Photographic views of New City Building
Title
Photographic views of New City Building
Description
Albums of progress photographs of the early construction of City Hall built 1871-1901 on Penn Square after the designs of John McArthur, Jr. Photographs show different stages of the construction of the foundation and lower floor of the building between 1873 and 1875. Includes images of the dirt sub basement; construction materials, equipment, and workers; aerial views of the built foundation; partially completed walls and abutments; and studio views of columns and architectural ornaments. Several of the views include scaffolding; horse-drawn carts; pulleys; piles of construction debris; Pennsylvania Railroad cars on Market Street; and workers and well-dressed men, probably the commissioners, reviewing and posed on or near constructed parts of the building and construction materials. Views also show surrounding cityscape, including the Masonic Temple (Broad and Filbert); United States Mint (1331-1337 Chestnut Street); the Seventh Presbyterian Church (Broad Street above Chestnut Street); Pennsylvania Railroad Freight Depot (13th and Market); La Salle College High School (Filbert and Juniper); Sharpless & Watts, flooring tile (1325 Market Street); the spires of Arch Street Methodist Episcopal Church (s.w. cor. Broad & Arch) and First Baptist Church (n.w. cor. Broad and Arch); and other surrounding businesses (beer hall, wall paper, and furniture) and residences., Volume 1 (Oct. 1873-Aug. 1874) contains two tipped in letters, dated December 26, 1873 and June 27, 1874, from President of the Commissioners for the Erection of the Public Buildings Samuel C. Perkins. Correspondence presents the stereographs, "authorized to be taken by the commissioners," as a means for the library to "have for preservation in [the] archives a complete photographic record of the progress of a work which under any aspect must be considered as of marked importance in our local history.", Stereographs numbered, dated, and printed with the series title "Views of Construction in Sub-Basement" or "Views of Construction" and the names of the architect, chief assistant, and board of commissioners on the verso., Calf bindings, polished and mottled., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Volume 1 image reproduced in The Print and Photograph Department of the Library Company of Philadelphia's Center City Philadelphia in the 19th century (Portsmouth, N.H.: Arcadia Publishing, 2006), p. 116., Samuel C. Perkins, a Philadelphia lawyer, served as president of the Commissioners for the Erection of the Public Buidlings 1872-1891., Housed in phase boxes.
Creator
Cremer, James, 1821-1893
Date
1873-1875
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department albums - Cremer [(1) 23455.D & (2) 23455.D]
Photograph album of Philadelphia and vicinity
Title
Photograph album of Philadelphia and vicinity
Description
Photograph album compiled by Philadelphia photographer Robert Newell containing views by the photographer and his peers, including F. De. B. Richards. Images depict major city landmarks and views of Fairmount Park, including benevolent, educational and financial institutions, historic sites, residences, churches and meetinghouses, bridges, and hotels and taverns. Sites documented include Broad Street (Civil War) Hospital; Foster Home (Twenty-Fourth and Poplar); Germantown Academy; the former bookstore and printing office of William Young (200-204 Chestnut); Landing Avenue during alterations (East bank of Schuylkill); Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (old and new); Carpenters Hall; Independence Hall; Academy of Music; Merchants' Exchange; Girard, Farmers', Mechanics', Pennsylvania, and Fourth National banks; Bartram's, Keene, and Rittenhouse mansions; Woodford residence (Fairmount Park); Washington's residence (Germantown); Womrath property, "where the first 4th of July" was celebrated" (4216 Frankford); Oldest house in Lansdown" (West Fairmount Park); Old Farm house (Broad and Oxford); St. Judes Episcopal church; Fairmount Water Works, and boat houses and ice houses along the Schuylkill; Cedar Hill, Laurel Hill and Woodlands cemeteries; Columbia, Old Callowhill Street, Girard Avenue, and New York Connecting Railroad bridges; Continental, Valley Green, Maple Spring, Markley's and Cole's hotels; and "Punch Bowl" (2100 Broad), "Abbey" (Hunting Park and Wissahickon Aves), Old Buck? (Lancaster Pike) and Old Grey's Ferry taverns., Images also include neighboring and tenant businesses, including Charles Oakford & Sons, hats, Continental Hotel (29a), John C. Clark & Sons, stationers and printers, L. S. Boyer & Co., coal, and a "Shaving and Hair Cutting Emporium," on 228-232 South Third (29b), and a real estate office, 524 Arch (45b); street vendors (74b); and broadsides displayed on buildings and walls (49b & 79b). Several of the Fairmount views also show visitors, patrons to refreshment saloons, and park guards. Scrapbook also contains a small number of photographic reproductions of engravings, including one of Masonic Hall (700 block Chestnut) and images reproduced in R. Newell & Son's "Old Landmark" series (1876), including Old Swede's Church, Friends Almshouse, and Robert Morris Hotel., Title supplied by cataloger., Some of the contents identified by inscriptions on album pages. Inscriptions annotated and corrected in different hand., Texts from R. Newell & Son's "Old Landmark" series tipped in between album pages., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Images from album reproduced in The Print and Photograph Department of the Library Company of Philadelphia's Center City Philadelphia in the 19th century (Portsmouth, N.H.: Arcadia Publishing, 2006)., Album reformatted for conservation. Housed in two phase boxes, including binding and index., Robert Newell, the prominent Philadelphia commercial photographer operated a studio from circa 1855 to 1900. His firm, which originally specialized in portraiture, later focused on "Artistic Business and Landscape Photographs" and was reorganized as R. Newell & Son circa 1872. In 1876, the studio (Robert and Henry Newell) issued a series of six viewbooks under the title "Old Landmarks & Relics of Philadelphia." Newell also produced series of stereographs during the 1860s depicting commercial streets, the volunteer fire companies, and views of Fairmount Park and local cemeteries, as well as invented acid proof photographic ware in the 1870s.
Creator
Newell, Robert, 1822-1897
Date
ca. 1860-ca. 1900
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *albums (flat) [P.9062]
Old landmarks & relics of Philadelphia. Second series.
Title
Old landmarks & relics of Philadelphia. Second series
Description
Viewbook containing six titled photographs and a folded leave of titled, narrative texts about the images. Photographs depict "Independence Hall" showing the front facade of the building built 1732-1748, including the front courtyard with the Joseph A. Baily statue of George Washington; "Whitby Hall" showing the country dwelling built in 1754 on land in Kingsessing acquired by Philadelphia merchant James Coultas in 1741;" "Friends Alms House, Walnut Bel. Fourth" showing the benevolent institution erected in 1729 and razed in 1841; "Acadamy [sic] of Fine Arts, Chestnut St. Bet. 10th & 11th Sts. Phila." showing the arched entry way to the building erected in 1806 and shortly before it was "torn down in 1870, to make way for Fox's American Theatre; "Rittenhouse Mansion, Arch & Seventh Sts." showing the former residence of astronomer David Rittenhouse built 1786-1787 by master builder Joseph Ogilby; and "St. Peters Church, Fourth & Pine" showing the Episcopal church built 1758-1761 "in the midst of a graveyard." Images also include residents; street lamps; signage; partial views of storefront awnings; and trees and greenery., Titles on negatives., Embossed green cloth binding, gilt lettering., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., Recon note: Match points differ, Photographs originally on folded leave., Presented by Margaretta A. Dick in memory of her father Walter B. Dick.
Creator
R. Newell & Son
Date
c1876
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department albums - Newell [Am 1876 Old 50832.D]