Franklin was one of the managers of a lottery in 1753 for
raising funds for the steeple and bells, the latter being imported at a
cost of five hundred pounds sterling. On July 4, 1776, after the
Declaration of Independence had been read, these bells "rang out a merry
chime."
This imposing edifice eloquently indicates what architectural triumphs
can be achieved in brickwork in the Colonial style. Apart from the
spire, interest centers in the fenestration, which has already been
treated in Chapter VIII, and in the wood trim. As in much contemporary
architecture, the woodwork is conspicuous for the free use of the
orders. For example, one immediately notes the mutulary Doric cornice
and frieze along the sides, and the pulvinated Ionic entablature across
the chancel gable above the Palladian window. The roof is heavily
balustraded in white-painted wood with the urns on the several pedestals
holding torches with carved flames. A brick belfry rises square and
sturdy above the roof and then continues upward in diminishing
construction of wood, first virtually four-sided, then octagonal and
finally in a low, tapering spire surmounted by a weather-vane. A
distinctive feature is the simple iron fence along the street with two
wrought-iron arched gates, as beautiful as any in America, hung from
high, ball-topped stone posts.
Imposing in its simplicity, the interior is generally Doric in
character, but the Ionic entablatures over the side sections of the
beautiful Palladian chancel window reflect the treatment outside. Fluted
columns standing on high pedestals, with square, Doric entablature
sections above, support graceful, elliptical arches, which separate the
nave from the aisles in which are panel-fronted galleries. The organ
loft over the main entrance is bow-fronted and highly ornate.
[Illustration: PLATE XCIV.--Interior and Chancel, Old Swedes' Church;
St. Paul's Church, South Third Street near Walnut Street.]
[Illustration: PLATE XCV.--Mennonite Meeting House, Germantown. Erected
in 1770; Holy Trinity Church, South Twenty-first and Walnut Streets.]
Certain alterations to the interior were made in 1836, and in 1882 it
was restored to its ancient character, but the high old-fashioned
wineglass pulpit of 1770 remains, as does the font. A silver bowl,
weighing more than five pounds, presented in 1712 by Colonel Quarry of
the British Army, is still in use, while a set of communion plate
presented by Queen Anne in 1708 is brought forth on special occasions.
The brass chandelier for candles has hung in its central position since
1749. Bishop White officiated as rector during Revolutionary days,
and his body lies under the altar. Many well-known figures of American
history worshiped here, both Washington and Franklin maintaining pews
which are still preserved. That in which Washington sat was placed in
Independence Hall in 1836.
In the churchyard adjoining are buried a number of noted patriots,
including Benjamin Franklin, Robert Morris, the financier of the
Revolution, James Wilson, the first justice of the State and a signer of
the Declaration and Constitution, Brigadier General John Forbes, John
Penn, Peyton Randolph, Francis Hopkinson, Doctor Benjamin Rush, Generals
Lambert, Cadwalader, Charles Lee and Jacob Morgan of the Continental
Army, and Commodores Truxton, Bainbridge and Dale of the Navy.
In the southeast part of the city, at Swanson and Christian streets,
just east of Front Street, is located the ivy-clad Old Swedes' Church,
one of the most venerable buildings in America. It stands on the site of
a blockhouse erected by the Swedish settlers in 1677. The present
structure of brick was begun in 1698 and finished two years later. For
one hundred and forty-three years it remained a worshiping place of the
Swedish Lutherans, and for one hundred and thirty years it was in charge
of ministers sent over from Sweden. The baptismal font is the original
one brought from Sweden, and the communion service has been in use since
1773. In the adjoining churchyard the oldest tombstone bearing a
legible epitaph is dated 1708. Here Alexander Wilson, the celebrated
naturalist, was buried at his own request, saying that the "birds would
be apt to come and sing over my grave."
Although generally Colonial in external appearance, and frankly so in
the detail of its wood trim, the arrangement of the structure and its
proportions, especially the peaked gable over the entrance and the
small, low and square wooden belfry, give it a somewhat foreign aspect
which is by no means surprising in the circumstances. Indeed, it may be
said to have decided Norse suggestion. The interior, with its severely
simple galleries, straight-backed wooden pews and high pulpit under the
chancel window, has that quaintness to be seen in the earliest country
churches of America. Two big-eyed, winged cherubim on the organ loft are
interesting examples of early Swedish wood carving probably taken from
an old Swedish ship.
St. Peter's at South Third and Pine streets, the second Protestant
Episcopal Church in the city, was an offshoot of Christ Church, and for
many years both were under the same rectorship. Washington, during his
various sojourns in Philadelphia, attended sometimes one and again the
other, and Pew Number 41 in St. Peter's is pointed out as his. The
building was erected in 1761 and still retains its Colonial
characteristics.
It is a brick structure two and a half stories in height, having
pedimental ends and corners quoined with stone. The fenestration with
many round-headed windows is excellent and has already been alluded to
in Chapter VIII. At one end a massive, square, vine-clad belfry tower of
brick rises to a height of six stories, above which there is a tall,
slender wooden spire surmounted by a ball and cross.
Within are the original square box pews with doors, and seats facing
both ways, those of the galleries being similarly arranged. The whole
aspect is one of great plainness and simple dignity, yet withal
pleasing. A unique feature is the location of the organ and altar at the
eastern end and the reading desk and lofty wineglass pulpit, with
sounding board overhead, at the western end. This compels the rector to
conduct part of the service at each end of the church and obliges the
congregation to change to the other seat of the pews in order to face in
the opposite direction. In the adjoining churchyard are buried many
distinguished early residents of the city, including Commodore Stephen
Decatur.
Trinity Church, Oxford, stands on the site of a log meetinghouse where
Church of England services were held as early as 1698. The present brick
structure was erected in 1711. Standing among fine old trees in the
midst of a picturesque churchyard, it has an appearance rather English
than American. The detail of the wood trim is obviously Colonial,
however, and the brickwork corresponds to the best in Philadelphia. The
influence of Flemish brickwork is seen in the large diamond patterns
each side of the semicircular marble inscription tablet above the
principal doorway.
St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church, South Third and Walnut streets,
was designed by William Strickland and built some years later than St.
Peter's. The exterior remains the same, but the interior has been
considerably altered. It is a simple gable-roof structure of plastered
rubble masonry, and its façade with broad pilasters, handsome
round-topped windows and simple doorway is heavily vine-clad. A handsome
fence with highly ornamental wrought-iron gates and large ball-topped
posts lends a touch of added refinement to the picture. Edwin Forrest,
the eminent American actor, is buried in one of the vaults of the
church.
Although the Friends were the first sect to erect a meetinghouse of
their own in Germantown, about 1693, the Mennonites built a log
meetinghouse in 1709, the first of this sect in America, and their
present stone church on Germantown Avenue, near Herman Street, in 1770,
a modest one-story gable-roof structure of ledge stone. It would be
impossible to conceive anything simpler than the tall, narrow, double
doors with the little hood above a stone stoop with plain, iron handrail
on one side. In the churchyard in front of it lie the remains of the man
who shot and mortally wounded General Agnew during the Battle of
Germantown.
INDEX
Abacus, 109, 112
Acanthus leaf, 81, 164
Adam, mantels, 92, 179, 183;
design, in American building, 166;
cornice and frieze, 187
Agnew, General, 63
Allen, Nathaniel, 3
Ambler, Doctor W. S., 121
American flag, the first, tradition concerning the making of, 51, 52
Andirons, 172, 181
André, Major John, 14, 22
Arch Street, house at No. 229 (Ross house), 51, 52
Arches, detailed, 20;
flat brick, 23;
elliptical, 24, 172;
with cores of brick, 26, 27;
at foot of stairway, 60;
Palladian window recessed within, 66;
recessed, 66;
gauged, 141;
relieving, 141;
flanked by two narrow arches, 165;
across main hall, 193
Architects, amateur, 6
Architecture, advantage of study of, 2;
a part of gentleman's education in Colonial times, 6
Architrave casings, of house No. 5442 Germantown Avenue, 77;
fine-scale hand carving in, 111;
of Wharton house, 113;
molded, 162;
of old Spruce Street house, 178;
were the rule, 190;
miter-joined, 191
Architraves, fluted, 109;
molded, 112;
incised, 115;
of Upsala, 120;
horizontal, 172
Areaways, 40, 49, 61
Armat, Thomas, 81, 82
Armat, Thomas Wright, 81
Arnold, Benedict, 75, 76
Articles of Confederation, signing of, 205
Astragal, 176, 177, 180, 181
Bainbridge, Commodore, 221
Balconies, hall, 154
Ball and cross, 223
Ball and disk, 97
Balusters, of Stenton, 157;
of Whitby Hall, 159;
of Upsala, 167;
in Congress Hall, 209, 210
Balustraded, belvederes, 19, 73;
roof, 199;
clock-tower, 200
Balustrades, of stairway, 74, 157, 159, 167;
of porch, 92;
of wing steps, 98;
patterned after cathedral grilles and screens, 127;
of cast iron, of Wistar house, spiral design in, 129;
of house No. 207 La Grange Alley, 130;
of Independence Hall, 201
Bank of North America, 8, 9
Bank of Stephen Girard, 218
Bank of the United States, the first, and the building it occupied, 216-218
Barclay, Alexander, 20
"Barn" pointing, 55, 95
Bartram, John, 94
Bartram, William, 95
Bartram House, 93-95;
windows of, 136;
dormers of, 140;
with neither outside shutters nor blinds, 142
Bead and reel, 175, 176, 180, 181
Bed-molding, reeded, 109;
denticulated, 112
Belfry, 219
Belting, of Stenton, 26;
of Port Royal House, 35;
of city blocks, 39;
of Morris house, 49;
of Upsala, 60;
of The Woodlands stable, 66;
of Mount Pleasant, 73;
of Solitude, 83;
of Cliveden, 88;
of The Highlands, 91;
of Independence Hall, 199
Belvedere platform, 214
Belvederes, of Woodford, 19;
of Port Royal House, 35;
of Mount Pleasant, 73
Bezan, John, 3
Billmeyer, Michael, 99
Billmeyer house, description of, 98, 99;
history of, 99;
six-panel door of, 103;
seats of entrance of, 107;
stoop of, 129;
windows of, 138;
dormers of, 141
Bingham, Hannah, 44
Bingham, William, 43, 44
Blackwell, Colonel Jacob, 43
Blackwell, Rev. Doctor Robert, 43, 44
Blackwell house, description of, 42, 43;
history of, 43, 44;
eight-panel door of, 104;
windows of, 136, 138;
shutters of, 143, 145;
doorhead of, 192
Blinds, of Girard house, 31;
of Port Royal House, 35;
of city blocks, 40;
of Upsala, 60;
of Grumblethorpe, 61;
of house No. 5442 Germantown Avenue, 77;
of Loudoun, 81;
of The Highlands, 92;
use of, 143, 144;
structure of, 145, 146;
methods of hanging and fastening, 146-148
Blocks, houses in, 15, 38;
characteristics of, 38, 39;
many of them palatial, 40;
decay of, 41;
of Camac Street, 41, 42
Bolts, 147
Bonding, 18, 23, 38, 48, 49
Books on joinery, 6
Botanical garden of John Bartram, 94, 95
Brackets, 167, 168, 214
Brandywine, Battle of, 205
Brick, favored from the outset in preference to wood, 16, 17;
Georgian country houses of, 17-37;
city residences of, 38-52
"Brick" stone, 86, 87, 95, 98
Brick trim, 170
Brickwork, how laid up, 18;
of Morris house, 48, 49
Builders, attracted to Philadelphia at an early time, 5
Bull baiting, 13
Bull's-eye, light, 160;
window, 199
Cadwalader, General, 221
Camac Street, 41, 42
Capitals, of acanthus-leaf motive, 81;
Corinthian, 116;
Ionic, 121, 159
Carlton, windows of, 137;
dormers of, 140
Carpenter house, 168
Carpenters, attracted to Philadelphia at an early time, 5
Carpenters' Company, the, 5, 210
Carpenters' Hall, 8;
windows of, 148;
description and history of, 210-212
Carr, Colonel, 95
Carving, elliptical, 97;
floreated, 173
Casement sashes, 31
Casings. _See_ DOOR-CASINGS, WINDOW-CASINGS
Cedar Grove, windows of, 135;
dormers of, 139;
shutters of, 143
Chalkley Hall, eight-panel door of, 104;
windows of, 137, 139;
dormers of, 140;
blinds of, 143, 146
Chandeliers, 187
Chew, Benjamin, 88-90
Chew, John, 89
Chew house, shutters of, 147
Chew's Woods, 91
Chimney breast, 171, 175
Chimney-pieces, of Hope Lodge, 24;
of house No. 5442 Germantown Avenue, 77;
of Cliveden, 88;
development of, 171;
of Whitby Hall, 172, 173;
of Mount Pleasant, 175, 176;
of Cliveden, 177;
of old house on Spruce Street, 178;
paneled, 188;
of Stenton, 188
Chimney stacks, of Port Royal House, 35;
of Mount Pleasant, 73;
of Cliveden, 88;
of Independence Hall, 199
Chimneys, of Woodford, 19;
of Stenton, 26;
of Girard house, 31;
of city blocks, 39;
of Grumblethorpe, 61;
of Vernon, 79;
of Solitude, 83
China closets, 189
Christ church, designed by Doctor John Kearsley, 6;
windows of, 148-150;
history and description of, 219-221
Churches, 218-225
City Troop, the, 50
Clarendon Code, the, 3
Classic, façade, 88;
moldings, 113;
entablature, 115;
detail, 127, 165, 178, 179, 187, 194, 198;
orders, application of, to walls, etc., 186;
urns, 199;
three orders used in tower of Independence Hall, 200;
balustrade, 201;
Custom House, 215;
Girard College, 215;
Stock Exchange, 216;
Bank Building, 217
Clay, makeshift for lime, 96
Cleveland, Parker, 63
Cliveden, description of, 87, 88;
history of, 88-91, 98, 99;
door of, 105;
doorway of, 117, 118;
stoop of, 127, 128;
windows of, 137;
dormers of, 141;
lintels of, 142;
shutters of, 143, 144;
hall and staircase of, 165, 166;
chimney piece of, 177;
parlor of, 186;
interior finish of, 188, 191
Clock tower, 199
Closets, with sliding top, 27;
fireplace, 172-174
Clunie. _See_ MOUNT PLEASANT
Coach, old family, 91
Cock fighting, 13
Coin d'Or, 42
Coleman, William, 20
Colonial domestic architecture, much of best,
to be found in neighborhood of Philadelphia, 2
Colonial pointing, 55
Colonial style of architecture, in Philadelphia, 3;
reference books on joinery the fountainhead of, 6;
more or less common to all buildings of the period in Philadelphia, 14
Colonnettes, 152, 183
Columns, of Hope Lodge, 23;
of city blocks, 40;
engaged Ionic, of The Woodlands, 65;
Tuscan, of house No. 5442 Germantown Avenue, 77;
of Loudoun, 81;
Ionic, of Solitude, 83;
reeded, of The Highlands, 92;
of Bartram House, 94;
engaged, supporting
pediment, 108;
engaged, supporting massive entablature, 112;
of Wharton house, 113;
fluted, of house No. 6105 Germantown Avenue, 115;
fluted, of Dr. Denton's house, 116;
of Upsala, 120;
fluted, in Independence Hall, 203;
engaged, in Independence Hall, 204
Combes Alley, 41
Combes Alley house, windows of, 136;
shutters of, 144
Congress Hall, windows of, 148;
history and description of, 207-210
Consoles, hand-carved, 107, 173, 174, 177, 192, 200;
of dental course, 115;
of Mount Pleasant, 176;
of Independence Hall, 200
Constitution of United States, setting of convention which framed, 9
Continental Congresses in Philadelphia, 8, 9, 205
Corinthian, doorways, 115;
capitals, 116;
pilasters, 200, 213, 214;
Girard College, 215;
Stock Exchange, 216
Cornices, of Woodford, 19, 20;
of Hope Lodge, 23, 24;
of Girard house, 31;
of Port Royal House, 35;
of city blocks, 39;
of Morris house, 49;
of Upsala, 60;
of Mount Pleasant, 73, 74, 163, 176, 192;
of house No. 5442 Germantown Avenue, 77;
of Vernon, 80;
of Solitude, 83;
of Cliveden, 88, 165;
of The Highlands, 91;
of Green Tree Inn, 97;
of house No. 6504 Germantown Avenue, 110;
of house No. 709 Spruce Street, 111;
of house No. 5200 Germantown Avenue, 111;
of house No. 4927 Frankford Avenue, 111;
of Grumblethorpe, 114;
of Stenton, 156;
of Whitby Hall, 159, 172;
of Mount Vernon, 173;
as usually used, 186, 187;
of house No. 224 Pine Street, 192;
with prominent modillions, 193;
of Independence Hall, 199, 200;
of Congress Hall, 208;
in Girard National Bank building, 217
Corona, 180
Coultas, Colonel, 160, 161
Coultas, James, 160
Country houses, Georgian, of brick, 17-37;
ledge-stone, 53-68
Coving, of Hope Lodge, 23;
of Girard house, 31;
of Green Tree Inn, 97
Cupolas, 208, 211
Custom House, 215
Cymatium, 176, 177, 180, 183
Cypress Street, house No. 312, mantel of, 182
Dado, 157, 159, 164, 186, 191
Dais, President's, in Congress Hall, 209, 210
Dale, Commodore, 221
Decatur, Commodore Stephen, 223
Declaration of Independence, signing of, 9, 205
De Lancy, Captain John Peter, 14
Dentil course, of Morris house, 109;
of house No. 6504 Germantown Avenue, 110;
of house No. 4927 Frankford Avenue, 112;
of house No. 6105 Germantown Avenue, 115;
of Dr. Denton's house, 115;
of Upsala, 120;
of The Woodlands, 152;
of Mount Pleasant, 176, 192;
and mantel,
180, 181;
of Independence Hall, 200
Denton, Dr., his house, 115, 128
Deschler, David, 78
Deschler, Widow, 99
Dickinson, John, 82
Dirck, Keyser house, footscraper of, 131
Door-casings, of Hope Lodge, 24;
of Blackwell house, 42;
of Mount Pleasant, 74;
molded, 106;
of houses No. 114 League Street and No. 5933 Germantown Avenue, 107;
rusticated, 116;
of Whitby Hall, 172
Doorheads, pedimental, 74, 162, 164, 192;
elaborated, 107
Door trim, 191
Doors, paneled, of Hope Lodge, 23, 24;
paneled, of Stenton, 27;
of Girard house, 31;
paneled, of city blocks, 40;
of Blackwell house, 43;
of Upsala, 60;
of Grumblethorpe, 62;
of Wyck, 71;
paneled, of house No. 5442 Germantown Avenue, 77;
paneled, of Loudoun, 81;
of The Highlands, 92;
of Johnson house, 96;
four types common in Colonial period, 102;
single and double, 102;
types classified according to arrangement of panels 103;
six-panel, 103, 104, 107, 108;
three-panel, 104;
four-panel, 200;
eight-panel, 104, 105;
of Morris house, 109;
of house No. 701 South Seventh Street, 110;
of house No. 709 Spruce Street, 111;
of house No. 5200 Germantown Avenue, 111;
of house No. 4927 Frankford Avenue, 111;
of Powel house, 113;
of Wharton house, 113;
of Grumblethorpe, 114;
of house No. 6105 Germantown Avenue, 115;
double blind, 116;
of Mount Pleasant, 116;
of Cliveden, 116;
of Solitude, 118;
of Perot-Morris house, 118;
of Upsala, 121;
with molded flat panels, 122;
in round-arched doorways, 124, 125;
closet, 174;
by the side of the fireplace, 178
Doorways, of Woodford, 19;
Doric, of Port Royal house, 35;
of city blocks, 40;
of Blackwell house, 42;
pedimental, of Morris house, 49;
of Grumblethorpe, 61;
of The Woodlands, 65;
of house No. 5442 Germantown Avenue, 77;
of Vernon, 80;
of Loudoun, 81;
of Solitude, 83;
Doric, of Cliveden, 88;
of The Highlands, 92;
of Bartram House, 94;
the dominating feature of façade, 101;
have character and individuality, 101;
broad range of, in Philadelphia houses, 102;
unlike those of New England, 102;
high and narrow, and speak of Quaker severity, 102;
recessed, 105;
the simplest type of, 106, 107;
of houses No. 114 League Street and No. 5933 Germantown Avenue, 107;
the characteristic type of pedimental door trim, 108;
of houses No. 5011 Germantown Avenue and No. 247 Pine Street, 108, 109;
of Morris house, 109;
of houses No. 6504 Germantown Avenue and No. 701 South Seventh Street, 110;
of house No. 709 Spruce Street, 111;
of house No. 5200 Germantown Avenue, 111;
of house No. 4927 Frankford Avenue, 111, 112;
of the Powel house, 112, 113;
of house No. 301 South Seventh Street, 114;
of Grumblethorpe, 114;
of house No. 6105 Germantown Avenue, 114, 115;
of Corinthian order, 115;
of Dr. Denton's house, 115;
of Mount Pleasant, 116;
having complete entablature above fanlight surmounted by pediment, 116;
Tuscan, 116;
Doric, 116;
of Cliveden, 117, 118;
fine specimen of mutulary Doric, 117;
of Solitude, 118;
of Perot-Morris house, 118, 119;
of Upsala, 121;
of Henry house, 121;
of house No. 224 South Eighth Street, 122, 123;
of Stenton, earliest instance of side lights in Philadelphia, 123, 124;
round-arched, 124;
examples of round-arched, 124, 125;
of Mount Vernon, 174;
round-headed, 192, 193;
of Congress Hall, 208
Doric, doorway, 35, 88, 116, 117, 151, 200;
inspiration, in Morris house, 110;
columns, 112, 120;
capitals, 116;
architrave, 120;
entablature, 162, 214;
cornice, 191, 219;
apartment, 203, 204;
frieze, 219;
mutulary, 117, 162, 200, 203, 214, 219
Dormers of Hope Lodge, 23;
of Stenton, 26;
of Port Royal House, 35;
pedimental, of city blocks, 39;
of Morris house, 48;
shed-roof, of Livezey house, 56;
of Upsala, 59;
of Grumblethorpe, 61;
of Mount Pleasant, 73;
of house No. 5442 Germantown Avenue, 77;
of Vernon, 80;
of Loudoun, 81;
of Solitude, 83;
of Cliveden, 88;
of Bartram House, 94;
of the Johnson house, 95;
of Green Tree Inn, 97;
of the Billmeyer house, 99;
pedimental or gable-roofed, segmental topped,
lean-to or shed-roofed, 139-141
Dots and dashes, 180
Douglass, David, 14
Drama, introduced into Philadelphia, 14
Drilled rope, 180, 181
Drop handles, 106, 117
Drops, 159
Dunkin, Ann, 49
Dutch seats, 94
Eastwick, Andrew, 95
Eaves, 60, 61, 96
Egg and dart motive, 175, 176, 177, 203
Eighth and Spruce streets, house at, doorway of, 124;
stoop of, 129
Elfret Alley, 41
English Classic style of architecture. _See_ GEORGIAN
Entablature, 40;
of Loudoun, 81;
Ionic, 112, 113;
Corinthian, 115;
above fanlight, 116;
recessed, 118;
Doric, 120, 214;
of Mount Pleasant, 162, 164;
at Cliveden, 165;
at Upsala, 180;
at house No. 729 Walnut Street, 183;
at Independence Hall, 203
Entrances, of Hope Lodge, 23;
of Stenton, 27;
characteristic, 40;
of Upsala, 60;
of Grumblethorpe, 62;
of The Woodlands, 65;
of the Billmeyer house, 98;
house associated with, 101;
of the Morris house, 109.
_See_ DOORWAYS, PORCHES.
Estates of the countryside of Philadelphia, 15
Evans house, windows of, 137, 138;
dormers of, 140;
shutters and blinds of, 144, 145, 146
Façade, of Woodford, 19;
of Hope Lodge, 23;
of Morris house, 48;
of Upsala, 59, 60;
of Grumblethorpe, 61;
of Mount Pleasant, 73;
of Vernon, 79;
of Cliveden, 88;
of The Highlands, 91;
of Bartram House, 94;
of Independence Hall, 199
Fanlights, used in Philadelphia entrances, 40;
of house No. 225 South Eighth Street, 49;
of Upsala, 60, 120;
of The Woodlands, 65, 152;
of Vernon, 79;
of Loudoun, 81;
of The Highlands, 91, 92;
transom replaced by, 108;
of house No. 5011 Germantown Avenue, 108;
of house No. 247 Pine Street, 109;
of house No. 6504 Germantown Avenue, 110;
of house No. 5200 Germantown Avenue, 111;
of house No. 4927 Frankford Avenue, 111;
a frequent type of doorway with, 112;
of the Wharton house, 113;
of Grumblethorpe, 114;
a rare type of, 116;
patterned after a much-used Palladian window, 122;
of house No. 39 Fisher's Lane, 122;
of house No. 224 South Eighth Street, 122;
in round-headed doorways, 193;
of Independence Hall, 201, 207;
of Congress Hall, 208;
of the Pennsylvania Hospital, 213
Farmhouse type, Pennsylvania, characteristic examples of, 100
Farmhouses, 127
Fascia, 111, 112, 115, 180, 181, 183
Fences, 50, 126, 220, 224
Fenestration. _See_ WINDOWS
Festoons, 180, 183, 184, 187
"Fête Champêtre", 85
Firebacks, 28, 169, 172
Fire balconies, 92, 208
Fire marks, 119
Fireplaces, of Woodford, 20;
of Hope Lodge, 24;
of Livezey house, 57;
of Mount Pleasant, 74;
the significance and the history of, 169-171;
segmental arched, 205
Fisher, Deborah, 45.
_See_ WHARTON, DEBORAH
Fisher, Samuel, 45
Fisher's Lane, house No. 39, eight-panel door of, 105;
porch of, 122
Fixtures, wrought-iron, for hanging and fastening shutters and blinds, 146
Flemish bond, 18, 23, 26, 38, 48
Floors, of Woodford, 20
Florentine manner, iron work wrought in, 129
Florida cession, the, 93
Flow, John H., and the tradition of the first American flag, 52
Flush pointing, 55
Flutings, 65, 180-183
Footscrapers, 109, 127, 130-133
Forbes, Brigadier General John, 221
Foreshortening, of windows, of Girard house, 31;
of city blocks, 39, 40;
of Morris
house, 48;
of Livezey house, 57;
of Johnson house, 96;
of the Billmeyer house, 99;
in three-story houses, 138, 139
Forrest, Edwin, 224
Fourth and Liberty streets, house at, 130
Frankford, 36
Frankford Avenue, house No. 4927, doorway of, 111
Franklin, Benjamin, 9, 58, 212, 219, 221
Franklin Inn, 42
Franks, Abigail, 21
Franks, David, 21
Franks, Isaac, 78
Franks, Rebecca, 21
Free Quakers' Meeting House, windows of, 138, 148;
lintels of, 142
Frieze, of The Woodlands, 65;
of house No. 114 League Street, 107;
of house No. 6504 Germantown Avenue, 110;
of Whitby Hall, 158;
of house No. 312 Cypress Street, 183;
of house No. 729 Walnut Street, 158;
of Solitude, 187
Front, double, of Morris house, 39, 48
Furniture, old, 63, 79, 205, 206
Gable ends, 60
Gable roofs, 39;
of Livezey house, 56;
of Upsala, 59, 120;
of house No. 5442 Germantown Avenue, 77;
of Vernon, 79;
of Bartram House, 94;
of the Johnson house, 95;
of Independence Hall, 199;
of St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal church, 224
Gambrel roof, 80
Gardens, of city houses, 40;
of Morris house, 49;
of Grumblethorpe, 62, 64;
of The Woodlands, 65, 67;
of house No. 5442 Germantown Avenue, 76;
of John Bartram, 94, 95
Gates, 220
Georgian countryhouses of brick, 16-37
Georgian fireplace, 188
Georgian sashes, 31, 134
Georgian style, 3, 17, 156;
of brick houses, 17;
Woodford, 19;
Hope Lodge, 22;
The Woodlands, 65, 66;
Clunie, 72, 74;
of brick houses, 86;
The Highlands, 91
Germantown, Battle of, 61, 63, 71, 78, 90, 97, 99, 205
Germantown, ledge-stone houses at, 53
Germantown Academy, the, 98, 99
Germantown Avenue, house No. 5442, description of, 76-78;
history of, 78, 79;
six-panel door of house No. 5442, 103;
eight-panel door of house No. 4908, 105;
house No. 1748, doorway of, 107;
house No. 5011, doorway of, 108;
house No. 6504, doorway of, 110;
house No. 5200, doorway of, 111;
house No. 6105, doorway of, 114, 115;
house No. 6105, dormers of, 140;
house No. 6105, blinds of, 145, 147;
house No. 6043, shutter fasteners of, 148
Germantown stone, 87
Germantown type of pointing, 55
Ginkgo tree, the, 67
Girard, Stephen, 31-33;
his will, 33, 34
Girard College, 31, 33, 34, 215
Girard (Stephen) house, 31
Glass, 134
Glen Fern. _See_ LIVEZEY HOUSE
Gothic, tracery, 123, 127;
detail, 128;
arch, curves reminiscent of, 149
Gowen house, 167
Gravitating catches, 147
Gray, Martha Ibbetson, 161
Greame Park, 69;
windows of, 136;
dormers of, 139
Grecian band, 130, 133, 192, 209
Grecian fret, 77, 91, 109, 111, 173, 176, 189
Greek architecture, Girard College a fine specimen of, 215
Green Tree Inn, 97, 98;
six-panel door of, 103;
doorway of, 107
Haines family, 72
Hallam's (William) Old American Company, 14, 67
Halls, of Wyck, 71;
an important interior feature, 153;
in early times, 153;
development of, 154;
staircases and balconies introduced into, 154;
in the Georgian period of English architecture, 154, 155;
in Provincial mansions of Philadelphia, 155;
of Stenton, 156, 157;
from back to front of the house, 157;
of Whitby Hall, 158-160, 162-164;
of Mount Pleasant, 161-164;
of Cliveden, 165, 166;
of Upsala, 166, 167
Hamilton, Alexander, 78
Hamilton, Andrew, designer of Independence Hall, 6, 197, 198;
married Abigail Franks, 21;
the first of the name in America, 66;
Benjamin Chew studied law with, 89
Hamilton, Governor James, 67
Hamilton, William, 66-68
Hancock, John, 206
Handles, brass, of Woodford, 20
Handrail, wrought-iron, of Woodford, 19;
wrought-iron, of city blocks, 40;
of Wistar house, 127;
patterned after cathedral grilles and screens, 127;
other examples of, 128-130, 157, 167
Headers, 18, 26, 38, 48
Heage, William, 3
Heath, Susanna, 25
Heating, methods of, 169-171
Henry house, 121
Hewn stone country houses, 86-100
Highlands, The, description of, 91, 92;
history of, 92, 93;
door of, 105;
porch of, 120;
unique in having porch, side-lights, and elliptical fanlight, 122;
windows of, 137;
blinds of, 145
Hinges, 146, 172, 209
Hipped roof, of Woodford, 18;
of Hope Lodge, 23, 120;
of Stenton, 26;
of Girard house, 31;
of Port Royal House, 35;
of the stable of The Woodlands, 66;
of Mount Pleasant, 72, 73;
of Vernon, 79;
of Loudoun, 80;
of Solitude, 83;
of The Highlands, 120;
of Congress Hall, 208
Hitner, purchaser of The Highlands, 93
Holme, Thomas, 3, 4
Hoods, 96, 97, 106
Hope, Henry, 25
Hope Lodge, description of, 22-24;
history of, 24, 25;
door of, 105;
porch of, 120;
windows of, 135, 141;
dormers of, 141;
shutters of, 143;
round-headed doorway of, 193;
arch across main hall of, 193
Hopkinson, Francis, 221
Horse block, 99
Howe, Sir William, 21, 30, 78
Independence Hall, designed by Andrew Hamilton, 6;
meeting of second Continental Congress in, 8;
windows of, 148, 151;
stair-end treatment of, 168;
history and description of, 196-207
Inns and taverns of Colonial days, 11, 12
Interior wood-finish, of the average eighteenth-century
Philadelphia house, 185-187;
in the better houses of the Provincial period, 187, 188;
of Stenton, 188, 189;
of Whitby Hall, 189;
doors and doorways, 189-194;
white-painted, 194, 195;
of Congress Hall, 208;
of Carpenters' Hall, 214
Interiors, Colonial, a favorite treatment of, 186
Ionic, pilasters, 65, 91;
columns, 83, 94;
entablature, 112, 219, 220;
doorway, 118;
pediments, 120, 191;
window, 151;
newel, 159;
pulvinated, 163, 219;
cornice, 192;
walls of tower, 199;
Palladian window, 200;
hall in Independence Hall, 200;
volute, 201
Ironwork, 124-133
Jambs, molded, 71;
paneled, 106, 107, 108, 111, 113, 121, 191, 200, 203;
rusticated, 116
Jansen, Dirck, 96
Jansen family, 72
Jefferson, Thomas, 78
Johnson house, description of, 95, 96;
history of, 96, 97;
six-paneled door of, 103;
doorway of, 106;
windows of, 136;
dormers of, 140;
shutters of, 143
Johnson, General Sir Henry, 21
Johnson, John, 60, 90
Johnson, John, Jr., 60
Johnson, Norton, 61
Johnson, Sallie W., 61
Johnson, Doctor William N., 61
Joinery, reference books on, 6
Jones, Inigo, 171
Kearsley, Doctor John, 6, 219
Keith, Sir William, 69
Key plate, 110
Keyed arch, 111
Keyed lintels, 39, 60, 73, 88
Keystones, 91, 113, 199
Kitchen, of Stenton, 26;
of Grumblethorpe, 63
Knobs, 72, 109, 110
Knockers, 72, 105, 106, 110, 111
Knox, Henry, 78
Kunders, Thomas, 82
La Fayette, 71, 90, 98
La Grange Alley, house No. 207, balustrade of, 130
Lambert, General, 221
Landings, staircase, 154, 158, 163, 165, 166, 167
Laurel Hill, windows of, 137;
shutters of, 143
Leaded glass, 92
League Street, house No. 114, doorway of, 107
Ledge-stone country houses, 53-68
Ledge stonework, of Germantown, its picturesque appeal, 53;
its adaptability, 53, 54;
has marked horizontal effect, 54;
is conducive to handsome, honest masonry, 54;
in combination with white-painted woodwork, 55, 56, 66;
mansions, the chief distinction of Philadelphia architecture, 68
Lee, Alice, 46
Lee, Arthur, 46
Lee, General Charles, 221
Lee, Richard Henry, 46
Lee, Thomas, 46
Lenox, General, 63
Lesbian leaf ornaments, 173, 175
Lewis, Mordecai, 44, 45
Lewis, Samuel N., 45
Lewis, William, 22
Liberty Bell, 200-203
Library, of Stenton, 28
Lime, makeshift for, 96
Lintels, of Port Royal House, 35;
keyed, of city blocks, 39;
of Morris house, 49;
keyed, of Upsala, 60;
keyed, of Mount Pleasant, 73;
keyed, of Cliveden, 88;
of The Highlands, 91;
of Bartram House, 94;
stone, 142
Livezey, John, 59
Livezey, Rachael, 96
Livezey, Thomas, 57
Livezey, Thomas, Jr., 57, 58
Livezey, Thomas, son of Thomas,
Jr., 59
Livezey house, description of, 56, 57;
history of, 57-59;
six-panel door of, 103;
windows of, 136;
dormers of, 139;
shutters and blinds of, 144, 146
Logan, Albanus, 30
Logan, Deborah, 30
Logan, Doctor George, 29
Logan, Gustavus, 30, 82
Logan, James, 28, 29, 82
Logan, William, 29
Lombardy poplar, the, 67
Loudoun, description of, 80, 81;
history of, 81, 82;
eight-panel door of, 104;
windows of, 137;
dormers, 140;
shutters and blinds of, 144, 145
Lukens family, 37
Mackinett, Daniel, 98
Macpherson, John, 74, 75
Madison, Dolly, 93
Mahogany, 43
Mansard roof, 80
Mantel shelves, 171, 176-178
Mantels, of Woodford, 20;
of Upsala, 60, 179-182;
of The Highlands, 92;
development of, 171;
of Stenton, 172;
of Whitby Hall, 172, 173;
of Mount Vernon, 173-175;
of Mount Pleasant, 175, 176;
of Cliveden, 177;
of old Spruce Street house, 178;
with shelf, 178;
of form of complete entablature, 178;
hand-carved ornaments for, 179;
for hob grate, 180;
elaborate, 180, 181;
of house at Third and DeLancy streets, 182;
of the Rex house, 182;
of house No. 312 Cypress Street, 182;
of house No. 729 Walnut Street, 183
Marble, houses of, 17;
Pennsylvania, of house No. 5442 Germantown Avenue, 77;
use of, in trimmings, 142, 173, 174, 176, 177, 180, 198, 199, 208, 209
Markets, 212
Markham, Captain William, 3
Marshall, Chief Justice John, 202, 208
Mastic, 43
Matthews, James, 80
McClenahan, Blair, 90
Medallion, 183
Mennonites, church of, 224, 225
Merailles, Don Juan de, 75
Mermaid Inn, in Mount Airy, 12
Metopes, 118, 162
Millan, Hans, 71
"Mischianza", 21
Modillions, of Woodford, 19;
of Stenton, 26;
hand-tooled, of city blocks, 39;
of Mount Pleasant, 73;
of house No. 5442 Germantown Avenue, 77;
of Cliveden, 88;
of Upsala, 120;
of Whitby Hall, 159;
of Mount Pleasant, 164, 192;
of Independence Hall, 200;
of the Girard National Bank building, 217
Molding, denticulated, 77, 80, 107, 112, 115, 140, 177, 192, 209;
ovolo, 97, 107, 115, 173, 176;
cornice, 109, 217;
of classic order, 113;
rope, 120;
bolection, 156, 171, 188, 190, 191;
of Mount Pleasant, 162;
crenelated, 172;
of panel, 175;
bed, 180;
cavetto, 181, 187;
ogee, 187, 189;
of inside doors, 190
Morgan, General Jacob, 221
Morris, Anthony, 92
Morris, Joshua, 25
Morris, Luke Wistar, 50
Morris, Robert, services of, 8;
lived in Philadelphia, 9;
grave of, 221
Morris, Samuel, 24, 25
Morris, Captain Samuel, 50, 92
Morris, Samuel B., 79
Morris house, description of, 39, 48, 49;
history of, 49, 50;
door of, 105;
doorway of, 109, 110;
windows of, 137, 139, 141, 142;
dormers of, 140;
shutters of, 143, 144, 146
Mount Pleasant, description of, 72-74;
history of, 74-76;
three-panel door of, 104;
doorway of, 116;
stoop of, 128;
windows of, 137;
dormers of, 141;
with neither outside shutters nor blinds, 142;
Palladian window of, 151;
hall of, 161-165;
chimney-piece of, 175, 176;
interior wood finish of, 185, 186, 187, 188, 190, 191, 192;
round-headed windows of, 193
Mount Vernon, 173-175
Mullions, fluted, 116
Muntins, of Woodford, 19;
of Hope Lodge, 23;
of Christ Church, 149;
of six-panel doors, 190
Musgrave, Colonel, 90
Mutules, 116
Newels, 130, 132, 133, 157, 159, 167, 201
Nichol, James, 63
Northern Liberties, the, 4
Observatory, 62, 64
Ogee, 175
Old Swedes' Church, 148, 149, 221, 222
Openings, elliptical-headed, 193
Outinian Society, 85
Oval shell pattern, 107
Overmantel, 173, 174, 177
Ovolo, reeded, 111, 183;
enriched, 113;
hand-tooled, 114;
with bead and reel and egg and dart motive, 175;
molded, 176;
with egg and dart motive, 177, 203
Paintings, first exhibition of, 206
Palladian window, of Woodford, 19;
of Port Royal House, 35;
of The Woodlands, 66;
of Mount Pleasant, 73, 117, 164;
of The Highlands, 92;
gable-roof dormers with, 140;
chancel, 150;
of Independence
Hall, 151;
in domestic architecture, 151, 152;
on landing, 158;
of Whitby Hall, 151, 158, 188;
of Independence Hall, 200;
of Carpenters' Hall, 211;
of Christ Church, 219, 220
Pancoast, Samuel, 44
Paneling, in shutters of Woodford, 19;
in doors of Hope Lodge, 23;
in wainscots of Hope Lodge, 24;
of window-seats of Hope Lodge, 24;
of doors of Stenton, 27;
of wainscoting of Stenton, 27;
of walls of Stenton, 27;
in shutters of Girard house, 31;
of shutters of city blocks, 40;
of doors of city blocks, 40;
of sides of rooms and fireplace openings, 43;
of shutters of Morris house, 48;
of wainscots of Upsala, 60, 167;
of doors of Wyck, 71;
of door and wainscots of house No. 5442 Germantown Avenue, 77;
of shutters of Loudoun, 81;
of door of Loudoun, 81;
of shutters of Johnson house, 96;
doors classified according to, 103;
six-panel doors, 103, 104, 107, 108;
three-panel doors, 104;
eight-panel doors, 104, 105;
of jambs, 106, 107, 108, 111;
of door of Morris house, 109;
of door of house No. 701 South Seventh Street, 110;
of door of house No. 709 Spruce Street, 111;
of door of house No. 5200 Germantown Avenue, 111;
of door of house No. 4927 Frankford Avenue, 111;
of door of Powel house, 113;
of jambs of Wharton House, 113;
of door of Wharton house, 113;
of door of Grumblethorpe, 114;
of door of house No. 6105 Germantown Avenue, 115;
of door of Mount Pleasant, 116;
of doors of Cliveden, 117;
of soffits, 118;
of doors of Solitude, 118;
of door of Perot-Morris house, 118;
of door of Upsala, 121;
of jambs and soffit of Henry house, 121;
molded flat, 122;
of doors in round-arched doorways, 124, 125;
of shutters, 144, 145;
of dado of Stenton, 157;
of wainscot of Cliveden, 165;
of wainscot of Mount Vernon, 174;
of wainscot of Mount Pleasant, 176;
of mantels, with shelf, 178;
of hall, parlor, and reception room, 186;
of wainscot, 186;
of chimney-piece, 188;
of overmantel, 188;
of reception room at Stenton, 189;
of inside doors, 190;
of jambs and soffits, 191;
of door of Independence Hall, 200;
in Independence Hall, 200, 201, 203
Panes, size, 135, 164;
number, 135-140, 148-152;
rectangular, 149;
keystone-shaped, 149;
quarter-round, 149
Paschall, Thomas, 22
Pastorius, Francis Daniel, 82
Peale, Rembrandt, 206
Peale Museum, 206
Pediments, of Woodford, 19;
of Port Royal House, 35;
of city blocks, 40;
of Blackwell house, 43;
of The Woodlands, 65;
of house No. 5442 Germantown Avenue, 77;
of Vernon, 79;
of Loudoun, 81;
of Cliveden, 88;
of The Highlands, 91;
forming hood above
doorway, 106;
of doorhead, 107;
of Morris house, 109;
Ionic, 191
Pen Rhyn house, windows of, 139
Penn, Granville, 85
Penn, Granville John, 85
Penn, John, 83-85, 90, 221
Penn, Governor John, 84
Penn, Letitia, 16, 17
Penn, Thomas, 84
Penn, William, 3, 4, 16, 17, 84, 85
Penn's house, windows of, 136
Pennsylvania, importance of attitude of, in the Revolution, 8
Pennsylvania Hospital, 148, 212-214
Penthouse roof, influence of, 19, 60, 61;
characteristic feature of ledge stonework, 19, 106;
of Grumblethorpe, 62;
of house No. 6306 Germantown Avenue, 96;
of Green Tree Inn, 97, 107;
of Billmeyer, 98;
of Whitby Hall, 160
Perot, Elliston, 79
Perot, John, 79
Perot-Morris house, eight-panel door of, 104, 105;
doorway of, 118, 119;
windows of, 137;
dormers of, 141;
shutters and blinds of, 144, 146, 147
Peters, Judge Richard, 84
Philadelphia, unique position of, in American architecture, 1;
old buildings of, of brick and stone, and substantial in character, 1;
much of best Colonial domestic architecture to be found
in neighborhood of, 2;
history enacted in buildings of, 2;
Georgian and pure Colonial styles in, 3;
review of early history of, 3;
laid out by Thomas Holme, 4;
character of early settlers of, 4;
early commerce of, 5;
at the time of the Revolution, 5;
importance of, in eighteenth century, 6;
a refuge for immigrants of persecuted sects, 7;
Quaker influence in, 7;
Scotch-Irish ascendancy in, 7;
center of the new republic in embryo, 8;
the meeting of the Continental Congresses in, 8, 9;
the sitting of the convention for framing the Constitution in, 9;
the national capital, 9;
famous men associated with, 9;
list of first things established or done at, 9-11;
noted for its generous hospitality, 11;
brilliancy of its social life, 11-14;
theaters in, 14;
estates of the countryside, 15;
has distinctive architecture in brick, stone, and woodwork, and diversified
architecture of city and country types, 15;
clung to the manners and customs of the mother country, 16;
brick favored in, 16, 17;
the dominant feature of the domestic architecture of the city proper, 38;
houses of, possess charm of architectural merit combined
with historic interest, 101
Philosophical Society, the, 48
Piers, of Stenton, 26;
of Cliveden, 88
Pilasters, of Woodford, 20;
of Hope Lodge, 24;
fluted, of city blocks, 40;
fluted, of Blackwell house, 42;
fluted, of Morris house, 49;
of The Woodlands, 65;
of Mount Pleasant, 74;
of The Highlands, 91;
supporting pediment, 108;
of house No. 6019 Germantown Avenue, 107;
fluted, of Whitby Hall, 158, 159;
of Mount Vernon, 174;
of Upsala, 180, 181, 182;
paneled, of house No. 312 Cypress Street, 182, 183;
fluted, of Independence Hall, 204, 205
Pillars, 81
Pine, Edgar, 206
Pine, Robert Edge, 206
Pine Street, house No. 239, footscraper of, 132
Pine Street, house No. 247, doorway of, 109
Pineapple, the, 130
Plastered stone country houses, 69-85;
one of the distinctive types of Philadelphia architecture, 85
Plastic Club, 42
Pointing, methods of, 55;
of Upsala, 59;
of The Woodlands, 66;
of hewn stone houses, 87;
flush, of Cliveden, 87;
of The Highlands, 91
Pomfret, Earl of, 84
Poor Richard Club, 42
Porch, to servants' quarters and kitchen, of Hope Lodge, 24;
of Stenton, 26
Porches, of Hope Lodge, 23, 120;
pedimental, of Upsala, 60, 120;
of The Highlands, 92;
not common, 119;
of The Highlands, 120;
of the Henry house, 121;
elliptical, of house No. 39 Fisher's Lane, 122
Port Royal House, description of, 34, 35;
history of, 35-37;
three-panel door of, 104;
windows of, 137;
dormers of, 141;
blinds of, 143, 145
Portico, 65, 81, 82
Portius, James, induced by Penn to come to the New World, 5;
a leading member of the Carpenters' Company, 5;
laid foundation of builders' library, 6
Ports, 220
Powel house, eight-panel door of, 104;
doorway of, 113;
stoop of, 128;
windows of, 137, 138;
dormers of, 141;
shutters of, 144, 145
Public buildings, of Philadelphia, historically and
architecturally inspiring, 196;
discussion of, 196-225
Quakers, Philadelphia a place of refuge for, 3;
influence of, in Philadelphia, 7;
loved eating and drinking, 12, 13;
other distractions of, 13;
little difference between homes of "World's People" and, 14
Quoining, 23, 35, 59, 73, 199, 223
Race Street, house No. 128, windows of, 136;
shutters of, 144, 147
Race Street, house No. 130, stoop of, 128
Railing, wrought iron, 83, 114;
adaptation of Gothic tracery, 123
Rails, of blinds, 145, 146;
of doors, 103, 190;
of shutters, 144, 145;
of windows, 134
Rain gauge, 62
Ramsey, Allan, 206
Randolph, Edmund, 78
Randolph, Peyton, 221
Randolph house, doorway of, 124
Red Lion Inn, survival of inns of Colonial days, 12
Reed, General Joseph, 25
Reed, Joseph, 25
Reeded casings, 121
Reeded ovolo, 111, 183
Reeve, Mrs. Josiah, 97
Rex house, mantel of, 182;
interior wood finish of, 187
Reynolds, John, 49
Rhodes, Samuel, 213
Ridge or weathered pointing, 55
Rim lock, 106, 110, 209
Rittenhouse, David, 9
Rock-face stonework, 53
Rolling ways, 40, 49
Roofs, balustraded, 219;
gable, 39, 56 (Livezey house), 59, 120 (Upsala), 77
(No. 5442 Germantown Avenue), 79 (Vernon), 94 (Bartram house),
95 (Johnson house), 199 (Independence Hall), 124
(St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal church);
gambrel, 80;
hipped, 19 (Woodford), 23 (Hope Lodge), 26 (Stenton),
31 (home of Stephen Girard), 35 (Port Royal House),
66 (stable of The Woodlands), 72, 73
(Mount Pleasant), 80 (Loudoun), 83 (Solitude), 198 (Independence Hall);
mansard, 80
Rosettes, 130
Ross, Betsy, 51, 52
Ross, John, 51
Roxborough, 167
Rubble masonry, 70, 73, 79, 81, 82, 87, 91, 224
Rush, Doctor Benjamin, 221
Rush, Colonel William, 204
St. Luke's Church, 82
St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church, 224
St. Peter's Protestant Episcopal Church, 149, 150, 222, 223
Sargent, John, 25
Sash bars, 134
Sashes, three-paned, 138, 140;
six-paned, 40, 57, 83, 91, 96, 135-140, 151;
seven-paned, 148;
eight-paned, 48, 99, 137, 138, 140;
nine-paned, 23, 40, 57, 83, 96, 135-138;
ten-paned, 148, 149;
twelve-paned, 19, 48, 88, 99, 135-138, 148-152;
fifteen-paned, 148, 149;
sixteen-paned, 148, 149;
eighteen-paned, 149;
twenty-paned, 149;
twenty-four-paned, 151;
with blinds, 31;
sliding Georgian, 134;
upper and lower, adjustment of, 134;
double-hung, 134;
sliding, 148
Say, Thomas, 63
Scotch-Irish, in Philadelphia, 7
Scroll work, 130, 147, 159, 201
_Sea Nymph_, the, 36
Seats, doorway, 94, 96, 98, 107;
window, 24, 157, 188
Seventh and Locust Streets, house at, footscraper of, 132;
handrail of, 133
Sharpless, John, 206
Sheaff, George, 93
Shingles, 65
Shippen, Edward, 76
Shippen, Peggy, 76
Shippen, Doctor William, 46
Shippen house, 125
Shoemaker, Jacob, 57
Shoemaker, Thomas, 57
Shutters, paneled, 18;
of Woodford, 19;
of Hope Lodge, 23;
paneled, of Girard house, 31;
paneled, of city blocks, 40;
paneled, of Morris house, 48;
of Livezey house, 57;
of Upsala, 60;
of Grumblethorpe, 61;
of house No. 5442 Germantown Avenue, 77;
of Vernon, 79;
paneled, of Loudoun, 81;
of Cliveden, 88;
paneled, of Johnson house, 96;
of the
Billmeyer house, 99;
use of, 142-144;
boxed, 143;
paneling of, 144, 145;
methods of hanging and fastening, 146-148
Side lights, of Stenton, 27, 123;
of The Highlands, 92;
rare, 122;
earliest instance of, in Philadelphia, 123;
of Pennsylvania Hospital, 213
Site and Relic Society, 80, 97
Sketch Club, 42
Skirting, 186
Soffits, paneled, 107, 108, 111, 118, 158, 159, 191, 203;
fluted, 109;
rusticated, 116
Solitude, description of, 82, 83;
history of, 83-85;
three-paneled door of, 104;
doorway of, 118;
windows of, 136;
dormers of, 140;
with neither outside shutters nor blinds, 142;
interior finish of, 187
South American Street, house No. 272, stoop of, 129
South Eighth Street, house No. 224, eight-paneled door of, 105;
doorway of, 122, 123;
stoop of, 128
South Ninth Street, house No. 216, stoop of, 128
South Seventh Street, house No. 301, eight-paneled door of, 104, 105;
doorway of, 114;
stoop of, 129;
handrail of, 132, 133
South Seventh Street, house No. 701, doorway of, 110;
stoop of, 128
South Third Street, house No. 316, porch of, 128
South Third Street, house No. 320, footscrapers of, 132
Southwark, or South Street, Theater, 111
Sower, Christopher, 63
Spandrils, molded, 116
Spindles, 130
Spruce Street, house No. 709, doorway of, 111
Spruce Street, old house on, chimney-piece of, 178
Stable, of The Woodlands, 66
Staircases, wainscoted, 43;
hall, 154, 155, 157, 158;
of Stenton, 156, 157;
of Whitby Hall, 159-160, 162-164;
of Mount Pleasant, 161-164;
of Cliveden, 165, 166;
of Upsala, 166, 167;
of Independence Hall, 200;
of Pennsylvania Hospital, 214
Stair rail, footscraper combined with, 132, 133
Stairway, of Hope Lodge, 24;
balustraded, of Mount Pleasant, 74;
of The Highlands, 92
Stamper, John, 43
State House, the old (Independence Hall), 8, 197
Steeples, 197, 219, 220, 223
Stenton, description of, 25-28;
history of, 28-31;
door of, 105;
doorway of, 123, 124;
windows of, 137, 141;
with neither outside shutters nor blinds, 142;
hall of, 156, 157;
fireplace of, 172;
interior wood finish of, 185, 186, 188, 189
Steps, of Woodford, 19;
of Hope Lodge, 23;
of Stenton, 27;
single, of city blocks, 40;
of Upsala, 60;
of Grumblethorpe, 61;
of The Highlands, 92;
of house No. 701 South Seventh Street, 110;
on various classes of stoops, 126-130
Steuben, Baron von, 76
Stiles, of doors, 103, 190;
of doors, double, 114;
of windows, 134;
of shutters, 144, 145;
of blinds, 146
Stiles, Daniel, 35
Stiles, Edward, 35-37
Stiles, John, 35
Stocker house, windows of, 138;
dormers of, 141
Stonework, surfaced and ledge, 53;
the refinements and the essentials of, 54;
pointed and unpointed, 55;
not always pleasing, 69, 70;
plastered, 69-85;
surfaced, to be recommended only for large and
pretentious residences or for public work, 86.
_See_ LEDGE-STONE
Stoops, 40, 126-130, 208
Stretchers, of blocks, 18, 38;
of Stenton, 26;
of Morris house, 48
Strickland, William, 197, 215
String course, 172
Stuart, Gilbert, 63, 206
Sully, Thomas, 206
Surbase, 83, 157, 159, 163, 186, 187
Swaenson family, 4
Swag, 175
Swedes, at the mouth of the Schuylkill River, 3
Theaters, in Philadelphia, 14
Third and DeLancy streets, house at, mantel of, 182
Third and Pine streets, house at, doorway of, 125;
porch of, 128
Third and Spruce streets, house at, footscraper of, 131
Tiles, of Woodford, 20;
of Stenton, 27, 28
Torus, 175, 176, 183
Tower, 199, 200, 223
Transom, four-paned, 71, 106
Triglyphs, 116, 118, 162
Trinity Church, 223, 224
Truxton, Commodore, 221
Turn buckles, 147
Tuscan, doorway, 19, 116, 118;
columns, 77
Two-family house, 98
Underground passage, 28, 83
"Underground railway", 97
Upsala, description of, 59, 60;
history of, 60, 61;
eight-panel door of, 104;
porch and doorway of, 120, 121;
footscraper of, 132;
windows of, 137;
dormers of, 140;
shutters and blinds of, 144, 145;
hall and staircase of, 166, 167;
mantels of, 179-182;
chambers of, 186, 187;
interior woodwork of, 194
Urns, 88
Vernon, description of, 79, 80;
history of, 80;
door of, 105;
footscraper of, 132;
windows of, 137;
dormers of, 140;
shutters of, 143
Wainscots, of Woodford, 20;
of Hope Lodge, 24;
of Stenton, 27, 28;
of Blackwell house, 43;
of Livezey house, 57;
of Upsala, 60, 167;
of house No. 5442 Germantown Avenue, 77;
of Cliveden, 165;
of Mount Vernon, 174;
of Mount Pleasant, 176;
paneled, 186, 187;
of Independence Hall, 201
Wall paper, hand-blocked, 186
Walls, of city blocks, 38, 39
Waln house, windows of, 137;
shutters of, 143
Walnut Street, house No. 1107, 130
Walnut Street Theater, 14
Walter, Thomas Ustick, 34, 215
Washington, George, his farewell address in Philadelphia, 9;
at Stenton, 30;
at house No. 5442 Germantown Avenue, 78;
at Billmeyer house, 99;
statues of, 204, 206;
portrait of, 206;
associations of Congress Hall with, 207, 208;
at St. Peter's Church, 222
Water table, 88
Watmough, Colonel James Horatio, 25
Wayne, Captain Isaac, 69
Waynesborough, 69;
windows of, 136;
blinds of, 145
Wentz family, 25
West, Benjamin, 206, 213
West, William, 25
Wharton, Charles, 45
Wharton, Deborah (Fisher), 45, 46
Wharton, Francis Rawle, 22
Wharton, Hannah, 45
Wharton, Isaac, 22
Wharton, Joseph, 22, 45
Wharton, Robert, 58
Wharton, William, 45
Wharton house, 42, 44-46;
eight-panel door of, 104;
doorway of, 113;
windows of, 135, 138;
dormers of, 141;
shutters of, 143, 145
Whiskey Rebellion, the, 93
Whitby Hall, windows of, 137, 139;
shutters of, 143;
Palladian window of, 151, 158;
hall and stairway of, 158-160, 162-165;
history of, 160, 161;
chimney-piece of, 172, 173;
interior wood finish of, 185, 186, 188, 189, 191;
round-headed windows of, 193
White, Bishop, 220
White, Doctor, 44
Whitefield, Bishop, 213
"Widow Mackinett's Tavern", 98
William IV, King, 78
William Henry, Prince, 78
Williams, Jonathan, 76
Willing family, 44
Wilson, Alexander, 222
Wilson, James, 221
Window-casings, 24, 74, 94
Window embrasures, 159, 188, 189, 200
Window frames, of Stenton, 26;
of city blocks, 39;
of house No. 5442 Germantown Avenue, 77;
during the Colonial period, a perpetuation of the initial types, 134;
of heavy type, 141;
molded, 149
Window seats, 24, 157, 188
Window sills, of Upsala, 60;
of house No. 5442 Germantown Avenue, 77;
of The Highlands, 91;
of Bartram House, 94;
stone, 142;
in Independence Hall, 200
Windows, 19;
of Hope Lodge, 23;
of Stenton, 26, 27;
of the Girard house, 31;
of Port Royal House, 35;
of city blocks, 39, 40;
of Morris house, 48, 49;
of Livezey house, 56, 57;
of Upsala, 60;
of Grumblethorpe, 61, 62;
of The Woodlands, 65;
of Mount Pleasant, 73;
of house No. 5442 Germantown Avenue, 77;
of Vernon, 79;
of Loudoun, 81;
of Solitude, 83;
of Cliveden, 88;
of The Highlands, 91, 92;
of the Johnson house, 95, 96;
of Green Tree Inn, 97;
of the Billmeyer house, 99;
during the Colonial period, a perpetuation of the initial types, 134;
treatment of, 141, 142;
of Independence Hall, 199;
of Congress Hall, 208;
of Carpenters' Hall, 211;
of Pennsylvania Hospital, 215, 216;
ten-paned, 152;
twelve-paned, 57, 61, 79, 135;
eighteen-paned, 61, 135;
twenty-four-paned, 35, 77, 81, 135, 199, 209, 211;
ranging, 23, 27, 35, 48, 73, 81, 88, 95, 206;
round-topped, 35, 39, 65, 77, 88, 99, 148, 149, 208, 223, 224;
square-headed, 209;
segmental-topped, 61, 97.
_See_ DORMERS, PALLADIAN, SASHES
Wing steps, 98, 114, 129
Wissahickon Creek, mill on, 57-59
Wistar, Doctor Caspar, 47, 72, 78
Wistar, Daniel, 80
Wistar, John, 80
Wistar, William, 80
Wistar house, 39, 46-48;
balustrade of, 127;
windows of, 137, 139;
dormers of, 140;
shutters of, 143, 145
Wistar Parties, 47, 48
_Wistaria_, 47
Wister, Alexander W., 64
Wister, Charles J., 64, 71
Wister, Charles J., Jr., 64
Wister, Daniel, 63
Wister, John, 62, 63, 78
Wister, Margaret, 78
Wister, Owen, 64
Wister, Sally, 64
"Wister's Big House." _See_ GRUMBLETHORPE
Witherill house, dormers of, 139;
shutters of, 145
Wood, white-painted, houses of, 17
Wood carvers, 179
Wood finish. _See_ INTERIOR
Woodford, description of, 18-20;
history of, 20-22;
door of, 105;
windows of, 137;
shutters of, 143
Woodlands, The, description of, 64-66;
history of, 66-68;
with neither outside shutters nor blinds, 142;
Palladian windows of, 151, 152
Woods, white-painted soft, the possibilities of, 194
Woodwork brought from overseas, but later produced in the colonies, 18;
interior, of Woodford, 20;
of Hope Lodge, 24;
of Stenton, 26, 156;
of Blackwell house, 42, 43;
white-painted, in combination with ledge stone, 55, 56, 66;
of Upsala, 60;
of Grumblethorpe, 62, 63;
of Mount Pleasant, 74;
of house No. 5442 Germantown Avenue, 77, 78;
of Vernon, 80;
of Solitude, 83;
of Cliveden, 88;
of The Highlands, 92;
of the Billmeyer house, 99;
of house No. 701 South Seventh Street, 110;
suggesting Dutch influence, 123;
of Mount Vernon, 174;
of Christ Church, 219
"World's People", the, 12, 13, 14
Wyck, 70-72;
door of, 103;
footscraper of, 130;
windows of, 138;
dormers of, 140;
shutters of, 143, 148
Wynnestay, windows of, 137;
dormers of, 140;
shutters of, 143, 144
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