© Copyright 2020 - The Library Company of Philadelphia, 1314 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. TEL (215) 546-3181 FAX (215) 546-5167
For inquiries, please contact our IT Department
- Title
- Forty-Fifth and Walnut Streets, Philadelphia
- Description
- Ink, wash, gouache. 13 x 20 in (33 x 50 cm)., Property possibly part of cluster of buildings located at the opening of Forty-Fourth Street between Walnut and Locust Streets. Possible identification from David J. Kennedy watercolor [V61] in the collections of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania., After sketch by R. Meade Bache., Depicts a farmhouse with two figures on the porch on a small hill with a cluster buildings in the background. A pedestrian and a figure on horseback walk along a road in the foreground.
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- 1888
- Location
- *Drawings & Watercolors - T [P.2012.16]
- Title
- Kingessing Farm Houses Now Gone
- Description
- View of a long, wooden farmhouse and outbuilding. "East side of Kingessing Ave. above Fifty First St.," is written in the bottom left corner of the image., This and other old farm houses and tenements were still existent in the Fortieth Ward in 1896, when they were sketched by Mr. Taylor. They were located in the immediate vicinity of the Belmont Cricket Club grounds, now the Kingessing Recreation Centre. Some of them, being partially of log construction, antedated the Revolutionary period. The section upon which they were scattered is now almost entirely covered with modern homes, churches and public schools., Taylor Catalog Number: 169
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1895
- Title
- Kingessing Farm Houses Now Gone
- Description
- Two horizontal panels of farmhouses in Kingessing in the 1890s. The upper image is labeled, "Old Spring house, East side of Chester Ave. below Fifty Second St.," and the lower image is labeled "West side of Chester Ave. below Fifty Second St.", This and other old farm houses and tenements were still existent in the Fortieth Ward in 1896, when they were sketched by Mr. Taylor. They were located in the immediate vicinity of the Belmont Cricket Club grounds, now the Kingessing Recreation Centre. Some of them, being partially of log construction, antedated the Revolutionary period. The section upon which they were scattered is now almost entirely covered with modern homes, churches and public schools., Taylor Catalog Number: 167
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1896
- Title
- Kingessing Farm Houses Now Gone
- Description
- View of an old farm house shaded by trees. The image is labled "Greenway Ave. and Fifty First St.," in the lower left corner., This and other old farm houses and tenements were still existent in the Fortieth Ward in 1896, when they were sketched by Mr. Taylor. They were located in the immediate vicinity of the Belmont Cricket Club grounds, now the Kingessing Recreation Centre. Some of them, being partially of log construction, antedated the Revolutionary period. The section upon which they were scattered is now almost entirely covered with modern homes, churches and public schools., Taylor Catalog Number: 168
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1896
- Title
- Farm house, Fifty-first Street and Springfield Avenue
- Description
- Depicts a farmhouse and barn with cows and people on the property. It is labled as, "The Jones Homestead, 51st St. west of Springfield Ave.," on the bottom right of the image., Taylor Catalog Number: 182
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1896
- Title
- Swanwick Street
- Description
- Depicts a narrow residential alleyway with a man pushing a cart in the foreground and other pedestrians walking in the street., Taylor Catalog Number: 19
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1908
- Title
- Where Old Philadelphia Still Clings to the Soil
- Description
- Sketch of the rooftops of a cluster of crowded homes., Taylor Catalog Number: 4
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1911
- Title
- Filbert Street Homes
- Description
- View of a busty intersection filled with people, early automobiles, horse-drawn carriages, and a trolley. The streets are lined with residences and businesses displaying a variety of advertisements., Taylor Catalog Number:
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1911
- Title
- Gray's Ferry and Gardens; A Bartram House on Woodland Avenue
- Description
- Contains two panels depicting homesteads on the Schuylkill River. The top image shows a three-story building with a two-story porch on the front. The bottom panel shows a two-story residence with a horse-drawn carriage waiting outside., Gray's Ferry and Gardens: A map of 1750 indicates two Gray homesteads upon the east side of the Schuylkill River, where the Gray family had long served wayfarers by ferry across the stream, at first by the batteaux and later by means of a floating bridge of logs, which connected the odl Gray's Gerry Road with the Southern Post Road, now known as Woodland Avenue. This bridge was rebuilt by the engineers of the British Army in October, 1777. Forts were placed to defend it and armies crossed to and fro. After the Revolution G. and R. Gray environed their tavern upon the Kingsessing shore with spacious gardens. On April 20th, 1789, Washington, on his way to assume the Presidency of the Republic, crossed the bridge beneath triumphal arches, and in the following year he was twice the chief figure of distinguished gatherings attending splendid fete's at Gray's Gardens. The decline of Gray's resort began with the opening, in 1803, of the permanent bridge at Market Street, and after the completion of the famous plowed railway sidings, fell from its high estate, lapsing into the ruin depicted in this print, drawn from a Newell photo. A Bartram House on Woodland Avenue: This sturdy house, located upon the east side of Woodland Avenue just north of Fifty-fourth Street, formerly stood well back from the road in the shade of large trees. It was built by William, a son of John Bartram, in 1807. The frame work is of heavy hewn timbers. When Bartram's lane gave way to Fifty-fourth Street the house stood in the road and was moved to its present site. The porch was built by the father of Councilman H.D. Beaston, who lived here for many years., Taylor Catalog Number: 161
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1913
- Title
- On Election Night
- Description
- Night scene with crowded streets, trolley cars and early automobiles. On one side of the street there are businesses, "Edwards," "Starks Oyster House," "Prudrette Crops" and a sign shop.
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1914
- Title
- Old Wooden-Sides Gone at Last
- Description
- Shows a row of wooden residences on a cobblestone street slated for demolition., When, in 1796, the city fathers decreed that no more wooden houses should be erected in the built-up sections of the city, they began to multiply upon the commons. These weather-beaten survivors of the march of improvement, escaping conflagration, stood upon Cherry street, north side, west from Thirteenth street, until 1914, when they were removed together with the adjoining brick structures to clear space for a factory and store building., Taylor Catalog Number: 46
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1914
- Location
- Taylor - Case 7-16 [2717.F]
- Title
- Franklin's First Home in Philadelphia
- Description
- Depicts two attached brick homes and surrounding alleyways with hanging laundry., Taylor Catalog Number: 22
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1914
- Location
- Taylor - Case 6-14 [2717.F]
- Title
- The Big Red House
- Description
- View of a large four-story home with a walled-in garden on a busy street. Pedestrians are on the sidewalk, and early automobiles and a horse-drawn carriage are present in the street. The silhouette of City Hall can be seen on the far right of the image., Taylor Catalog Number:
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1914
- Title
- The George Mifflin Houses and Workman's Court
- Description
- View of three residences around a grassy area. People sit on benches and converse in the space, while a boy and old man stand in the foreground near a brick path., Taylor Catalog Number: 20
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1914
- Title
- A Challenge to Old Mansions!
- Description
- Shows a row of large residences across the street from a tree-filled park. The wide street is occupied by a trolley, early automobile, and a horseback rider., Taylor Catalog Number:
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1914
- Title
- The Morris Residence
- Description
- View of a Georgian-style home on a snowy day., Taylor Catalog Number: 10
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1914
- Title
- Southeast from Logan Square
- Description
- View of a shady park path with buildings in the background. A woman and small girl stand in the foreground on the path., Taylor Catalog Number: 15
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1914
- Title
- The Little Home Street Called Cuthbert
- Description
- Depicts a narrow cobblestone redidential street with a few people standing in the street. A cart is being unloaded in the background., Taylor Catalog Number: 312
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1914
- Title
- Busy Sansom Street
- Description
- Shows a busy commercial street lined with businesses. The street holds pedestrians, horse-drawn carriages, a trolly, and an early automobile., Taylor Catalog Number: 21
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1914
- Title
- At Sixth and Walnut Streets
- Description
- Street view of the corner of Sixth and Walnut Streets. Pedestrians, a trolley, and an early automobile populate the street, while the corner building reads, "Union Casualty Insurance Company.", Taylor Catalog Number: 17
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1914
- Title
- South Broad Street in 1915
- Description
- Aerial view of South Broad Street. A parade with men on horseback and a marching band fills the street while onlookers line the sidewalk., Taylor Catalog Number: 11
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1914
- Title
- The Inasmuch Mission
- Description
- Reproduction of a drawing of a busy street scene with the four-story "Inasmuch Mission Men's Hotel and Restaurant" at 1019 Locust Street, Philadelphia. Completed in 1913, the mission house, the exterior resembling a warehouse, rehabilitated "fallen" men through religious and social services. Scene includes views of the nearby markets adorned with awnings under which men and women shoppers peruse displays, converse, and stand idle. The African American man, attired in a bowler hat, a shirt, a jacket, pants, and shoes, stands leaning against the awning pole with his hands in his pockets. In the right, the Chinese man, wearing a queue and attired in a tunic, pants, and slip-on, cloth shoes, stands against a wall and looks down the street away from the viewer. A horse-drawn wagon and pedestrians traverse the street. In the left, a man organ grinder with a monkey entertains children standing on the sidewalk., Copyrighted., Drawn by artist in 1914., See accompanying pamphlet containing the artist's descriptions of the views, "Ever-Changing Philadelphia" (Philadelphia: Frank H. Taylor), p. 6., Accessioned circa 1916., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, artist
- Date
- [drawn 1914, printed 1915]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Taylor - Case 11-6 [2717.F]
- Title
- When the Liberty Bell Came Home
- Description
- Reproduction of a drawing depicting a lit window and open door at night. A backlit crane is lowering a bell into the doorway in front of a large crowd holding flags., Safely back from the acclaim of patriotic millions, loath to say "Good-bye!", the tired old Bell came, at last, to its home portal at nightfall upon Thanksgiving day, 1915. Welcomed by all Philadelphia, it had moved slowly, flower decked, with soldiery and music through the crowded streets to old Independence Hall. The gently creaking cordage swung it clear of its chariot; it was lowered upon the waiting pedestal; the lashings were loosed and the journey was done. The most thankful person in Philadelphia that night were, doubtless, those city officals and members of the police force who were especially entrusted with the safe handling and guarding of the priceless relic during this, the latest and longest journey to which it has been subjected., Taylor Catalog Number: 39
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1915
- Title
- The Little House of Clubs
- Description
- Narrow street with trees and few pedestrians., That much-abused term, "Bohemia," finds is sanest expression, among the art and litereary elements of Philadelphia, here in modest South Camac Street. First to come was the time-honored, yet ever virile, Sketch Club. Then followed the literati, who housed, hard-by, the Franklin Inn Club. Then the "Ad" men came with their "Poor Richard Club," closely followed by a coterie of lady art devotees with the "Plastic." Lastly, lest any should go hungry, came the cheerful Coin d'Or. Clever architectural contriving has changed a once dingy, unconsidered row of old houses into snug and joyous oases in local clubdom, full of real Philadelphia comfort and, therefore, different, in their homely outsides and their inside doings, from anything elsewhere vaunted, all assertions to the contrary notwithstanding. There are several other clubs round about, upon the borders of Bohemia, each providing to its membership something of that element of good-fellowship which the favored guest is sure to find in this quiet by-way of old downtown., Taylor Catalog Number: 27
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1915
- Title
- On the Edge of Society Hill
- Description
- Depicts the corner of a well-kept residential street. The building on the corner is identified as St. Peter's House, an Episcopal charity., Standing here at the intersection of Pine and Front Streets we are upon the border of a once exclusive residential section. St. Peter's House, a beneficent outpost of the Episcopal Church, is one of comparatively modern build, dating from the centennial period. On this corner formerly stood the home of Bishop White. The houses beyond were, in the time of the Revolution, popular quarters for discriminating British officers of high degree, and more than one of them have been heard and seen even near to the present time, clad in brilliant uniforms, stalking in upper rooms and clanking down dark stairways to the affright of children and servants. This is, however, a matter to be whispered and not asserted when skeptics are near., Taylor Catalog Number: 41
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1915
- Title
- Westward Along Quiet Locust Street
- Description
- Shows buildings on the 1300 block of Locust Street looking westward. The present building for the Pennsylvania Historical Society can be seen on the left side of the image closest to the viewer., Only those who look upward take artistic note of the light that plays upon lofty casements above the shadows of lesser things. This glimpse, westward from Thirteenth Street, along Locust, "The Street of Libraries," is an instance in point. Vistas such as this embody the spirit of "ever-changing Philadelphia," telling the story, as they do, of a city rebuilding for a greater future, yet rich in the dignity of quiet byways where bookish men and women may stand and loiter and admire, impeding none who hurry., Taylor Catalog Number: 29
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1915
- Title
- The First Photograph Made in America
- Description
- The image depicts an early street scene showing the State Arsenal, the then new High School and the Horse Market Tavern on Juniper Street, now covered by the Wanamaker building. Views of buildings on Market, Juniper and Filbert streets are seen in the distance., The possibility of obtaining "sun pictures" was known to European scientists in the early period of the eighteenth century, but it remained to Daguerre, one of a group of French experimenters, to produce definite heliographs. When, in 1839, he was pensioned by the French Government, the process was made public and the formula soon reached American scientific bodies. A brief account appeared in the "United States Gazette" of September 25th. Among those few who regarded the discovery seriously was Joseph Saxton, and employee at the Mint upon Chestnut Street. He obtained a small lens and an "exposure" from a rear second-story window of the Mint. This picture, taken upon October 16th, 1839, was the first "heliograph" made in America. He is said, by Dr. Julius Sachse, in his pamphlet report to the Franklin Institute, to have taken other views from the same outlook on the following daw. THis drawaing depicts what the camera "saw," even though but faintly, in those epochal views. Joseph Saxton was an inventor of numerous scientific and mechanical devices. He died at Washington in 1873.
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1916
- Title
- Swaim's Laboratory and Baths
- Description
- Shows commercial buildings on the corner of Seventh and Sansom Streets. Shops are on the first floor and pedestrians stand on the corner., The venerable buildings yet standing (in 1916) at the northeastern corner of Seventh and Sansom Streets, were erected nearly a century ago by William Swaim for the manufacture of his once famous "Panacea." In connection with them he established a bathing establishment, a long popular predecessor of the modern Turkish baths of the city. These structures are upon ground once part of the gardens in the rear of the Waln Mansion upon Chestnut street. At one time a tavern was located here. A variety of small industries, offices and stores give the old group an air of some remaining activity. When passing, please note the picturesque little fruit store at the corner., Taylor Catalog Number: 79
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1916
- Location
- Taylor - Case 7-15 [2717.F]
- Title
- Franklin Court
- Description
- View of a narrow cobblestone street lined with crowded buildings. A horse-drawn carriage waits in the foreground., This narrow thoroughfare, now called South Orianna street, extending south from Market to Chestnut streets, east of Fourth Street, marks the side of the narrow lane leading back to the home of Benjamin Franklin in his later years, and in which he died in 1790. His "mansion house" was upon the west side about the center of the square. After his death the house was occupied by the Portuguese Minister. In 1801 it was offered by the advertisements as having "five chambers, two parlours, a large kitchen," etc. In that year it was occupied by the Philadelphia Academy. Subsequently it became John Cordner's Coffee House and Hotel. In the Athenian Hall, in this alley, a young Scot, James Gordon Bennett, essayed his first newspaper venture, the Daily Courier, which he afterward sold to Jasper Harding. Here also James Wilson, grandfather of President Wilson, published the Aurora. In Franklin Court one Baker maintained, in 1822, an agency for servants and advertised "Black boys and girls for sale." This was probably one of the latest instances of traffic in modified human slavery in the city., Taylor Catalog Number: 85
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1916
- Location
- Taylor - Case 6-17 [2717.F]
- Title
- The Griffith Jones House
- Description
- Shows a stone farm house with outbuildings and two cows in front., This substantial relic was existent until the year 1917. It stood near the intersection of Wyoming avenue and Rising Sun lane, just south of the Torresdale Boulevard. Griffith Jones was one of the twelve resident members of the Society of Free Traders who purchased largely from William Penn. Jones alley, now Church street, east of Second street, derived from him its name. His tract in Bristol township was originally of 500 acres, extending along abrank of Frankford creek. The house was built about 1687. Griffith Jones became a mayor of the city in 1704. The land of Joseph Willcox adjoined the Jones tract. The latter, also an early mayor, married Ann Powell, stepdaughter of Mr. Jones. This couple acquired the Jones property whoich they called Annsberry Farms. In 1755 the place was sold to Thomas Roberts in whose family it remained more than a century. But 13 acres were left of the ground when it was finally taken for building operations., Taylor Catalog Number: 94
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1916
- Title
- At Six O'Clock
- Description
- View of the Philadelphia skyline at night in 1916. City Hall is clearly visible to the left of the image., The heart of the city presents, on a winter evening, a wonderful picture of towering office buildings aglow with lights from a thousand windows. This sketch, made from the roof of the new Bell Telephone Building, suggests the power and ambitions fo the new Philadelphia, which has, within a few years, so shut in a dwarfed our once dominant City Hall., Taylor Catalog Number: 52
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1916
- Title
- A Bit of Old Philadelphia at Seventh and Filbert Streets
- Description
- Depicts a busy street corner with residences and businesses. The corner store displays a sign that reads, "Frank Melers' Grocery Store.", This quaint huddle of long-ago homes, now marked for removal, is yet existent (in 1916) at the Southwest corner of Seventh and Filbert Streets (which many school children of the sixties recall as Zane Street). Research has failed to discover anything beyond the fact that they were built when this neighborhood was a popular home section of the city. Hidden away behind them one who cares for such survivals may find a still older house which, doubtless, stood there, in its garden. When this was "out of town" and before the United States government bought across the street its first holding of real estate and built upon it the first national mint., Taylor Catalog Number: 56
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1916
- Title
- Northwest Corner of Third and Chestnut Streets
- Description
- Depicts the building on the northwest corner of Third and Chestnut Streets. People walk in and out of the businesses on the first floor., The earliest structure at this corner was a two-story frame building, which was respectable aged when, in the year 1790, it was occupied as a "department store" by Joseph and Jesse Sharpless, who also manufactured boots and shoes. Five years late the latter merchant had built a four-story brick building on Second street, just above the corner, which the contemporary wiseacres promptly dubbed "Jesse's folly." A drawing made in 1829 indicates that the old Sharpless store was then occupied by "Russell's hat shop." Another four-story structure was erected on the corner in 1833. This still remains. In 1839 the publishing office of the "Spirit of the Times" was located here, under the management of John S. Du Solle. L. Pelouze established a type foundry on the upper floor in 1848. A notable tenant was Volney B. Palmer, the pioneer advertising agent of America, who was located here ten years from 1846., Taylor Catalog Number: 84
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1916
- Title
- Horticultural Hall
- Description
- Reproduction of a drawing depicting a building on a busy street. Pedestrians gather on the sidewalk in front of the entrance, and automobiles and a figure on horseback are on the street in the foreground., In the autumn of 1917 this building, located south of the Academy of Music upon Broad street and one of the most beautiful structures in Philadelphia, was destroyed to make room for a theatre. The fact directs attention to the long and noteworthy record of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society which, formed in 1827, was the successor of the first American Agricultural Society, organized in 1785. The original Horticultural Hall was built in 1865. The Hall was burned out in 1881 and again in 1893. The structure lately removed was the fourth owned by the society. The repeated rebuilding of the property was due to the liberality of Mr. William A. Schaeffer, who held the position of President seventeen years. In 1884 his widow placed the building in the hands of trustees "for the benefit and use of the Society forever." Many eminent citizens have been identified with the Society in the course of its existence., Taylor Catalog Number: 112
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1917
- Title
- Some Franklin Relics
- Description
- Sketches of objects owned by Benjamin Franklin., A number of visible evidence of Benjamin Franklin's ingenuity are preserved in local libraries and museums. Some of the more important of these are here grouped. Nos. 1 and 4, electrical generators, are owned by the Franklin Institute. No. 3, a combination chair and step-ladder, and 5, the model of a stove, are treasured at the rooms of the Philosophical Society, of which Franklin was a founder. No. 2, an insulated stool, and 6, a beautifully made air-pump, may be seen in the museum of Independence Hall. Nos. 7 and 8, a china punch keg and wine glass are exhibited in the collection of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. These were presented to Franklin in Paris by the Count d'Artois. Nos. 9, a wooden flat-iron holder, and 10, a burning glass, are also at the last-named institution. The Library Company of Philadelphia has a duplicate of No. 1. A priceless collection of Franklin papers possessed by the Philosophical Society have been cataloged in a series of painstaking volumes, by Dr. I. Minis Hays, the Librarian., Taylor Catalog Number: 86
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1917
- Location
- Taylor - Case 6-19 [2717.F]
- Title
- A Noted Spruce Street Residence
- Description
- Shows a large four-story townhome with an elaborate entrance. The sign above the door reads, "American Catholic Historical Society," and a woman sweeps the sidewalk in front of the building., The substantial house numbered 715, on Spruce Street, is a fine example of typical design in the old Quaker City. It was built in 1821 by Whitton Evens, a merchant trading with the West Indies. Having met with reverses, Mr. Evans died seven years later and the house became the home of Nicholas Biddle, then President of the Second Bank of the United Staets, who resided here until 1839. The property was purchased in 1853 by Dr. James Kitchen, who died here in 1894 at the age of 95 years. He was said to have been the oldest practitioner in the United States. Since 1895 the building has been occupied by the American Catholic Historical Society., Taylor Catalog Number: 109
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1917
- Title
- Francisville
- Description
- Shows five panels of houses in Francisville, the area bordered by Ridge Ave., Fairmount Avenue, and Nineteenth Street. The house in the center panel is identified as having been owned by Rev. Samuel B. Wylie., The old name "Francisville" is still used to designate a diagonal space extending athwart the triangle bordered by Ridge and Fairmont avenues and Nineteenth street. This tract was planned by Tench Francis, whose father, of the same name, was one of William Penn's associates. The younger Francis had married Ann Willing. The enterprise was inteded to provide a select suburb, beyond the encroachments of the city. The lots were placed on sale in 1770. One of the early houses upon the tract, that of Tench Francis, was burned by the British soldiery in the fall in 1777. Tench Francis was for some years the cashier of the Bank of North America, of which his father-in-law Thomas Willing, was president. The Property called "Bellevue" was built by the Rev. Samuel B. Wylie, in 1825. It remained the family homestead to the end of the century, when it was replaced by the Bellevue Apartments, destroyed by fire some years ago. The site is now within the new Francisville Recreation ground., Taylor Catalog Number: 98
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1917
- Title
- Swept from the Parkway Vista
- Description
- Panoramic view of the Ben Franklin Parkway in 1917. Factories can be seen in the middle ground and buildings in Center City in the background, including a silhouette of City Hall on the left side of the drawing., The view south-eastward from Fairmount, in the fall of 1917, stirkingly resembles war scenes in Belgium. A long-busy manufacturing section is being swept from the path of the Parkway. The important structures thus removed include one public school, located at Twenty-third and Shamokin streets, and the plants of Charles N. Harder, Erben Harding, the Jones box factory and the large mill of S.B. & B.W. Fleisher, beside scores of lesser industries and numerous houses., Taylor Catalog Number: 110
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1917
- Title
- At the Corner of Pewter Platter Alley
- Description
- Depicts a narrow street corner with residences and pedestrians., Local historians disagree concerning the location of the early tavern which gave its name to Pewter Platter alley, which was, still earlier, called Jones alley, in deference to the property holdings of Griffith Jones, once Mayor (and an unwilling one) of Philadelphia. This narrow throroughfare is found immediately opposite Christ Church, extending eastward to Front Street. It is now designated, much to the regret of historic delvers, "Church street." Several ancient houses in this artery of traffic still remain. The home of the Parrish family, at the northeastern corner of Second street and the alley, is most interesting. Here lived Isaac Parrish, merchant, and Sarah his wife, daughter of Abraham Mitchell, through sixty-six years. Of their eight children born here two sons died in the yellow fever plague of 1793. It was doubtless as a result of the distress of that sad time that Ann Parrish and other formed the "Female Society for the Employment of the Poor," the first organization of the kind in the city. Dr. Joseph Parrish placed his "shingle" upon the house, as a physician, in 1806. He became noted among the medical leaders of his time., Taylor Catalog Number: 95
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1917
- Title
- Old Academy Doorway
- Description
- View of a doorway at the end of a narrow alleyway. Two men converse near a horse-drawn cart., This quaint doorway faces a brief alley at 60 North Fourth Street. It affords access to a manufacturing building, the walls of which were, at least in part, those of the Whitworth Chapel, built long prior to the Revolution, as a free church, but occupied, at the period by the "Academy," out of which the University of Pennsylvania has developed. The latter institution removed from this building, in 1801, to the large residence erected as a Presidential "White House," at Ninth and High Streets. The First Unitarian Church was organized here. The property is still owned by the University., Taylor Catalog Number: 134
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1918
- Title
- The Roberts Mansion
- Description
- Depicts a three-story home on the corner of Walnut and Nineteenth Streets. It is identified as being built by Dr. Philip Syng Physick and later owned by Algernon Sidney Roberts., The fine old homestead at the northwest corner of Walnut and Nineteenth Streets was built, some eighty years ago, by Dr. Philip Syng Physick, of distinguished memory, whose descendants inter-married with several of our most exclusive families. The property was bought in 1864 by Algernon Sidney Roberts, whose daughters occupied it until recent years. At the date of this sketch (in 1918), the house has been loaned as headquarters of the French War Relief Committee in Pennsylvania, in charge of a group of patriotic ladies., Taylor Catalog Number: 155
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1918
- Title
- "The Oldest House in Philadelphia"
- Description
- Shows the building on the corner of two narrow cobblestone streets. A horse-drawn carriage waits outside., For the accuracy of the above title the "Founders' Week Committee," charged with the duty of marking historical places within the city, made itself responsible when it so marked the ancient house hidden away within the block east from Third Street and south from Chestnut Street; to be more exact, at the southwest corner of Carter's Alley (now Ionic Street) and Exchange Place. For many years past a saloon has occupied the structure, upon the northern wall of which there is a marble Keystone bearing the date of its erection in 1692. There are external evidences that the original front faced southward, probably upon a garden space sloping downward to Dock Creek. The heavy timbering of the house is well preserved. No research among early historical works of local limitations has uncovered any credible traditions concerning its builder or those who, in the course of its two and a quarter centuries of existence, lived within its walls. Here is a tempting nut for later delvers to crack., Taylor Catalog Number: 164
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1918
- Title
- Greenway Public School, on Greenway Lane
- Description
- Reproduction of a drawing depicting a series of buildings along a quiet, tree-lined street. The building in the foreground has a plaque that reads "1859," and has a figure in the doorway and children on the sidewalk., Greenway Public School, on Greenway Lane west of Woodland Ave. Erected in 1859., Taylor Catalog Number: 186
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1919
- Title
- The Columbia Bridges at Belmont
- Description
- Reproduction of two drawings depicting a bridge over a river. Top image depicts a covered railroad bridge with a train going across, with a horse-drawn covered wagon and a train car pulled by mules in the foreground. The bottom image shows an uncovered bridge with two steam locomotives moving in opposite directions, and two automobiles and horses on the lower bank of the river., The original railroad bridge spanning the Schuylkill River at Belmont was completed in 1834. It was built by the State of Pennsylvania, at a cost of $235,000, to provide connection of the city with the Philadelphia & Columbia Railroad. It was the first railroad bridge built within the State. Cars were drawn to Belmont by mule power and hoisted by steam up the incline at Belmont a distance of 2000 feet. Thence they proceeded to Columbia, at first by horse power, and, after 1836 by small locomotives. Sectional canal boats were transported upon trucks over the same route, these providing means for freightage and passenger travel to and from Pittsburgh. The bridge was bought by the Philadelphia & Reading Railway Company after the old State railroad was superseded by the Pennsylvania (central) line. The old bridge was displaced by one of iron in 1889. This second bridge will be removed, in the course of 1920, by a splendid arched bridge of concrete which is, at this time (1919), in course of construction., Taylor Catalog Number: 184
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1919
- Title
- Hammer and Anvil
- Description
- Depicts a low, square building covered in ivy. Early automobiles are parked in front of the structure., The rhythmic clink of hammer on anvil echos softly to the ears of the inmates abiding within the beneficent Presbyterian Hospital. The old building, now given over to the repair for wagons and hapless autos, is a quaint feature at a corner fo Thirty-ninth and Flibert Streets. Within the memory of neighbors it was a stable of the nearby hotel, but tradition asserts its orignial state as a real roadside smithy, at its best in the days when the tavern yards hereabout were filled at night with the wagons of the Chester County farmers laden with produce for the early morning markets., Taylor Catalog Number: 197
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1919
- Title
- Another Passing Rialto
- Description
- View of a row of commercial buildings on a busy street displaying advertisements., This last group of once well-kept residential properties forms all that is left of the cordon of homes, long ago the domiciles of many of our "best families," which once surrounded the centre squares. These old timers, gaudy with the lure of signboards, are awaiting the inevitable. Since old John Barleycorn went out of business all hope has flown. No doubt somewhere somebody is, even now, putting another "skyscraper" on paper which, in the fulness of time, will rise triumphant on this spot and even the name of Harry Edwards will become a fading memory., Taylor Catalog Number: 206
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1919
- Title
- The Twaddell Homestead
- Description
- View of a large residence surrounded by trees. The image is labeled, "The Twaddell Homestead, Forty Sixth Street and Baltimore Ave.," in the bottom left corner., Baltimore Avenue's most interesting home seems destined to pass from existence soon before the inroads of the operative builders. This fine example of colonial architecture occupies the centre of the block between Forty-fourth and Forty-fifth Streets northwest from Baltimore Avenue. Old-time gardens grace the frontage of the house, shaded by the century-old trees. The rear portion of the house used as a kitchen was orignially the home of a Swedish settler and is counted as one of the first five habitations built west of the Schuylkill River., Taylor Catalog Number: 185
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1919
- Title
- The "Sorrel Horse" and the "Rising Sun"
- Description
- Image of an old three-story building surrounded by a picket fence. A caption in the bottom left corner reads, "Sorrel Horse Hotel, Fifty First St. and Woodland Ave. The upper floor is of modern construction. Original part was built in 1800.", Just southwestward of the old Darby Road Toll-gate at Forty-ninth Street there yet remain two time-worn structures once popular with speeders on their way to or returning from Suffolk Driving Park. The first, known as the "Sorrel Horse," is at Greenway lane, just beyond Fifty-first Street. It bears the date of 1800. Some owner, in the time of its decadence, has removed its dornered roof and built above the old walls a third floor as a place of teh storage of odds and ends of many sorts. The other, famed as the "Rising Sun," probably dates from colonial days. Not since the era when "two-forty on the plank road" was the nation-wide synonym of speed records have these old-timers known the prosperity of the crowded stable yards and equally crowded tap rooms. They linger as reminders of days and ways long gone of interest chiefly to the passing artist and the oldest inhabitant., Taylor Catalog Number: 183
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1919
- Title
- The "Sorrel Horse" and the "Rising Sun"
- Description
- View of a stone and lumber building with a sign that labels it "David F. Ferguson Storage." A caption in the bottom left corner of the image reads, " Rising Sun Hotel, Woodland Ave. below 54th St.", Just southwestward of the old Darby Road toll-gate at Forty-ninth Street there yet remain two time-worn structures once popular with speeders on their way to or returning from Suffolk Driving Park. The first, known as the "Sorrel Horse," is at Greenway lane, just beyond Fifty-first Street. It bears the date of 1800. Some owner, in the time of its decadence, has removed its dormed roof and built above the old walls a third floor as a place of the storage of odds and ends of many sorts. The other, famed as the "Rising Sun," probably dates from colonial days. Not since the ears when "two-forty on the plank road" was the nation-wide synonym of speed records have these old-timers known the prosperity of crowded stable yards and equally crowded tap rooms. They linger as reminders of days and ways long gone of interest chiefly to the passing artist and the oldest inhabitant., Taylor Catalog Number: 181
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1919
- Title
- The William Penn Hotel
- Description
- View of the four-story William Penn Hotel and adjacent horse market., This ancient hostelry has been a cheery feature of Market Street beyond the Schuylkill River from the days when that busy highway was a country road and Thirty-ninth Street just west of it, was "William" Street. It is closed at last. It was a favorite resort of generations of horse-dealers, a vocation now passing out. From this old tavern stages departed via the "permanent" bridge for the city, and westward out the West Chester pike. One day, some twenty years ago, the last stage ever leaving Philadelphia made its final trip from here to Newton Square., Taylor Catalog Number: 196
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, creator
- Date
- ca. 1919