Exterior view showing the four-story Gothic-style hall built 1853-1855 after the designs of Sloan & Stewart at 713-721 Chestnut Street. A small portion of the adjacent Washington House hotel signboard is visible (right). On the sidewalk, eleven pedestrians (men wearing top hats and canes, women with parasols, and a child wearing a wide-brimmed hat) greet one another, converse, stroll, and admire the building. Hall building sold circa 1873 following the completion of the new Masonic Temple on North Broad Street., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 501, Wainwright retrospective conversion project, edited., LCP AR [Annual Report] 1979 p. 43., Historical Society of Pennsylvania: Bc 05 T 451.
Creator
Tholey, Charles P., d. 1898, artist
Date
ca. 1855
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **W385 [P.8467]
Commemorative print showing the ornately decorated grand lodge room on the second floor of the New Masonic Hall built 1853-1855 after the designs of Sloan & Stewart at 713-721 Chestnut Street. Rows of cushioned benches with carved backs line the room adorned with gold vaulting over the turquoise colored walls and ceiling. Two daises with lavish thrones adorned with ornate Gothic-style canopies containing sculpted allegorical female figures interrupt the seating. The larger dais, which predominates the background and over which a large gilt chandelier hangs, contains several Gothic-style chairs, two chests, and sculpture displayed on pedestals and in alcoves. The smaller dais, including a chest, stands in the right of the image. The building was sold circa 1873 following the completion of the new Masonic Temple on North Broad Street and later razed by fire in 1883., Embossed stamp of printer on recto: L.N. Rosenthal Lithographer Publisher Philadelphia., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 324, LCP exhibit catalogue: Made in America #78., Wainwright retrospective conversion project., Historical Society of Pennsylvania: BC 05 S634.
Creator
Rosenthal, Max, 1833-1918, artist
Date
c1855
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **W160 [P.2078]
Exterior view of the two-story Gothic hall adorned with battlements, pointed windows and doors, and a 180-feet-high wood steeple. Constructed between 1808 and 1811, purportedly after the designs of William Strickland, adjacent to brick row houses on the north side of Chestnut Street. Pedestrian traffic in front of the hall includes three men conversing on the sidewalk, a couple strolling by, two ladies walking arm-in-arm, and an older woman moving with a basket balanced on her head. A fancy horse-drawn carriage moves west along Chestnut Street. The hall, rebuilt in 1820 following a fire the previous year, was demolished in 1853., Transcription of inscription on corner stone of building included on recto., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 460, Wainwright retrospective conversion project, edited., Historical Society of Pennsylvania: Bc05 S917.
Creator
Chillas, David, artist
Date
c1853
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **W229 [P.2130]
