The Colonial Architecture of Philadelphia Part 1

The Colonial Architecture of Philadelphia.

by Frank Cousins and Phil M. Riley.

_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, a.n.a.lysis 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 ill.u.s.trating 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 a.s.sociations", 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 Pa.s.syunk, 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 s.p.a.ce are thus the only reason for the omission of numerous excellent houses without historic a.s.sociation and others rich in history but deficient in architecture.

FRANK COUSINS AND PHIL M. RILEY.

APRIL 1, 1920

_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 a.s.sociation renders them almost national monuments, and so object lessons of material a.s.sistance 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, a.s.sisted 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 cla.s.sic 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 a.s.sembly, and Christ Church, designed mainly by Doctor John Kearsley.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE II.

--Old Mermaid Inn, Mount Airy; Old Red Lion Inn.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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 att.i.tude 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 Ma.s.sachusetts 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 inst.i.tution 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 const.i.tution of the United States sat in Philadelphia in 1787, and from 1790 to 1800, when the seat of government was moved to Washington, Philadelphia was the national capital. Here the first bank in the colonies, the Bank of North America, was opened in 1781, and here the first mint for the coinage of United States money was established in 1792. Here Benjamin Franklin and David Rittenhouse made their great contributions to science, and here on September 19, 1796, Washington delivered his farewell address to the people of the United States. Here lived Robert Morris, who managed the finances of the Revolution, Stephen Girard of the War of 1812 and Jay Cooke of the Civil War.

Not only in politics, but in art, science, the drama and most fields of progress Philadelphia took the lead in America for more than a century and a half after its founding. Here was established the first public school in 1689; the first paper mill in 1690; the first botanical garden in 1728; the first Masonic Lodge in 1730; the first subscription library in 1731; the first volunteer fire company in 1736; the first magazine published by Franklin in 1741; the first American philosophical society in 1743; the first religious magazine in 1746; the first medical school in 1751; the first fire insurance company in 1752; the first theater in 1759; the first school of anatomy in 1762; the first American dispensary in 1786; the first water works in 1799; the first zoological museum in 1802; the first American art school in 1805; the first academy of natural sciences in 1812; the first school for training teachers in 1818; the first American building and loan a.s.sociation 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 a.s.serting 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 inc.u.mbent 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 n.o.ble 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE IV.--Stenton, Germantown Avenue, Germantown.

Erected by James Logan in 1727.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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 a.s.sembly. This brought them into constant a.s.sociation 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, a.s.sembly 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.

c.o.c.k 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 Dougla.s.s, the manager of the company started by Hallam. A few years later, in 1766, was built the old Southwark or South Street Theater in South Street above Fourth, where Major John Andre and Captain John Peter De Lancy acted during the British occupation of the city, and which after twenty years of illegal existence was opened "by authority" in 1789. None of these now remains, but the Walnut Street Theater, erected in 1808, is said to be the oldest playhouse in the United States.

Taking all these facts into consideration, it is not surprising that, except for some of the earliest houses now remaining and others built with less ample fortunes, little difference is distinguishable between the homes of Quakers and "World's People", and that the distinctive characteristics of the Colonial architecture of Philadelphia are more or less common to all buildings of the period.

Shortly after the Revolution the built-up portion of the city was bounded by the Delaware River on the east and Seventh Street on the west, and by Poplar Street on the north and Christian Street on the south. While houses in blocks were the rule, numerous unoccupied lots made many trees and gardens in the rear and at the sides of detached houses quite common. This was regarded as not entirely sufficient by the wealthier families, which considered country living essential to health, comfort and pleasure, and so maintained two establishments,--a town house for winter occupancy and a countryseat as a summer retreat. Others desiring to live more nearly in the manner of their English forbears in the mother country chose to make an elaborate countryseat their year-round place of residence. Thus the surrounding countryside--but especially to the northwestward along the high, wooded banks of the Schuylkill River and Wissahickon Creek--became a community of great estates with elegant country houses which have no parallel in America other than the manorial estates along the James River in Virginia. The Philadelphia of to-day, therefore, has not only a distinctive architecture in its brick, stone and woodwork, but a diversified architecture embracing both the city and country types of design and construction.

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 Let.i.tia the first brick house in the town, which was for several years occupied by Penn and his family. It was located in Let.i.tia 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE VI.--Port Royal House, Frankford. Erected in 1762 by Edward Stiles.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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.]