}L»t(><'t«iri'r "" ""„«<■ SJ^:i3^iiiiifit|3t|k«^iiMa&i6Kte3q3, tSHiBSnSSSranf^jhuatiurtgitr-Sttn^Q '■ F158 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS QD0D51E0354 # •y^i^/ : ^^' "S, PRlSTKllS, i LODGE ALLEY. PREFACE. The little volume which we now submit to the public, is designed to remedy a deficiency which has long been a subject of complaint. We mean that of a small pocket directory, containing an enu- meration of the principal objects of curiosity in and around the city, with just so much of description and information respecting them as a stranger might hope to receive from an intelligent citizen who should accompany him in visiting them. It would have been a very easy matter to accumulate statis- tical and historical details to an extent that would have wearied the reader's attention without adding greatly to his stores of information; but it has been our object to render what we have chosen to say concise and amusing rather than learned and mi- nute. We have inserted views of some of the more interesting public buildings, in order to enable the stranger to convey to his friends at home, some idea of the places he has seen, as well as the amusements of which he has partaken. The " Guide to the Lions of Philadelphia" will be published annually, with such additions as the changes in the objects, which it is designed to em- brace, may render necessary. CONTENTS. Theatres, . . . . . .10 Chestnut Street Theatre, . . • .10 Arch Street Theatre, . . . . .11 Walnut Street Theatre, . . , • ^? Exhibitions, . . . . . .13 Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, . . .13 Artist's P'und J^ociety's Exhibition, . . .15 Sully and Earle's Gallery of Paintings, . . 16 Masonic Hall, . . . . .17 The Diorama Exhibition, . . . .18 The Philadelphia Museum, . . . .18 The Old State House, . . . .20 PoBLic Libraries and Institutions for the Promotion of Li- terature AND Science, . . . .21 The City Library, . . . . . '21 The Alheneum • • . . .23 Hall of the American Philosophical Society, . . 23 Academy of Natural Sciences, . . .25 The Franklin Institute, . . . . 2(j The Musical Fund Society, . . . .28 The University of Pennsylvania, . . .29 Jefferson Medical College, . . . .30 Public Schools, . . . . .30 Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, . . .31 Public Squares and Gardens, . . . .32 Independence Square, . . . .33 Washington Square, . . . . .34 Franklin Square, . . . . .34 Penn Square, . • . . .34 M'Arans Garden, • . . . .35 Landreth's Garden, . . . . .35 Parker's Garden, . . . . .36 Hibbert's Garden, . . . . .36 Public Buildings, &c., within THE City, . . .36 The United States Bank, . . . .37 Bank of Philadelphia, . . . .38 Girard Bank, . . . . .39 Bank of Pennsylvania, . . . .39 The United States Mint, . . . . 40 Merchants' Exchange, . . . .41 Pennsylvania Hospital, . . • .42 CONTENTS. Markets, High Street Market, . South Second Street Market, . North Second Street Market, . Shot Towers, C'hdrches, Protestant Episcopalian, St. Stephen's Church, St. Andrew's Church, Christ's Church, Roman Catholic, St. John's Church, . Presbyterian, The First Presbyterian Church, Unitarian, Unitarian Church, . The Jews, . The Sunday School Union, Hotels and Boarding Houses, PJansion House Hotel, United States Hotel, . Marshall House, North American Hotel, City Hotel. . Merchants' Hotel, Congress Hall, Ronaldson's Cemetery, . Manufactory of Porcelain, Cooke's Equestrian Circus, Objects of Curiosity and Interest in the Environs of the City, Water Works, Lemon Hill Garden, . Floor Cloth Manufactory, The Eastern Penitentiary, House of Refuge, Railroad Bridge over the Schuylkill, Market Street Bridge, and Upper Bridge, Girard College, Laurel Hill Cemetery, New Alms House, Bartram's Garden, United States Marine Hospital, United States Arsenal, New County Prison, . The Navy Yard, Glass Manufactories, . Monument of Penu's Treaty, THE LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. When a stranger has arrived in a city, and comfort- ably established himself at his hotel, his first inquiry generally is, " Who is to show me the Lions *? How am I to learn, in the shortest and most summary way, what are the objects of interest to a visitor in this place, the curiosities, remarkable buildings, places of public resort and amusement, and the institutions, of which I may de- sire to carry home with me some information, and some agreeable reminiscences'?" It is our purpose, in this little volume, to furnish such information with respect to the city of Philadelphia, to the extent that our limits will allow ; and we accordingly hasten to take our read- ers through a cursory survey of the most remarkable and interesting objects which our city presents to the notice of visitors. It may be presumed, that on his arrival in this city, which generally takes place in the afternoon, the visitor may choose to defer till the following day, his regular exploration of the various localities, although he may 2 10 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. be tempted to pass his first evening in some place of amusement. "We shall, therefore, commence with a de- scription of the Theatres, of which there are three in the city proper, the Chestnut Street, the Walnut Street, and the Arch Street Theatres. CHESTI7UT STREET THEATRE. This building is situated on the north side of Chestnut Street, between Sixth and Seventh. The front is of mar- ble, presenting an arcade, sustaining a screen of com- posite columns, and an entablature, flanked by wings. These contain niches, in which are placed the statues of Tragedy and Comedy, by Rush. Below are recesses, containing basso relievos, representing the Tragic and Comic Muses. The building has five entrances in front, and spacious lobbies, capable of accommodating one thousand persons. There are three rows of boxes, of which the lower one is a double row. On the second floor is a spacious LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. 11 saloon and coffee rooms. The length of the building is one hundred and fifty feet, breadth ninety-two feet. The pit and boxes will accommodate two thousand persons, and the entrances are so large and numerous, that a crowded audience may retire from the house in three minutes. It was built in 1822, from a design of Mr. Strickland. The entertainments at this Theatre are generally in very good taste ; and the regulations are such as to in- sure quiet, order, and security. The present managers, Messrs. Maywood and Pratt, are indefatigable in their exertions to secure the best performers, native and fo- reign ; and have occasionally " diversified the scene" by introducing the French and Italian Operas. AUCH. STREET THEATRE. This Theatre is situated on the north side of Arch Street, between Sixth and Seventh streets. It was erected in 1828, and the performances commenced in the autumn of that year. It has a marble front, with a colonnade of marble pillars, supporting a Doric frieze. On the tym- panum is a colossal figure of Apollo, in alto relievo, by Gevelot. The interior resembles that of the Chestnut Street Theatre, excepting that the lobby is less spacious, and there is but one row of boxes below. The interior architecture and decorations are of rather a lighter character. This Theatre was for many years the scene of Forrest's performances in this city ; and was under the management of his brother. Since the decease of the 12 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. last mentioned gentleman, it has passed into the hands of the managers of the Chestnut Street Theatre, and is only opened when that is shut. On his return from Europe, in 1836, Mr. Forrest performed at the Chestnut Street house, attracting crowded audiences. •WAIiNUT STREET THEiSLTRE. This Theatre was formerly used as a Circus. In 1828, the building was thoroughly repaired, and a new front, with marble pillars and other decorations, was erected under the direction of Mr. Haviland. Regular theatrical performances have been presented here since that period. The present manager, Mr. Wemyss, has been particu- larly successful in getting up splendid melo dramas, and other entertainments, in which beautiful scenery, dresses, and decorations, formed the chief attraction. Having secured the services of Mr. Russell Smith, one of the best scene painters in the country, his scenery has uniformly been of the most beautiful kind. LIONS OP PHILADELPHIA. 13 Mr, Booth has generally resorted to this theatre when performing in Philadelphia, and has always attracted full houses. The Walnut Street Theatre is very spacious, and the interior arrangement is such as to accommodate a very large audience, and to insure the transmission of sounds from the stage, with distinctness, to the remotest parts of the house. This is particularly noticed whenever the entertainment is made to consist chiefly of music. EXHIBITIOIVS. Under this head may be classed a great variety of objects worthy of the attention of the visitor. We shall commence with the exhibition of pictures, statues, &c. TUNNSY'I/V'AJiriA ACADEMIZ' OF FIZTi: ARTS, We vshould have been happy to place among our em- bellishments a view of the pretty building belonging to this institution; but, as the directors have thought proper to place on the ground, in front, a couple of unsightly buildings, our artist could find no position for drawing the picture, which would afford a view that might be deemed worthy of his pencil. The building is situated in Chestnut Street above Tenth. The Academy was founded in the year 1805, by the exertions of an association of private individuals. It 14 LIONS OP PHILADELPHIA. was chartered in 1806. It was designed as a school for young artists; and it has rendered much service to Ame- rican arts, by means of its rich collection of paintings and statues, which are alv/ays open to students, and are frequently used for the purpose of improvement. Instead of the annual exhibition for six weeks, the Academy is now open for visitors throughout the year. The present amount of attractive works of art in the Academy is un- usually large. In addition to the large collection of original paint- ings, comprising the permanent stock of the society, superior to any collection of the kind in the country, there are several large paintings, recently deposited in the halls, either of which would make the fortune of an itinerant exhibitor of works of art. Among these are West's picture of Death on a Pale Horse, which has been recently cleaned, and placed in a much better light than it has ever enjoyed before in this country, so that it appears a totally different affair from what it was when exhibited in New York, and in the Hall of Independence. Haydon's grand painting of Christ entering Jerusalem, is placed on another side of the same hall. This is, by many connoisseurs, considered the best work of the artist, and, in many respects, has no superior in our country. Opposite to Haydon's picture, is David's celebrated painting of Napoleon crossing the Alps, the subject of which is familiar to every one, from the numerous en- gravings of it which have been published. In another hall is Allston's "Dead Man raised by touching the Prophet's bones." This painting has been so long in possession of the Academy, that most of our citizens have become well acquainted with it. If it were LIONS OP PHILADELPHIA. 15 to be exhibited by itself in some apartment near Chestnut and Fifth streets, all strangers of taste, who come to the city, would consider it as indispensable to see that, as the Mint or the Water "Works ; but as it is placed in the Academy, with a thousand other valuable works of art, a visit to it is apt to be postponed till it is forgotten, Mr. Powell's collection of original paintings, deposited in the Academy for safe keeping, during the proprietor's visit to Europe, is well worthy a visit, and an inspection of several hours, even if there were no other paintings in the Academy. The works of sculpture are also highly deserving of attention. One apartment is filled with casts from the most celebrated works of ancient and modern sculpture. The group of the Centaurs and Lapithae, still retains its place in the front hall ; and in a small apartment, among other rich and curious sculptures, is an original group, by the famous Benvenuto Cellini, which, of itself, is worth a ten miles walk to look at. ARTIST'S FU2TD SOCIETVS EXHIBITIOir. This is an annual exhibition of paintings by the Artist's Fund Society. It commences in April, and lasts about two months. An entirely new collection of paintings is offered every year ; and, as the exhibition is wholly un- der the direction of artists resident in the city, one is sure to find here a sufficient number of specimens to afford a tolerably correct idea of the state of the art of painting among us, for the time. The exhibitions, thus far, have been richest in the 16 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. departments of landscape and portrait painting, with oc- casionally a few happy efforts in the department of his- torical painting. The visitor is sure to find here some of the best portraits of Sully, Neagle, and Otis, with a number of the beautiful landscapes of Doughty, Shaw, Russell Smith, and Birch, and a few of the unrivalled marine views of the last named artist. To some visitors it will be a matter of interest to know that this exhibition is a fashionable lounge for parties of ladies and gentlemen, who appear in the character of connoisseurs, or patrons of art, desirous of learning, by comparison of their respective works, who among the artists may be most worthy to receive encouragement. The exhibition is at present located in the hall oppo- site the Chestnut Street Theatre. SUIiIiTT ANiy EARIiE'S GAIiZiERir OF This fine collection of paintings is open to visitors in Chestnut Street, near Fifth. Besides the large number of paintings of foreign artists, it offers a great many of the happiest efforts of Mr. Sully himself, painted at dif- ferent periods of his brilliant career. As it is constantly receiving fresh additions from his easel, as well as from the studies of foreign artists, it is unnecessary to attempt an enumeration even of its chief attractions. We are not aware that there is any private collection of paintings in the country which will compare with this in extent and value. It is open to visitors at all seasons of the year. LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. 17 IVIASOirZC HAIiIi. We introduce the Masonic Hall in this connection, because it is a favourite place for those transient exhibi- tions of paintings and productions of the other orna- mental and useful arts which are constantly coming and going during the year. The building, which is a specimen of Gothic architecture, is situated in Chestnut Street, between Seventh and Eighth; and in passing it, the visitor can hardly fail, at any time, to see an an- nouncement of some attractive spectacle. Those which are presented here at regular periods are most worthy of attention. They consist chiefly of the exhibitions of manufactures by the Franklin Institute, and of the beau- tiful and rich specimens of flowers, fruits, and exotic plants which are collected here twice every season, by the Horticultural Society. The Hall is also frequently used for the purpose of giving balls, entertainments, and fancy fairs/ We are not aware that the rooms in this 18 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. building, formerly reserved for the use of the society by whom it was erected, were ever open to public inspec- tion; but the variety of interesting objects which the society has permitted to be exhibited within its walls, will cause Masonic Hall to be always remembered with pleasant associations. THE DIOHA^HA. Z3XHIBITI0ZT, The hall which is used for the exhibition of the colos- sal paintings, to which is given the significant name of Diorama, is situated in George Street, between Seventh and Eighth. A series of historical and scripture pieces, painted on a very large scale, and exhibited in such a manner as to produce a most vivid effect, are here offered to the notice of the public, in succession; and they are understood to have attracted large numbers of visitors. The moral effect of fine historical pictures is very strong, and should commend them to the notice of all who are anxious to preserve in themselves or their chil- dren, those nicer sensibilities, on which the emotions of beauty and sublimity depend. THE FHIIiADEZiPHIii MUSEUM. This very extensive collection of specimens in natural history, originally called Peale's Museum, from its en- lightened and enterprising founder, Charles W. Peale, Esq., is at present deposited in the central apartments of the Arcade, in Chestnut Street, between Sixth and Seventh. LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. 19 The collection of specimens of mammalia is believed to be the most extensive in the country, and boasts the only entire skeleton of the mammoth which has yet been offered for exhibition. It was found in digging for marl, in Ulster county, New York. The collection of birds is understood to embrace all the specimens used by Mr. Wilson, in preparing his splendid American Ornithology, in addition to an im- mense number of foreign birds, in a very excellent state of preservation. Among the fishes is the Devil Fish, taken several years since off Cape May, which measures twelve feet between the extremities of the head and tail, and fifteen between those of the lateral fins. The mammalia and birds are arranged according to the system of Linnaeus. Cleaveland's arrangement has been followed with the minerals, and Lamarck's with the shells. In addition to the objects of natural history, there is a very extensive collection of specimens of utensils, dresses, arms, antiquities, &c., from abroad; and, per- haps, the finest cabinet in the world of objects illustrating the history, antiquities, costumes, &c. of the aboriginal Americans. Mr. Peale's collection of historical portraits is still preserved in the Museum, and to one who is fond of reviving the recollections of his country's glory, by perusing the features of its illustrious men, this is the most interesting part of this valuable and instructive exhibition. LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. THE OZiD STATE HOUSE. There is no building in the city to which more interest is attached than this ; and none which is more visited by strangers. It was in one of its apartments that Congress used to assemble in the times of the Revolution: and it was there that the Declaration of Independence was pro- posed, discussed, passed, and signed by Congress. On the steps of the door, facing on the great square, south of the building, the Declaration was first read and pro- claimed to the people. Hence the apartment has been called Independence Hall, and the square Independence Square, to this day. The bell used on that memorable occasion for calling the people together, although not in use at present, is still preserved in the steeple of the building, as a relic of the heroic age of American his- tory. There is a curious statue of Washington in Inde- pendence Hall, carved in wood by Rush, and said to be LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. 21 an excellent likeness. Several fine pictures by Sully and Inman, are also deposited in this apartment. It is much regretted that several years since, in consequence of some strange remissness on the part of the city au- thorities, the interior architecture of Independence Hall was changed. It has since been restored; so that the room presents the same appearance as formerly. The remainder of this building is used for the courts of jus- tice; and the wings, which extend to Fifth and Sixth Streets, are devoted to similar purposes. PUBLIC LIBRARIES AND INSTITUTIONS FOR THE PROMOTION OF LITERATURE AND SCIENCE. Philadelphia is rich in public libraries, and they are generally instituted on such liberal principles as to be- come very extensively useful both for the improvement of individuals and for the advancement of science. The most popular and extensive of these is THE CZTV ZiZBILaRir. This institution owes its origin to Dr. Franklin, who, in 1731, prevailed upon an association of his friends to unite their private libraries into a common stock for mutual improvement. From this humble beginning, it has now become the largest, and, we may add, the most 22 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. extensively read library in the United States. The build- ing belonging to the association which was chartered under the name of the "Library Company of Philadel- phia," is situated on the east side of South Fifth Street below Chestnut Street, and may be readily distinguished by the visitor, as there is placed over the front door a fine marble statue of Franklin, executed in Italy and presented to the Company by William Bingham, Esq. The funds for the increase of the library are so judi- ciously managed as to admit of a constant supply of the new works of merit published in Europe and the United States ; and frequent large donations have been made by the munificence of private individuals. A circum- stance which distinguishes this library from most others in this country is that during the hours when it is open to the public, i. e. in the afternoon, any person may go in, and read or consult the books at his pleasure. He may even take home volumes, on leaving their value as a pledge for their return. Considering that the library is the property of a private association, instead of being the property of the state, we think this is liberal. Those libraries on the continent of Europe which are thrown open in this manner are national institutions, and it would be absurd to withhold the use of them from the people ; but in the present instance it is a courtesy for which the company deserve credit. The Loganian Library, appropriated for public use by James Logan and some of his family, is deposited in the same building with the City Library. It consists of up- wards of eleven thousand volumes chiefly in the depart- ment of classical literature. A fund is appropriated for its increase. LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. 23 THE ATHEXTEUm. This institution, like others in this country bearing the same name, is intended to furnish a place of resort for persons of leisure who may wish to read the news- papers, reviews, and scientific journals, and consult the library. It is well supplied with papers and journals, and has an excellent library of several thousand volumes. It is supported by the contributions of the stockholders, who pay twenty-five dollars per share, and four dollars annually, and by subscribers, who pay an annual assess- ment of eight dollars each. The Atheneum is at present located in the lower story of the building belonging to the American Philosophical Society, situated in Fifth Street below Chestnut. Stran- gers are introduced by subscribers or stockholders and after having their names entered on the books are enti- tled to the gratuitous use of the advantages of the insti- tution for one month. A donation of ten thousand dollars, was recently made to the Atheneum by W. Lehman Esq., one of its direc- tors for the purpose of erecting a building suitable for the use of the members. It has also received several liberal donations of books, plates, maps, &c. HAIiI. OF THE AMERICAN- FHII.O- SOFHICAI. SOCIETY. In the apartments over the Atheneum are the library and collections of the Philosophical Society, to whom 24 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. the building belongs. The hall of this Society possesses considerable interest from the antiquity, and respecta- bility of the Society and the number of eminent men whose names are found on the list of its members. It is the oldest Society of the kind in the country, having been founded by Dr. Franklin as early as 1743, "a re- mote period of American history." The American So- ciety for promoting useful knowledge was united with it in 1769. The building belonging to the Society was erected about fifty years since on a part of Independence Square granted to them by the legislature of the state. The library contains over six thousand volumes many of them of great cost and rarity presented by foreign go- vernments and learned societies. They are arranged with great care and a catalogue raisonnee, one of the most accurate ever made in this country, has been pre- pared and published under the direction of the president, P. S. Duponceau, Esq. The collections of the society embrace a handsome cabinet of minerals and fossils, an extended series of Mexican and Tultecan antiquities and several other objects of curiosity. The paintings are chiefly portraits of distinguished members of the society. Among the former presidents of the society the names of Franklin, Rittenhouse, and Jefferson occur, and among the members some of the most distinguished men of science in our own and foreign countries. Admission to the Hall of the Philosophical Society may be obtained by means of an introduction to one of the members or to the venerable and philanthrophic se- cretary, John Vaughan, Esq., a gentleman very exten- sively known for his urbanity and hospitality to strangers, LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA, 25 as well as for his disinterested devotion to the interests of science and literature in this city. ^C^DEMV OF NATJJRAJm SCIBNCBS. The Academy of Natural Sciences was founded by an association of gentlemen in 1812, and incorporated in 1817. Its library, museum, &c. are deposited in the neat little building situated at the corner of George and Twelfth streets, which is the property of the association. It is open to visitors only on the afternoon of every Saturday. The museum is remarkable rather for the neatness and scientific accuracy of its arrangement, than for its va- riety or extent. In conchology and in fossils, however, it is very rich, and some of the members of the Academy appear to have made a point of rendering these depart- ments as complete as possible. 3 26 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. The library contains several thousand volumes, chiefly relating to natural history, and embracing many very rare and costly works. Some of the most valuable of these were presented to the Academy by Wm. M'Clure, Esq., one of its most active founders, and its most liberal benefactor. THE FHAXTKIiIIT INSTITUTE. There is no scientific institution of which Philadelphia has greater reason to be proud than the Franklin Insti- tute. Its design is " the promotion and encouragement of manufactures, and the mechanic and useful arts, by the establishment of popular lectures on the sciences con- nected with them; by the formation of a cabinet of models and minerals, and a library; by offering premiums on all subjects deemed worthy of encouragement; by examining all new inventions submitted to them; and by such other means as they may deem expedient." Such is the out- line originally sketched in the constitution; and nobly has it been filled up by the spirit, energy, and unremit- ting industry of its leading committees, cheered and supported by the approbation and contributions of nearly three thousand members. Without going into a detail of the history and internal arrangements of this Institution, it will be sufficient for us to say that it affords to any respectable person, who chooses to become a member, the privilege of hearing, with this family and apprentices for a very moderate fee, excellent courses of lectures through the autumn and winter months on natural philosophy, chemistry, and LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. 27 Other scientific and literary subjects; that it has accumu- lated rich cabinets of models and minerals, and a hand- some library; that it awards annually a large number of premiums for useful inventions; that it presents frequent exhibitions of American manufactures of every descrip- tion sufficiently attractive and brilliant to make every citizen glory in his country, and assigns suitable re- wards to superior specimens of skill and workmanship; and that its committees, by their superior science and impartiality in the examination of inventions, and deter- mining difficult questions in science and art, have ac- quired so high a character and authority as to be con- stantly appealed to by the departments of the state and general governments on points of momentous importance involving very heavy appropriations and expenditures. Such has been the happy result of industry directed by science. Such might be the result in any of our great cities, where the same degree of industry and science should be applied to the same useful purposes. The Hall of the Franklin Institute is situated in Se- venth street between Chestnut and Market. Its collec- tions may be viewed on application to its intelligent and indefatigable actuary, Mr. Hamilton. The exhibitions take place usually in the month of October at the Ma- sonic Hall. Strangers will find no difficulty in making arrangements for attending the scientific lectures during their stay in the city. 28 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. THS 3MUSICAZ. FUXTD SOCZETV. This is an incorporated society of some fourteen years standing, having for its object the relief of distressed musicians and their families, and the cultivation of pro- ficiency and taste in music. What chiefly entitles it to our notice is the series of brilliant concerts given by the professors and amateurs of which it is composed, during the autumn and winter months. These concerts take place in the Hall of the Society, situated in Locust street between Eighth and Ninth streets. The concerts combine all the musical talent which may be available at the time, not excepting such eminent vocal and instrumental performers as may be then visit- mg the city. The Hall is also generally used for the purpose of giving concerts by such professors as choose to hire it for the purpose. LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. 29 THE UNIVERSITY OP FEITITS'S'Ii- This Institution, originally (1750) an academy and charity school, was chartered and endowed in 1753, erected into a college in 1755, and into a university in 1779. The revival of the college as a separate institu- tion was effected in 1780, and the two were finally united into the University of Pennsylvania in 1791. It now comprises an academical department in which the usual college course of four years of instruction is given and degrees conferred; and the medical school, the most ancient and the largest in the country, the students generally numbering between four and five hundred. The new buildings at present occupied by the Univer- sity are situated in Ninth street between Market and Chestnut streets. The extensive and valuable anatomical museum, and the philosophical and chemical apparatus belonging to the institution, are well worthy the attention 30 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. of the intelligent stranger. They may be seen on appli- cation to any of the trustees or professors. JUFFERSOIT ^fLUDlCAIi COIiZiEGE. This extensive and flourishing medical school was instituted in 1825, and soon afterwards it was chartered by the legislature with the usual power of conferring degrees in medicine. Since that period it has been gra- dually increasing in reputation and in the number of its students, which have recently risen to nearly four hun- dred. The hall is situated in Tenth street between Walnut and Chestnut streets. It has ample accommodations for the purposes of lecturing and demonstrating in medicine, surgery, and anatomy, and a museum comprising very extensive and beautiful collections and preparations in anatomy, materia medica, botany, mineralogy, and che- mistry. The hall and its interesting contents may be viewed by any respectable stranger on application to any of the trustees or professors. PUBI.IC SCHOOIjS. Those who are interested in popular education will be happy to learn that Philadelphia has a very extensive system of public schools, in which instruction is freely afforded to the children of all who choose to avail them- selves of Its provisions, without expense. LIONS OP PHILADELPHIA. 31 Our limits will not permit us to point out the locality of each of the school houses; but those who are curious in these matters will have no difiiculty in finding them by inquiry, and we can assure them on the authority of experience that they will be courteously greeted, and afforded any information with respect to the school sys- tem which they may desire, on application to any of the instructors, who may always be found at their posts and on duty during the hours usually devoted to the business of school instruction. ASITImJJUL for the DEiLF ANT> DUIMCB. This interesting school was incorporated in 1821 with a grant of 8,000 dollars, and a further grant of 160 dollars per annum for four years for the support and education of each indigent mute child in the state admit- ted to the institution, provided the sum total per annum should not exceed 8,000 dollars. The building, which is 32 LIONS or PHILADELPHIA. situated in Broad street near Pine street, was erected in 1824 after a design of Mr. Haviland. Strangers are admitted to witness the exercises of the pupils on one afternoon every week on obtaining a per- mit from one of the directors. The exhibition is a very- curious and interesting one. The teachers explain to the audience the language of signs, which it appears is a natural language essentially the same with all mutes, and of which the rudiments are brought to the institution by each pupil. They then demonstrate the modes by which they make this natural language of signs available in communicating ideas to the pupils; and display the gradual and truly wonderful process by which they are led from the simplest elements of instruction to the higher and more abstruse subjects of physical, moral, and intel- lectual science. This exhibition is so curious and so perfectly intelligible to any person of common under- standing, that it gives universal satisfaction to visitors, and sends every one away with a full conviction of the benevolent and extensively useful character of the Insti- tution. PUBLIC SQ,VAR£:S AND GARDBXS. The noble and liberal appropriation of our large public squares, and of several broad streets equivalent to public squares in airiness, is to be attributed to the wisdom and foresight of the great founder of our com- monwealth. His original plan made all the streets wider than they are at present, in etfect, it being his LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. 33 design that the houses should be set back on the lots so as to afford little areas in front. Moreover, it was his intention that Front street should be what its name indi- cates; and should front upon the river Delaware without the intervention of buildings; but Water street, with its immense warehouses, has been built up in defiance of the benevolent intentions of Penn; and it is a part of the purpose of the splendid bequest of Girard to the city, to remedy, in some measure, the evils and inconveniences which have arisen from this palpaple disregard of the founder's intention. Directly south of the State House, between Fifth and Sixth streets and Chestnut and Walnut streets, we have already had occasion to notice in connection with Inde- pendence Hall. It is a most delightful promenade, open at all seasons, planted with a great variety of trees, and laid out with gravel walks. It is a famous place for civic and political meetings, and is always resorted to when the sovereign people are to be harangued on such " a prodigious great scale," that no house or hall in the city will hold them. It will be observed with interest that, although this is the scene of so many gatherings of the people and even of the general elections of city and state officers, members of congress, &c., when there is much excitement among the people, yet the delicate trees and other ornaments of the place never suffer any injury on these occasions. The place alwa)''s presents the same elegant and finished appearance. 34 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA, VTASKIXrGTO^i- squahb. This was formerly the Potter's Field, or burial place for strangers; and a dismal place enough, they say, it was in those days. However, every vestige of the grave yard has now disappeared, and by means of beautiful trees, gravelled walks, and a handsome iron fence, it has become the most elegant square in the city, and is most resorted to in summer and autumn as a public prome- nade. It is situated between Walnut and Spruce streets, and Sixth and Washington streets. It is closed during the winter. Situated between Race and Vine streets, and Sixth and Franklin streets. This square is laid out in gravel walks, planted with trees, surrounded with an elegant iron railing and thrown open to the public. It is very large, and the trees present a wilder and more pictu- resque appearance than in the others already mentioned. This was formerly the site of the building used as water works for the supply of the city. After the construc- tion of the new water works at Fair Mount, the building was removed, and the square was divided into four equal LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. 35 parts by extending Broad and Market streets directly- through it. Neither this nor Logan SauARE, between Race and Vine streets, and Schuylkill Fourth and Fifth, nor RiTTENHousE SciUARE, betwceu Walnut and Ann, and Schuylkill Fourth and Fifth streets, are much used as yet. They have not been put in order for promenades. But as the city improvements extend towards the west, these places will become necessary for the accommodation of the public, and will, no doubt, be ornamented in the same manner as those in the eastern part of the city. But if the western part of the city has its public squares less adorned than the eastern, it may boast a greater superiority in the number of its beautiful and extensive gardens belonging to individuals, but open to the public. Among these Iff'ARAXT'S GARDSM-, Between Filbert and Courtland streets, and Schuylkill Fifth and Sixth streets, is one of the most frequented. The proprietor appears to take pride in the extent and variety of his botanical collections as well as in the neat- ness of his arbours, walks, &c., for the accommodation of visitors. ZiAXTDRETH'S GARDEIT, On Federal street, near the Schuylkill, has a very extensive botanical collection, and is elegantly laid out. The proprietor has a store in Chestnut street below Third for the sale of plants, &c. 36 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. ^AB.^BB?B GiLHDEST, On Prime street, near Tenth, has a very extensive collection of plants, and is very handsomely laid out HIBBEST'S G^RSEXT, On Thirteenth street, between Lombard and South streets, is much visited as a botanical garden, especially at those seasons when the immense collection of japoni- cas or dahlias happen to be in full flower. We might fill the remainder of our pages with an enumeration and description of the gardens in the west- ern parts of the city, which are resorted to for recreation during the summer season particularly. The stranger who takes a walk towards the Schuylkill can hardly fail to fall in with some one of them, where he may pass an hour very pleasantly, especially if he should happen to have a turn for the study of botany. PUBLIC BUILDINGS, &c., ^WITHIN THE CITY. The public buildings of Philadelphia are generally in good taste. Many of them are constructed upon the best Grecian models; and others are after approved models in the Gothic style. The width and regularity of the LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. 37 Streets and considerable size of the lots generally appro- priated for public buildings, are circumstances very- favourable to the display of architectural elegance and taste. In some cities that we could mention, the finest specimens of architecture lose their effect by the bad choice of lots and an ill-judged parsimony in the pur- chase of the ground, which leaves space for unsightly encroachments. It is very seldom that one finds occasion to complain of Philadelphia in this respect. The lots for banks, churches, public halls, «fcc., are generally selected in commanding situations, and ground enough is purchased to give the architect fair play. The stranger will be richly repaid for a walk of several hours through the streets, for the purpose of examining the exterior of our public buildings. THE UiriTED STATES BA2TIC. This is one of the most chaste specimens of Grecian ar- chitecture in the country. It is on the model of the Par- 38 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA, thenon at Athens, the colonnades on the sides, and certain other merely decorative parts of the original being dis- pensed with in the copy. The style of the exterior is Doric and the materials are American and Italian marble. The great banking room in the centre of the building is ornamented with Ionic pillars, sculpture, &c. and is richly worth a visit, even if one has no special business at the bank. The building was commenced on the 19th of April, 1819, and finished in 1824, It cost nearly half a million of dollars. This bank, which is now called the United States Bank of Pennsylvania, received its present charter from the state of Pennsylvania in 1836. Its capital is thirty- five millions of dollars. Its previous history, as the Bank of the United States, is too well known to require any notice in this connection. BANK OF PHIIiiiBIIIiPHIil.. The large and beautiful building, situated in Chestnut street, between Fourth and Fifth streets, on the lot conti- guous to that of the United States Bank, is occupied by the Bank of Philadelphia, We must defer a description of the building until it shall be finished. This bank was chartered for twenty years, in 1804, with a capital of two millions of dollars, of which the state holds upwards of half a million. In 1823 it was rechartered for fifteen years. LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. 39 GZRARD BANK. This elegant edifice was built and first occupied by the old Bank of the United States. After the expiration of the charter of that Institution, it was purchased by Stephen Girard, Esq., and was for a long lime used by him as a banking house. At his decease, a new bank was chartered, called the Girard Bank, and the building has since that time been occupied by this bank. It is a very spacious building, with a marble front, and a portico with six marble columns of the Corinthian order. It is situated in Third Street, between Chestnut and Walnut streets. BANK OF PB1TXTSVI.VAITIA. The banking house of this bank is a beautiful marble edifice, situated between Second and Dock Streets, hav- ing a handsome front on each of these streets, and a spacious area planted with trees, on Dock street. It was built under the direction of Mr. Latrobe, and is consi- dered one of the purest specimens of Grecian architecture in this country. The design was taken from the Temple of the Muses, on the Ilyssus, near Athens. It has, on each front, porticoes with six Ionic columns supporting entablatures and pediments. The interior is worth exa- mining on account of its architectural neatness and good taste. The Bank of Pennsylvania was first chartered, for twenty years, in 1793. Its charter was renewed for twenty years in 1810. The capital stock is two millions 40 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA, five hundred thousand dollars, of which the state holds one million five hundred thousand. It has branches established at Lancaster and Easton. The other banks in the city are plain buildings, with- out much pretension to architectural elegance. THE UNITED STATES MINT. Among the first objects which claim the attention of strangers is the United States Mint. The new building for the mint is situated in Chestnut street above Thir- teenth. It was erected in 1829-30. The architecture is Ionic, copied from a Grecian temple on the Ilyssus near A.thens, by Mr. Strickland. The operations of coining are well worthy of attention. The melting of the metal, casting it into heavy ingots, drawing it out into thin laminae, cutting out the circular pieces, milling and stamping upon them the impressions which they are LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. 41 to retain, form a very interesting spectacle; and the ele- gant machinery employed in these processes is the ad- miration of intelligent visitors. The hours for visiting the mint are from 9 till 12 in the forenoon. No visitors are admitted in the afternoon. MERCHAN'TS' EXCHAXTGE. This splendid edifice was completed in 1833, after a design of Mr. Strickland. It is situated at the corner of Third and Walnut streets. It serves the purpose of a commercial and financial centre of the city. The base- ment story is occupied by the post office, a number of insurance offices, brokers' shops, and a bar room. On the principal story over this you find a splendid rotunda richly ornamented with designs of Monachesi painted on the ceiling, and opening upon a balcony, bounded by a semicircle of Corinthian pillars. In the rear of this room, towards Third street, is a reading room furnished with a good supply of files of newspapers from all parts 4 42 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. of the United States, to which strangers are introduced by the stockholders or subscribers. Here also is the foreign letter office. The remaining apartments of the building are rented to clubs of merchants and individuals, the nature of whose business renders such a location desirable. The building is surmounted by a cupola, which affords a commanding view of the commercial part of the city and the river. The building with the pillars in front, seen in the distance of the above vignette, is the Girard Bank. TENNBTrij^rJLNlA HOSPITiLI.. The Pennsylvania Hospital was founded, chiefly, by the exertions of Dr. Franklin and Dr. Bond, in 1750. The east wing of the building was erected in 1755, the west wing in 1796, and the centre building in 1804. The hospital, grounds, and garden, occupy the whole square which is bounded by Eighth, Ninth, Spruce, and Pine LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. 43 Streets. The principal front is in Pine street, between which and the building itself is a splendid area, planted with lofty trees, and laid out in grass plots. In the centre of this area is a colossal statue of William Penn. On the rear of the lot, fronting on Spruce street, is a small building erected for a repository of the famous picture by Benjamin West, representing Christ healing the sick. This picture has been long one of the esta- blished " lions" of the city. The first question asked of a person on his return home from Philadelphia used to be, " have you seen West's great picture at the hospitaH" If the unlucky individual had failed of this great duty, he might as well take up his line of march "bock again," otherwise he might never hear the last of it. The pic- ture is one of West's best, considered with reference to its moral etfect. As a work of art it is inferior to many of his performances. It is richly worth a visit, however, as well as the hospital itself, which comprises not only accommodations for indigent patients, as well as those who pay, but an asylum for the insane, and a lying-in hospital for married women. It has also a large and elegant library, surgical amphitheatre, &c. On ascend- ing to the roof of the building the visitor obtains a fine bird's-eye view of the city. The position is not quite so commanding as that from the steeple of the state house, but one should not be satisfied without a view of the city from both of these points as well as from the summit of Fair Mount. 44 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. MARKETS. The Philadelphians are justly proud of the extent and richness of their provision markets. They are probably as fine as any in the world, if we take into consideration the abundance and excellence of the provisions, and the low prices at which they are afibrded to the purchaser. The beef is of an excellent quality, and the mutton is only surpassed by that of the English markets. The butter is universally celebrated for its sweetness and freshness. Fruit in great abundance and at very low prices is brought from the gardens of New Jersey and our own state. Fresh fish is obtained from the neighbouring rivers and is also brought from the ocean preserved in ice. Poultry is ofiered in the market in abundance at all seasons of the year; and the vegetables are not sur- passed in variety and goodness in any other market in the country. HIGH STUEIIT Mi^llKST. The buildings for the accommodation of dealers in fresh provisions in this street extend from Front street to Eighth street. The old buildings have been recently taken down, and new and more elegant ones erected on their sites. A walk through these early in the morning presents the stranger with a lively scene, and affords a favourable idea of the good living for which our city is renowned. LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. 45 SOUTH SECOND STREET MARXET, This market house is situated in South Second street, and extends from Pine to South street. It is the second in point of date, and in the abundance of its supplies. irORTZI SECOND STREET lYEARKET. This market house is situated in North Second street, and extends from Coats's street to Poplar lane. It is well supplied with provisions. The other market houses, situated in various parts of the city, present little to attract the attention of stran- gers. SHOT TOAVERS. There are two shot towers in Philadelphia, one in the city, and the other in Southwark; but we will so far depart from our plan as to notice them both in connec- tion. Beck's shot tower stands near the Schuylkill river, north of Arch street. It is a square tower, thirty-three feet in diameter at the base, and twenty-two feet at the summit. Its height is one hundred and sixty-six feet. It is capable of supplying shot at the rate of from three to five tons per day. 46 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. Spark's shot tower stands in Southwark, near the navy yard. It is of a circular form, thirty feet in diameter at the base, and fifteen feet at the top. Any one who will take the trouble to ascend to the top of either of these towers will, of course, be rewarded by a fine view of the city and the surrounding country. CHURCHE S, It can hardly be expected that we should describe, or even enumerate the several churches of the city. A slight notice of each would far exceed our limits. We shall only make a few remarks on the general style of architecture prevailing among these buildings, and point out a small number which may serve as specimens. Most of the large churches in Philadelphia are built after one or another of the Grecian orders of architec- ture, and they are generally executed in very good taste. There are a few specimens of the Gothic style, as it is generally called, and a considerable number which can be referred to no acknowledged rules of architectural taste. It is a curious fact, that, among our many churches, there are but two which send up spires to any considerable height. These are the Presbyterian church in Arch street above Tenth, and Christ's Church in Second street. The Gothic towers of St. Stephen's, of which we have given a view, were originally intended to be extended into very lofty pinnacles, diminishing in the proportion indicated in the finished part of these beautiful edifices. For some reason unknown to us, this LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. 47 design was abandoned for the time. We trust that the original intention may still be carried out, and that at no distant day, PROTESTANT EPISCOPALIAN. ST, STEFHEIT'S CHURCH. This fine specimen of Gothic architecture is situated in Tenth street, between Market and Chestnut streets. It was consecrated in 1823. It is one hundred and two feet in length. The octagonal towers, to which we have already referred, are eighty-six feet in height, and the style of the building, both internally and externally, being carefully preserved throughout, it affords one of the best specimens of the Gothic in the country. It belongs to a society of the Episcopalian church, which is, at present, under the pastoral care of Dr. Ducachet. 48 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. ST. In Eighth street, between Locust and Spruce streets, presents a handsome specimen of Grecian architecture. Its front is said to be a copy of the portico of the Temple of Bacchus, at Teos. The original plan included a spire at the western end of the building, which, if the church had been in any other city than Philadelphia, would, probably, have been completed long ago; but, situated as it is, the foundation only has been laid. We are unable to say when the steeple may be expected to rise. St. Andrew's is an Episcopal church. The present rector is the Rev. John A. Clark. In Second street, between Market and Arch streets, is an interesting building on account of its antiquity and its venerable appearance. It will soon become a point of attraction to strangers, on account of the elegant mar- ble monument to the memory of the late Bishop White, which is to be erected within its walls. The other Episcopal churches, deserving the notice of the stranger, on account of their architecture or their situation, are St. Peter's, at the corner of Third and Pine streets; St. Paul's, in Third street, below Walnut; and Grace church, in Twelfth street, between Arch and Race streets. LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA, 49 ROMAN CATHOLIC. ST, JOHN'S CHURCH. This is an elegant Gothic edifice, situated in Thir- teenth street, between Chestnut and Market streets. The interior is ornamented in a rich style, and, in addition to the decorations of the altar, it has some windows set with antique stained glass, and some fine paintings illus- trative of scripture subjects, by Monachesi. Connected with this church, is a school, and we believe an orphan asylum, which is kept in the building called the Gothic Mansion, in Chestnut street. The pastor is the Rev. Mr. Hughes. The other principal churches belonging to the Catho- lics in this city, are the Cathedral Church of St. Mary's, 50 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. in Fourth street, between Spruce and Pine streets; St. Augustine, in Fourth street, near Vine street; and the Holy Trinity, at the corner of Spruce and Sixth streets. PRESBYTERIAN. THE FIRST THES'BTrTIlILlA.N CHURCH. This fine edifice is situated on the south side of Wash- ington square. It was erected in 1822. It is of the Ionic order of architecture, on the model of a temple on the Ilyssus, near Athens. The material is brick covered with mortar, and painted in imitation of marble. The pastor is the Rev. Albert Barnes. The Presbyterians have about twenty more churches in the city, among which, the Fifth, in Arch street, above Tenth street, and a new church at the southeast corner of Eighth and Cherry streets, are remarkable for archi- tectural beauty. LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. 51 UNITARIAN. UITZTARIiiir CHURCH. The Unitarians have but one place of public worship in the city, a neat, little, Doric edifice, at the corner of Tenth and Locust streets. The pastor is the Rev. W. H. Furness. The other denominations of Christians in the city- have a large number of churches, built in various styles of architecture, and possessing various degrees of merit in their style and execution. Some of them are elegant, as, for example, St, John's, a German Lutheran church, in Race street, above Fifth street, of which the Rev. Dr. Mayer is pastor; and the Second Universalist Church, at the corner of Crown and Callowhill streets. But the majority of them would hardly arrest the attention of a stranger by their architectural neatness or elegance. 52 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. THE JEWS. Many strangers who come to the city express a very natural desire to witness the religious exercises of the Jews. They have three synagogues in the city. The most remarkable of them is situated in Cherry street, above Third street, built in the Egyptian style, from a design of Mr. Strickland. It is open on Saturday morn- ings, when the service is performed. Another synagogue is situated in Church alley, be- tween Second and Third streets, and another in Pear street, above Dock street. THE SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION. Philadelphia is the central point from which this im- mense establishment sends forth its publications through- out the country. The deposite for books and the offices of the secretaries are situated in Chestnut street, between Sixth and Seventh streets. HOTELS AND BOARDING HOUSES. ^fllLNSION HOUSE! KOTEI<. Mr. Head's hotel, the ancient mansion house of the Bingham family, situated in Third street, betweed Wal- LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. 53 nut and Spruce streets, is one of the most celebrated in the country. It hardly has its superior for comfort and convenience in the world. Its reputation is so well established that no room in it is ever vacant for more than a few hours. As the rule is understood to be never to engage rooms in advance, the first applicant after a room is actually vacated receives the preference. So that a visitor on arriving in the city, although he can never be sure of having a room at the Mansion House, is, on the other hand, never certain of being excluded. UNlTiny STATES HOTEI.. This large and commodious hotel is situated in Chest- nut street, opposite the United States Bank, and, on account of its central situation and the general excellence of its arrangements, it is the most popular house of entertainment in the city. It is kept by Mr. Dorrance. MARSHAiii. Hoxrsi:. This elegant hotel is situated in Chestnut street, be- tween Sixth and Seventh streets. It is much resorted to by gentlemen who have their families with them, and affords excellent accommodation for them, as well as for single visitors. 54 LIONS OP PHILADELPHIA. irORTH iSLMEniCAir HOTEIi. This house is situated in Chestnut street, between Sixth and Seventh streets. It is kept by Mrs. Yohe, who, for many years, presided over a very popular hotel in Fourth street, between Market and Arch streets. The North American Hotel is much frequented by visitors from the South and West, and affords accommodations for an immense number of lod^fers. CIT-Sr HOTEL, In Third street, between Market and Arch streets, a very large establishment, and celebrated for the excel- lence of its arrangements, and the extent of its accom- modations for visitors. IMEHCHAI^T'S HOTEIi, In Fourth street, between Market and Arch streets. This is a new establishment just opened, by Mr. Sander- son, and affords very excellent accommodations. The building has a handsome front with a fine colonnade and open balcony in the second story. LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. COITGRESS HAIiI., An old and celebrated establishment, in Chestnut street, between Second and Third streets, extending into Third street where it has another front. There is a large number of hotels on a smaller scale than those we have enumerated, generally distinguished by good attendance and abundance of good cheer. Among the more extensive and respectable boarding houses, suitable for the resort of gentlemen who are accompanied by their families, may be reckoned Mrs, Allen's, in Sixth street, between Chestnut and Walnut streets; Mrs, AUibone's, in Fourth street, between Walnut and Spruce streets; Mrs. Crim's and Mrs. Prentiss's, in Walnut street, between Fourth and Fifth streets; and several others, the direction to whose locality can generally be obtained at the bar of the principal hotels. This cemetery is situated at the southwest corner of Ninth and Shippen streets, and is as elegant as that of Mount Auburn is wild and picturesque. It is surrounded by a brick wall surmounted by an iron railing, and is laid out in parallelograms with walks between, and planted with innumerable trees, shrubs, and flowers. The effect of the white marble monuments standing in their straight and beautiful symmetry among the green foliage of the trees, and the many coloured flowers, is very striking. 56 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. The cemetery was founded by a priv^ate gentleman, James Ronaldson, Esq., and the lots are conveyed in fee simple to individuals for the sole purpose of burial lots and monuments. It is open to visitors on week days, but is very properly closed on the Sabbath. This delightful spot, although not within the bounda- ries of the city, may be reached in a walk of fifteen minutes from any of the principal hotels. We have, therefore, included it among the objects of curiosity within the city. mANTJFJBLCTOIiTT OF PORCEZ.AZir. This establishment is situated in Chestnut street, w^est of Broad street. The specimens of China and porcelain ware produced here are pronounced equal in respect of durability and superior in strength to that imported from abroad. The processes of the manufacture are very curious, and the display of beautiful vases, tea sets, dining sets, &c., is well worth the attention of the visitor. COOKS'S HQUSSTRIiLK CIRCUS, "We were not able to obtain a description of this circus before the form of this volume containing an account of the theatres went to press. We now insert a description copied from the United States Gazette. This circus, intended for Cooke's celebrated equestrian company, will not be entirely finished until some time in September next, when it is supposed it will be occu- LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. 57 pied by the troop, now " doing duty" in Boston, and which has so long attracted attention in New York. The building intended for their use here, will be finished with a good deal of taste, judging from the specimens of various embellishments already completed. The whole interior devoted to the audience, and which will contain, it is estimated, about two thousand persons, is to be lighted; by a single chandelier, suspended from the dome in the centre. This will be a magnificent afiair; second only, perhaps, in point of splendour, while exceeding in dimensions, the famous chandelier at the St. Charles' Theatre, New Orleans. It will be illuminated by gas, which will stream upon the audience in a flood of light, through upwards of two thousand burners, creating a dazzling efiect, in keeping with the gorgeous decora- tions of the other portions of the establishment. The diameter of the ring is forty-three feet, affording a con- siderably larger space than is ordinarily allowed to equestrian performances. To this there are three en- trances, sufficiently capacious to admit of two horsemen riding abreast. There are stalls for the accommodation of between forty and fifty horses, arranged at either extreme, east and west, of the building, with an exten- sive saloon, dressing rooms, &c. In fact, the whole dis- position of the interior shows an admirable tact in econo- mising room. The front on Chestnut street has been admired for its neat and classical appearance, and really constitutes no inconsiderable attraction to that neigh- bourhood. 5 58 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. OBJECTS OF CURIOSITY AND INTEREST IN THE ENVIRONS OP THE CITY. Rich as our city itself is in objects of interest to the stranger, the environs are hardly less so. An after- noon's ride in any direction from the city will enable jone to visit several of the objects which we shall enu- merate in the following pages. For example, one may ride out on the Ridge Road, and see the House of Refuge, the Eastern Penitentiary, Lemon Hill Garden, and the Waterworks, in three hours. He may then, if the afternoon be a long one, proceed to the Laurel Hill Cemetery, cross the Schuylkill just beyond that spot, and, passing to the southward on the west side of the river, he may call at the new Alms House, and Bartram's Garden, recross the river at Gray's Ferry, and, returning, may just look in upon the Arsenal and Marine Hospital, and return to his hotel with jaded horses and a good appetite. If he should take a whole day for this excur- sion, dining at some hotel on the way, it might be easily accomplished. Again, if the stranger be inclined to visit Point Breeze and take some strawberries at one of its hotels, he may arrive there in a ride of half an hour, and easily find his way from thence to the navy yard, or Gloucester Point, or both, and have a pleasant afternoon's excursion. A trip to Kensington will afford him a view of the ship yards, glass house, and the Penn's Treaty Monu- ment, and give him an idea of the extent and populous- ness of the northern suburbs. Or he may take the rail road to Germantown, view the battle ground, and ramble LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. 59 among the famous rural retreats of the Wissahiccon. Either of these excursions may be accomplished in an afternoon, but that to Germantown would more agree- ably occupy a whole day. We proceed to describe some of the more remarkable " Lions" to be seen in the neighbourhood of the city. "WiLTSR -WORKS. This is the most useful of the public institutions for promoting the physical comfort and convenience of the citizens. It is justly considered the "Great Lion," The first thing a visitor is recommended to do by way of recreation, is to ride out and see the water works. Until he has seen them, he has seen nothing. The city was formerly watered by means of steam engines and other apparatus for raising water from the Schuylkill ; and these water works were situated in a building on Centre Square, (now Penn Square,) at the 60 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. intersection of Broad and Market streets. This mode of watering the city was found to be inefficient and expen- sive. An inquiry was set on foot as to the possibility of employing water instead of steam power, which resulted in a satisfactory report, and, in 1819, the new water works were commenced. A dam was thrown across the Schuyl- kill opposite Fair Mount, and a race formed on the east- ern side. Water wheels were constructed for propelling the pistons of large forcing pumps, by means of which, the water taken from the Schuylkill is thrown up through iron pipes into several large reservoirs on the summit of Fair Mount. This level being higher than the roofs of the highest buildings in the city, the water is easily dis- tributed from thence to all parts of the city and liberties at a much less expense than could ever have been accom- plished by the use of steam. Three wJieels and pumps were completed in December, 1822, and the works went into operation. Since then they have been enlarged by additional pumps, wheels, reservoirs, &c., and the wooden pipes, at first used, have been replaced by iron ones. The original cost of the present water works was less than half a million of dollars. That of the old and inefficient steam contrivance was over a million. A stranger may take passage in an omnibus at the Merchants' Exchange, and reach the water works in half an hour. When at Fair Mount he has several other interesting sights within a few minutes' walk. LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. 61 Formerly called Pratt's Garden, and for many years an established resort for strangers. Lemon Hill is the beautiful country seat which you see immediately above the water works on the east bank of the Schuylkill. It was formerly owned by Henry Pratt, Esq., and it was by the courtesy of this gentleman, that the beautiful bota- nical garden, orangery, green house, &c., were, for many years, open to the inspection of strangers. It has recently changed hands, and, for the last summer or two, it has been exhibited for the benefit of some public cha- rity. The garden is one of the finest in the country, and the grounds are very tastefully laid out. FIiOOR CIiOTH IMiLITUFACTORV, This establishment is situated at Bush Hill, northwest of the city. It is one of the largest in the country, and has furnished many specimens of the best kinds of floor cloths. Some of them are woven in pieces of one hun- dred and forty square yards without seam. 62 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. THE EASTERN FENITEKTTIARir, The large edifice, resembling some baronial castle of the middle ages, which is situated on the high ground northwest of the cit}^ and may easily be recognised by referring to the above engraving, is a state prison. It is one of the most remarkable buildings in the country on many accounts. Its immense extent, covering about ten acres of ground, was rendered necessary on account of the system adopted by the legislature of confining each convict in a separate cell. The method adopted for affording to the superintendant an opportunity of survey- ing the door and yard of each cell at a glance from a high tower in the centre, is simple, and, at the same time, very ingenious and effective. The ranges of cells radi- ate from the central tower to the high wall, which bounds the premises, and thus unite a variety of advan- tages more easily understood by a single half hour's LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. 63 visit to the spot, than by a volume of description. Every stranger who is likely ever to be called on for an opinion or a vote respecting prison discipline in his own state, should, on visiting the city, examine the Eastern Peni- tentiary of Pennsylvania, and see how it works. Persons have already crossed the Atlantic with hardly any other object in view. In order to be sure of admission, it is necessary to procure a permit from one of the superin- tendants residing in the city. HOUSS OF xtEFuai:. On the same street with the Eastern Penitentiary, and at its junction with the Ridge Road, is situated the House of Refuge, an establishment which is calculated to interest the feelings of the Christian and the philan- thropist. It is intended for reclaiming the vicious or abandoned of both sexes, under mature age, by means of retirement, employment, discipline, and instruction. A minute account of this establishment may be found in one of the small volumes published by the Sunday School Union. RAIIiROAD BRIDGE OVER THE SCHUVIiKIIiIi. The visitor, by taking passage in one of the railroad cars at the depot in Broad street, near Race street, may, in a few minutes, be transported across this grand work 64 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. which affords a passage for the Columbia railroad across the Schuylkill above the water works. On the west side of the Schuylkill is an inclined plane, and the necessary apparatus for its use, which presents another spectacle, quite interesting to the admirers of machinery, railroads, &c. IXEARKET STREET BRIDGE, ANH UPPER BRIDGE. As the visitor stands on the summit of Fair Mount, looking to the southwest, he will observe two elegant bridges across the Schuylkill. The three-arched bridge opposite Market street, was erected, in 1798, by a private corporation which still exists, and receives the proceeds of the tolls . It cost 225,000 dollars, besides 40,000 dollars for the site. The single-arch bridge a few paces south of the water works, is an elegant structure. The span of the arch is three hundred and forty feet four inches, probably the largest single arch in the world. It is the work of Lewis Wernwag, and cost 150,000 dollars. LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. 65 aiRiLIlD COIiliHGE. The Girard College is situated on a tract of land containing forty-five acres, in the northwestern environs of Philadelphia, about one mile from the incorporated limits of the city. The principal entrance to the establishment will be on the south line of the lots, immediately opposite the centre building. This entrance forms the termination of a broad avenue leading from the city; it consists of two octagonal lodges, with gates and piers, which, together, occupy a front of one hundred and nine feet. The college buildings are situated on lines parallel with the city streets, presenting their principal fronts to the north and the south; they consist of a centre edifice, which is devoted exclusively to the purposes of education, and two " out buildings" on each side, for the " residence and accommodation" of professors, teachers, and scholars. 66 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. The centre buildino^, which forms the principal and most imposing object, is composed in the Corinthian order of architecture. It is surrounded by thirty-four columns, supporting an entablature after the manner of a Greek temple; the columns rest upon a basement of eight feet high, composed of a continuous flight of marble steps, surrounding the whole building. Each column is six feet in diameter at the bottom of the shaft, and fifty- five feet high, including capital and base. The shafts are composed of frusta from three to six feet in height; the base is three feet high, and its greatest diameter nine feet two inches; and its extreme widih eight feet four inches. The whole height of the entablature is sixteen feet; each end of the building is finished with a pediment of eighteen feet elevation, making the entire height of the edifice, from the ground to the apex of the roof, ninety- seven feet. The dimensions of the platform, upon which the co- lumns rest, is one hundred and sixty feet, by two hun- dred and seventeen feet six inches, leaving a passage round the cella of the building, in the clear of the columns, of fifteen feet. At each end of the cella there is a door of entrance sixteen feet wide, and thirty-two feet high, in the clear, ornamented with massive architraves, and surmounted by a sculptured cornice, supported by consoles. The stones composing these cornices, are each in one entire piece of marble, twenty-five feet in length. Each of the doors open into a vestibule, twenty-six feet wide, by forty-eight feet long, the ceiling of which is supported by eight marble columns, and eight antee, of the Ionic order. These vestibules are repeated as lobbies, in the LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. 67 second story, and the ceiling is supported in the same manner by Corinthian columns. The stairwa)'s are situated in the four corners of the building, and receive the greater part of their light from the roof. On each floor or story, there are four rooms of fifty feet square in the clear. The ceilings of the first two stories are groin arched, and those of the third story are vaulted in the form of a dome, and crowned with a sky light of twenty feet in diameter ; all the sky lights are so formed as not to protrude above the roof. The floors and stairways throughout the building, are composed of marble, and no wood is used except for doors. The whole building is warmed by means of furnaces built in the cellar; flues for ventilation are constructed in the interior walls, having their apertures at the apex of the arch in each room. The " out buildings" are each fifty-two feet wide, one hundred and twenty-five feet long, and three stories high; the easternmost building being exclusively devoted to the use of the professors, is divided into four separate and distinct houses, with all the conveniences of private dwellings. The remaining three buildings are intended for the residence and accommodation of the scholars and their attendants. LIONS OP PHILADELPHIA. iiAUREii mill. cmamTERTT. This beautiful cemetery has recently been established on the eastern bank of the Schuylkill river, about five miles from the city. It is reached by a pleasant ride on the Ridge Road, through a most delightful country. It was projected in 1836, by an association of gentlemen who obtained an act of incorporation at the last session of the legislature. We extract, from the Saturday Courier, a description of the cemetery in its present state. It improves so rapidly, that, before our little manual reaches a second edition, this description will probable have become quite obsolete. One of the first objects which the public-spirited ma- nagers had in view, was to procure a spot neither so near the city as to be in danger of encroachment by new- buildings or streets, nor yet so far as to present an obsta- LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA, 69 cle, in the time which must be employed at a funeral pace in reaching it. Beauty of location and a suitable soil were also to be consulted; with these views it was a long time before a suitable place could be selected ; all the requisites have been combined at Laurel Hill, and among them not the least, in our view, is the perfect adaptation of the site to its destined object in regard to scenery. In the second place, it was determined to divest the cemetery of all objects tending unnecessarily to sadden the heart or cast a gloomy feeling over the mind. In the separation from near and dear relatives and friends, we experience sufficient sorrow without the concomi- tants of a damp solitude, neglected tombs, or crowded walks. The entrance is a pure specimen of Roman Doric architecture, perhaps the only one in America. It occupies a space of two hundred and sixteen feet front on the Ridge Road, three and a half miles from Phila- delphia, and the enclosed grounds embrace something more than twenty acres, extending from the turnpike to the river, the greater part of the space being one hun- dred feet above the highest water mark. The entrance presents a bold and commanding appearance, through which is a vista of great beauty. On each side are lodges for the accommodation of a grave digger and a gardener, while within is a cottage ornee, in the English style, for the residence of the superintendant; a Gothic chapel of beautiful proportions and chaste workmanship; a large mansion house for visitors to rest in or to retreat to in case of a storm ; a handsome receiving tomb for those who may require its use, and stabling sufficient to accommodate forty carriages, should it rain at the time of a funeral ; with a green house intended to be filled 70 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. with such ornamental plants and shrubs as may be re- quired for the embellishment of the grounds in summer, which will not bear the cold of winter. This is a summary of accommodations presented by no other cemetery in the world, provided by the prudent foresight of the company. The land is ornamented by a great number of magnificent forest trees, interspersed with evergreens of fifty years' growth, and to these have been added, this spring, eight hundred ornamental trees and shrubs, in every variety, calculated to embellish the view. Nature^ and art have combined their aid to render it one of the most enchanting spots in this or any country; in this opinion we are seconded by the testi- mony of distinguished foreigners, who have remarked, Avith surprise and admiration, the variety of inland and river views, the bold and rocky crags, the smooth in- clining precipice, and the level upland, concentrated, as it were, by an unusual effort of nature, in so small a space. LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. HEVr AZiMS HOUSE. As this institution is the most perfect of its kind in the country, we have ventured to copy, from the Satur- day News, an extended notice of it. It will richly repay the stranger for the time devoted to an examination of it, and we hope that the visits of intelligent persons from various parts of the country, may lead to the adoption of its improvements elsewhere. Opposite the lower part of the city, the river Schuyl- kill makes a sudden bend to the southwest, describing an irregular semicircle, which includes some thing more than half a mile in extent. On the rising ground en- closed by this sweep of the river, and at some distance from its bank, is the site of the alms house. The main buildings, which are four in number, are arranged in the form of a parallelogram, and cover and enclose an area of about ten acres. The front building, which faces the Schuylkill, is a noble piece of architecture. The 7!a LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA, principal floor is at an elevation of some twenty feet, to which you ascend by two flights of granite steps, termi- nating at a portico, also of granite, which stretches a con- siderable distance from the front, and thus forms at once a most delightful promenade, and a roof for two offices on the ground floor beneath. From this portico rise eight massive pillars of solid brick work, rough cast, to the height of thirty feet, surmounted by granite caps, and resting on granite at the bases, where each is six feet in circumference. From this portico a most charm- ing and varied view may be obtained. Sloping down to the water's edge, is a fine green sward, checkered to the right with a few clumps of graceful trees; and the river itself winds round with a smooth and quiet flow, until lost among the woods at Gray's Ferry, not surpassed in pic- turesque effect in any part of its course. To the left the picture is full of objects. The permanent bridge, the gas works, the shot tower, the rows of dwelling houses in the distance, and, nearer at hand, the Schuylkill covered with crafts of various sizes, and vocal with the hum of business, are all embraced in a single glance ; while a slight inclination southward, enables the eye to take in the United States Marine Hospital, on the oppo- site shore. The centre building, which is about ninety feet in front, has two stories and an attic. On the first floor are the guardians' room, the office, the dining room, the kitchen, and two small fire-proof rooms. On the ground floor are the men's dining room, capable of accommo- dating five hundred persons, and a kitchen in which cooking is done by steam. The scrupulous and exact cleanliness which prevails in this portion of the esta- blishment is worthy of all praise. It is impossible to LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. i3 imagine any thing in better condition. The floors are spotless, and the implements of furniture shine with a brightness of polish that might make many a fine lady blush who piques herself on the nice appointments of her household. On the second floor are eight rooms, occupied by the family of the steward, and the resident physicians. On the attic floor are also eight rooms, which are used as dormitories, chiefly by the very aged inmates, who, though not sick, are yet unable, from natural infirmity, to work, and who employ their time principally in reading the Bible. The beds in these apartments are comfortable in appearance, and furnished with linen of coarse material, but unsullied freshness. The north and south wings of this front building are appropriated as a men's alms house. They are three stories high, with five wards on a floor, containing one hundred and twelve well-ventilated dormitories, each for one bed only. Each ward is about forty feet square, and in the centre of the whole there is an open space of about twenty-four feet, the use of which is common to the inmates of all the wards. The number of wards and dormitories is the same on each floor, and connected with each there are spacious corridors ten feet in width. Under the north wing are a bake house with three large ovens, a butcher's cellar, store rooms for flour, &c. At the northeast corner of the square which the buildings form, and separated from the men's alms house by a lofty wall and yard, is the children's asylum. This is a most interesting part of the establishment. At pre- sent there are in the asylum over a hundred children male and female, from three years of age upwards. They are well fed, well clothed, well instructed, and' allowed all the exercise and recreation proper to their 6 74 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. years. An extensive school room has been fitted up for them and competent teachers employed, by whom they are taught all that their tender capacities can acquire. Most of them look robust and hearty, and though, gene- rally, they are outcasts and foundlings, they seem as happy as the most favoured of their species. Among, the boys we have lately seen some of the most bright- eyed and attractive children we have ever met any where; and several of the girls are sprightly and intel- ligent. Much credit is due to Mrs. Dungan, the excellent matron of the asylum for her judicious management of the poor little creatures who are committed to her charge. Her discipline, though firm, is mild, and while she en- forces good conduct and has established a proper obedi- ence, her parental deportment and kindness have warmly attached her little dependants to her. It is quite grati- fying to witness their demonstrations of respect for their rulers, and the strong fondness they show for the matron is a matter of which she may be proud. It is the most disinterested of all testimony, and it weighs most impor- tant to her advantage. The north building is appropriated to manufacturing purposes, and is called the House of Employment. There is here a steam engine of twelve horse power, which propels machinery for the manufacture of cotton and woollen cloths, spinning jennies, a flouring mill, &c. At the northwestern corner of the square is a building occupied by aged and blind women. In this quarter are also the obstetric ward and the nursery, both of which are wisely and humanely regulated. The west building is occupied as a women's alms house, and is similar in its general plan and arrange- ments to the men's alms house, in the wings of the front LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. 75 building. The same cleanliness is found in the wards, and kitchens, and eating rooms here, that characterises the whole establishment. The whole of the entensive range of buildings on the north side of the square is devoted to hospital purposes. Part of this range is appropriated to the insane, each sex occupying one of the extremes. The whole number at present is one hundred and twenty, the larger proportion being males. In this range are also the apothecary's shop, a well- filled and well-arranged apartment; the medical library, said to be one of the most extensive collections of valuable books, connected with that science, to be found in Ame- rica; and a lecture room capable of accommodating seven hundred persons. The hospital is under the direct charge of a committee to whose vigorous and well-di- rected efforts, its excellence and efficiency are in a great measure to be attributed. The square which the buildings enclose is occupied by various offices connected with the institution, or laid out in grass lots and gardens. In the centre is a spacious wash house, with a steeple of some elevation, containing a clock, the dials of which are illuminated at night. There is also a store, where the goods manufactured in the House of Employment are brought in to be distri- buted to the respective wards. Adjoining the hospital, on Its outer side, is the garden, laid out with much taste, and, in the summer season, offering a most inviting prospect. The whole number of acres belonging to the alms house is about one hundred and eighty-eight. Of these, forty are meadow land of the finest quality. The re- mainder, not immediately occupied by the buildings or 76 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. the gardens, is cultivated by a skilful farmer, and yields a very ample product. The management of the alms house is confided by law to twelve citizens, chosen respectively for terms of three years each, eligible to re-election by the city coun- cils, and the different district corporations. These gen- tlemen receive no compensation for their services, though the duties they are required to perform consume a large portion of their time, and impose considerable labour. The superintendence of the whole establishment, sub- ject, of course, to the control of the guardians, is confided to the steward. The gentleman who at present fills that station, Mr. Stockton, is amply qualified. His general intelligence, his sagacity, his quick observation, and the familiar knowledge he possesses in regard to every thing belonging to his duties, enables him to fulfil them, onerous as they undoubtedly are, with ease and precision. Not an object can be found in any part of the establish- ment that does not denote careful and constant watchful- ness, while the quiet and unobtrusive manner in which every thing is managed shows that it is the result of a sound, practical, presiding intelligence. A.t the distance of a mile below Gray's Ferry, on the west bank of the Schuylkill, is the beautiful botanical garden founded by the celebrated botanist Mr. Bartram. It is laid out very tastefully, with more regard to the wild luxuriance of nature than the straight-lined symmetry LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. /7 of art. From the extent of Mr. Bartram's researches in dendrology, this garden has been rendered richer in trees than any other in the country; and many of the North American trees are localised in the books of bota- nists at Bartram's garden, because on account of their great rarity the writers have been unable to refer them to any other locality. XJITITZiD STATES MARINE HOSFITAZ.. This elegant and extensive building, situated on the east bank of the Schuylkill, nearly opposite the new alms house, is the Greenwich Hospital of the United States, being intended as an asylum for invalid seamen and officers disabled in the service. It has been recently established, and, at present, there are but few pensioners residing here. But accommodations are provided suffi- cient for all who may require them for many years to come. 78 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. UNITED STA.TES ATLSHNAIi. This large building, situated directly south of the ma- rine hospital, is an arsenal belonging to the United States, and serves as a depot for clothing and stores for the army. It presents little to interest the stranger among other objects of a more striking character in this vicinity. XTEVT COUSTT'S' FRISOZT, This is a fine specimen of Gothic architecture, situated on Pdssyunk Road, Moyamensing, directly south of the city. It serves the usual purposes of a county prison, and supersedes the old one recently removed from Arch street. At a distance one might suppose it was some baronial castle of the olden time, suddenly transported, by some magic incantation, from the distant shores of Europe. LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. THE NiiVY "STARD. The United States Navy Yard is situated on the bank of the Delaware, below the city, at the southern extre- mity of Swanson street. It is surrounded by a brick wall, and contains an area of about twelve acres. It contains, besides the shops necessary for modelling and building ships, an hospital, marine barracks, and quar- ters for the officers. The great ship Pennsylvania, on the stocks here, is an object of curiosity to all visitors. It is inclosed in a building two hundred and seventy feet long, one hundred and three feet high, and eighty-four feet wide. There is also a forty-four gun frigate inclosed in another large ship house. It is said that the Indians from the western wilderness, whose stoicism was unmoved by all the previous wonders of the white men, were enraptured at the sight of the "big canoe." GZiASS THAXranLCTOTilllS. There are several manufactories of cut glass in the city, and an extensive and well-conducted glass house in Kensington, where the process of blowing glass may be seen during the working hours. 80 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. MOKUMZSITT OF FEXTZT'S TREATT. It is generally known that the celebrated treaty con- cluded in 1682, between William Penn and the Indians, was ratified under the shade of a great elm tree, some- where in the environs of the city. So say the histories; so says Benjamin West in his famous picture of this event. The noble tree to which so many historical asso- ciations were attached, was standing at a spot situated in Kensington, near the intersection of Beach and Han- over streets, until 1810, when it was uprooted by a storm. Anxious to preserve the memory, not of the event, for that was sufficiently embalmed, but of its locality, the Penn Society caused a block of marble to be erected on the site of the tree, intending, at some future period, to mark it by a more imposing monument. The spot is often visited by the curious in historical matters; and the reflections which naturally arise, on finding one's self on the identical ground where the efficiency of the pacific principles of the most pacific of religious sects was so fairly and satisfactorily tested in their application to national intercourse, must, of course, be interesting to a thoughtful mind. No treaty ever concluded between different nations is more deserving oi commemoration than this between the founder of Penn- sylvania and the aboriginal inhabitants of its soil. SUPPLEMENT, CONTAINING NOTICES OF THE / OBJECTS OF CURIOSITY AND INTEREST IN AND NEAR THE CITY UP TO THE CURRENT YEAR, 1839. SUPPLEMENT THE FHIIiADEZiFHIA MUSEUM. On pages 18 and 19 will be found an account of the Phi- ladelphia Museum, as it existed in 1837, a mere collection of curiosities exhibited in hired rooms. Last year the proprietors erected a new building on George and Ninth streets, and have given a new character to the establish- ment, by a more judicious arrangement of the curiosities, and by the addition of concerts, scientific lectures and other attractions of the most fascinating kind. Its present popu- larity is unbounded. The building is one of the largest in the cit)^, and reserv- ing only the basement story the architect has very judi- ciously thrown all the upper portion into one great hall for the exhibition. The coup d'mil on entering this hall is truly grand and imposing. A colonnade on each side of the room, extending its full length and divided into inter- coluraniations of two pillars each, sustains the galleries, and conceals the numerous alcoves in which the curiosities are arrayed, just sufficiently to give simplicity and uni- formity to the design, and to prevent the effect of the view from being cut up by that multiplicity of objects which would have presented itself to the eye, and distracted the attention with almost any other conceivable arrangement. 84 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. The entrance is at the west end of the building; and as you enter, you perceive what appears to be an opening at the other end, giving a view of a splendid oriental land- scape, with an elephant and rhinoceros in the foreground. In the evening the illusion is perfect, and the pencil of Russell Smith is pronounced to have achieved its happiest triumph in this chef (Vanvre. The soft tints of the sky, the rich tropical foliage, the distant mountains, lake, and castle, are all in his best style. The grand gallery of portraits of distinguished Ameri- cans and foreigners, formed by Mr. Peale, is arranged in suitable spaces on each side, so as to be seen at a single view, and to constitute one of the most striking and beau- tiful ornaments of the room. On examining the portraits, with the catalogue in hand, one finds here an immense number of distinguished heroes, whose resemblances are nowhere else to be found, Mr. Peale having taken them from the life, and very few of them having ever been engraved. A year of hard writing would not be sufficient to give an enumeration of the curious and interesting objects to be found in the various alcoves, where they are disposed with exquisite taste and judgment, so that each object may be examined at leisure, at the same time that each cabinet presents to the eye a beautiful and simple whole. The birds are perched on trees, with an appropriate landscape, painted on the partition for a back ground; the animals form spirited and characteristic groups, their attitudes ex- hibiting their natural habits and dispositions; the antiqui- ties, costumes, armor, ornaments, &c., are arranged with reference to the country or the period of history to which ihey are properly referred; and the minerals, fossils, &c., are disposed according to their proper scientific arrange- SUPPLEMENT. 85 ment. The whole forms one of the most complete enter- tainments to the mind and the fancy which has ever been offered in a public museum. It may well be considered the pride and boast of Philadelphia, to offer to public view an establishment of this kind which has no parallel in the country. The basement story of the new building for the Phila- delphia Museum is occupied by the celebrated Chinese Collection of Nathan Dunn, Esq. ; the most complete mu- seum of Chinese curiosities existing in the world. During a residence of many years in the Celestial Em- pire, Mr. Dunn employed his leisure in collecting cos- tumes, paintings, armor, jewels, utensils, and other artificial productions indicative of the present state and character of the Chinese; as well as specimens of the various produc- tions of the animal, vegetable and mineral kingdom in that interesting region. To these he added the requisite figures, of the size of life, which have enabled him to pre- sent, in the collection now open to public inspection, com- plete groups of Chinese, in their houses, offices, shops, bazaars and theatres, performing their several parts to the life; so that the spectator, on entering the hall, seems trans- ported at once to this strange country; and holds converse with all classes of people, from the porter of the lowest, to the mandarin of the highest class. For a full account of the collection we refer the reader to Mr. Wines's " Peep at China," which may be had with the tickets at the door. We copy from it a short extract. 86 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. General Vieio of the Interior of the Saloon. Taking the reader for our companion, we pass into the Museum building, by the grand entrance at the western end of the vast pile. Over the door on our left, is a hand- some but odd looking sign, with several Chinese characters in gold upon it. Easily divining the meaning, though unable to interpret the writing, we instinctively take this direction, and find ourselves, upon the instant, in the vesti- bule of the green-room, where we are to procure our tickets of admission. Here we appear to ourselves to be suddenly multiplied into a small army by the numerous mirrors, which serve as panels to the partitions and doors by which we are surrounded. The exterior of the green-room is as elegant a piece of work as one need desire to look upon. The mirrors, especially, are a capital idea. They will be the source of infinite divertisement, and will put every body in a good humor just at the right time. Passing through another vestibule, that of the grand saloon, which is separated from it by a beautiful Chinese screen, such as is seen in most houses of the better sort in the Celestial Empire, we find ourselves within full prospect of all the glories treasured within the spacious Hall of the Collection. Here, as if touched by the wand of an enchanter, we are compelled to pause, for the purpose of taking a general survey, and giving vent to our admiration. The view is imposing in the highest degree. But it is so unlike any thing we are accustomed to behold, that we are at a loss for epithets exactly descriptive of it. Brilliant, splendid, gorgeous, magnificent, superb — all these adjectives are libe- rally used by visiters, and they are strictly apposite, but they want the proper explicitness ; they do not place the scene — new, strange, and bizarre as it is — distinctly before SUPPLEMENT. 87 the mind. The rich screen-work at the two ends of the saloon, the many-shaped and many-colored lamps sus- pended from the ceiling, the native paintings which cover the walls, the Chinese maxims adorning the columns, the choice silks, gay with a hundred colors, and tastefully displayed over the cases along the north side, and the mul- titude of cases crowded with rare and interesting sights, form a tout-ensemble^ possessing an interest and a beauty entirely its own, and which must be seen before it can be appreciated. The beauty of the general view, and the attractiveness of the whole exhibition, will be greatly en- hanced by an improvement soon to be commenced. Mr. Dunn is about to have constructed an elegant fountain in the centre of the saloon, with a basin enlivened by gold fish, and surrounded by a row of Chinese plants and flow- ers. There will be a jet in the centre, and a waterfall on each side; and the whole will be illuminated at night with gas lights underneath. The scene cannot fail to be singu- larly brilliant and beautiful; and, during the hot summer months, the refreshing coolness diffused throughout the saloon, must make it ever a place of general resort. THE I1TCI.I1TED FliilJrz:, VIADUCT, &c. To strangers who enter the city by the Great Western Railroad from Philadelphia to Columbia, it is unnecessary to recommend, as objects of curiosity, the Inclined Plane, west of the Schuylkill river, the Viaduct over the Schuyl- kill, and the houses of entertainment and views of scenery which present themselves in the vicinity of these objects. But to other travellers and sojourners in our good city, we »» LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. will just hint that if they wish to while away a pleasant summer afternoon, and at the same time to escape from the heat, dust and noise of the city to the region of cool breezes and green fields, they have only to step into Market or Broad street and wait some ten minutes, more or less, till they see an omnibus railroad car drawn by horses, with gently tinkling bells, bound towards the west. Stepping into one of these cars they are rapidly borne past the Wa- ter Works, Pratt's Garden, &c. to Fountain Green, a quiet retired house of entertainment near the railroad, where they may walk through pleasant grounds or sit under shady trees. Thence, they are borne to another similar establish- ment at the east end of the Viaduct, thence over the Via- duct itself, 900 feet in length, (itself a great curiosity,) to the foot of the Inclined Plane, ai»out three miles from the intersection of Vine and Broad streets. The elevation is here about 50 feet above the mean tide. The plane is 2700 feet in length, and its elevation from base to summit is 180 feet. It is ascended by means of stationary steam power. The houses which contain the engines, the con- trivances of ropes and wheels for the raising and sending down of the cars, and the bustle and business of cars ar- riving and departing, form a striking and curious exhi- bition, and richly repay the observer for the time and trouble of his jaunt. Cars start to bring passengers into town every fifteen minutes, so that the visitor who enjoys this excursion has his time always at his command. It should not be forgot- ten, that this same cheap conveyance, which takes you to the Inclined Plane, is also a most eligible and convenient mode of reaching the Water Works, Lemon Hill, (or Pratt's Garden,) the Penitentiary, the House of Refuge, and sundry other "Lions" in this vicinity. SUPPLEMENT. FHIIiABEZiFIIIA Gil.S TVORKS. The Gas Works are situated between Market and Fil- bert streets, and front on Ashton street. They were built four years since under the superintendence of Samuel V. Merrick, Esq., who had previously been commissioned by the city councils to examine the different gas works of Europe, particularly those of England, with reference to an improved system for lighting our own city. The result has proved highly satisfactory, and the adoption of the gas as a substitute for oil has become general in all the large establishments of individuals, as well as in the streets. The gas works present some interesting objects to the notice of the visitor. The office for the transaction of business, and the room for measuring the gas, front on Ashton street. Immediately in rear of these apartments is the retort house for making gas, whence it passes next into the purifying house, where it is purified by passing through lime. It next passes into the measuring house, w^here it is measured by means of a large meter. It then passes through pipes into the large gasometers, whence it is finally distributed, by pipes of various dimensions, into the city. The source of the innumerable brilliant lights which gladden the streets, hotels, theatres, concert rooms, churches and shops of the city must be an object of curiosity to an inquiring mind. 90 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. FHIIiADEIiFHIA nrSTITUTE. This is the name given to an institution, which owes its existence chiefly to the benevolent exertions of that distin- guished citizen, Matthew Newkirk, Esq. Its original purpose was to furnish intellectual entertainment and in- struction to young men, at that period of life when the want of opportunities for such entertainment and instruc- tion is apt to lead to the forming of unprofitable connections and idle or vicious habits. The building, an elegant and tasteful one, by the way, is situated in Filbert street between Eleventh and Twelfth streets. It is divided into a lecture room, reading rooms, library, &c., and affords to the members the most ample means of fulfilling the noble designs of the founder. The lectures have been delivered by some of our most talented and popular speakers, and have attracted much attention. The reading rooms being well furnished with journals and periodical works, afford ample occupation for those odd half hours which are so apt to be wasted; and the library has been chosen with reference to the moral as well as intellectual instruction of the members. On the Sabbath, sermons are delivered in the building by the Rev, Mr. Stockton, one of the most eloquent and pious divines of the Methodist connection. PENNSYLVANIA INSTITUTION FOR THE INSTRUCTION OF THE BLIND. The building belonging to this excellent institution is situated on Race street, not far from the Schuylkill river. SUPPLEMENT. 91 It is of brick, rough cast, tastefully designed, and sur- rounded with a garden, play ground, &c. The institution was founded by Mr. Julius R. Freidlander, with the assist- ance of John Vaughan, Esq., and a few other benevolent individuals, in 1833. He commenced operations with four pupils, in hired apartments, and depending on voluntary subscriptions for support. The able manner in which the institution was conducted, and the excellence of the design, commended it to the bounty of the legislature, who made an annual appropriation for its support: the example was followed by the state of Delaware. But the most efficient of all the patrons of this institution was the late William Y. Birch, Esq., who left in his will an ample provision for its permanent support. The amount of his bequest to the institution, as residuary legatee, is variously estimated from 150 to 200,000 dollars. The instruction of the pupils is not confined to the me- chanical operations of manufacturing baskets, mattresses, brushes, &c., but by means of books with raised letters they are taught to read, and are made acquainted with the ele- ments of moral, physical and intellectual science. They are also brought to considerable proficiency in music; and their public concerts, which take place periodically at the Philadelphia Museum, never fail to attract some thousands of hearers. The institution is open to the inspection of visitors on certain days in the week. THE FRESTOir RETREiLT. The building belonging to this institution is situated a short distance east of Fair Mount Water Works. It was 92 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. founded by means of funds bequeathed by Mr. Preston; and is intended for the relief of widows and other females rendered destitute by the incapacity or misconduct of their husbands. The situation on the brow of an eminence commanding a view of the city, and yet completely retired from its noise and bustle, is very happily suited to the condition of those whose sorrows and disappointments have rendered repose desirable, without so far paralysing the sympathies as to remove the desire to look forth from the " loop-holes of retreat" upon the busy world to which they have bidden adieu. TflONUTfLUNT CEMETEaiT. The Monument Cemetery is situated on the Germantown turnpike, about four miles from Philadelphia. The situ- ation is very beautiful. The ground slopes gently towards the south, and it has a very pretty garden, with a variety of flowers, and a large hot-house. The institution was first proposed by Dr. Elkinton, the port physician of this city, and it belongs to a joint stock company, of which a great many of our most respectable citizens are members. A grand gateway, with columns, will be erected this summer, at an expense of seven thousand dollars. SUPPLEMENT. 93 CEITTHAIi HIGH SCHOOIi OF FHILA- BSLFHZii. This is a new institution, destined, as we liope and be- lieve, to be not only an ornament to our city, but a source of incalculable benefit. It has been established in obedi- ence to a law, passed some two years ago by the legislature of Pennsylvania, with the noble design of affording to those pupils of the Public Schools, whose talents, industry and correct deportment might merit it, the opportunity of going through a thorough course of classical, mathematical, scientific and belles-lettres studies. It bears the same rela- tion to our Public Schools which the Boston Latin School and English High School do to the Grammar Schools of that city. It is, if we may be allowed the figure, the capi- tal of the whole column of public instruction for the city and county of Philadelphia; the crowning glory of that wise and beneficent system of public education commenced in 1818, which has been steadily advancing in efficiency and utility to the present time. The High School is under the immediate direction and superintendence of the Board of Controllers of Public In- struction, Avho, in the building which they have erected for its accommodation, and in the various other arrangements adopted, have carried out the intention of the law with a liberality and enlightened judgment worthy of all praise. The school edifice stands on the east side of Juniper street, just back of the United States Mint, and fronting on Penn Square. The location, therefore, as our city readers will perceive, is happily chosen. There is but one draAvback at present, and that is the livery stable and horse-market immediately adjoining. Fortunately, this is a nuisance 94 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. which, it may be presumed, the natural progress of things, in a large city, will speedily abate. Property in the neigh- borhood referred to is fast becoming too valuable to allow of its being appropriated to such a use. If the Board of Controllers have been fortunate in their choice of a site, they have displayed equal taste and judg- ment in the building they have caused to be erected. This is a handsome structure, sixty feet by forty, with a marble front, and portico of the Ionic order. It is three stories high. On the first floor, besides a spacious vestibule, and two small apartments for a library and mineralogical cabi- net, there is a large lecture room, in which it is intended there shall be delivered full courses of lectures on natural philosophy, chemistry and natural history. In the second and third stories are the two school rooms, with an addi- tional apartment in each, designed as a place of deposit for caps, cloaks, umbrellas, &c. Each study room is fifty feet by forty, and provided with one hundred and ten neat and substantial cherry desks for the pupils. There is an astronomical observatory connected with the institution, which will be well provided with instruments of the very best kind. An equatorial telescope has been ordered from one of the most celebrated German manufac- tories, which will cost between three and four thousand dollars. Its arrival is expected the ensuing summer. It will be superior to any other instrument of the kind in the country. The splendid telescope lately exhibited at the Fair of the Franklin Institute has also been purchased for the use of the High School. Observations of the various celestial phenomena will be constantly and regularly made by the Professor of Astronomy, which, at the end of each year, will be published in a volume. It will thus be seen that we may reasonably expect from the High School of SUPPLEMENT. 95 Philadelphia no inconsiderable contributions to the cause of science, and that we may without presumption indulge the hope that it will add something to the reputation of our country abroad. The School is divided into three departments, viz: the Department of Belles Lettres; the Department of Lan- guages, including the ancient and modern languages; and the Department of Mathematics and Natural Science. The course of study will embrace four years. Admis- sions, after the first year, will take place annually; and none are admissible but members of the Public Schools in the city and county. We shall be much disappointed in our expectations if the High Shool does not exert a most beneficial efiect upon the Public Schools generally. The institution, of which we have given a very brief description above, was opened on the 22d of October, 1838, with sixty-three pupils. The number of applicants, how- ever, was much greater than that, being one hundred and thirty-nine. At the second examination in January, 1839, sixty, out of the one hundred and thirty-nine applicants were admit- ted. The Faculty of the High School is at present com- posed of the following gentlemen : John Frost, Professor of Belles Lettres. E. C. Wines, Professor of Ancient Languages. E. Otis Kendall, ") Professors in the Mathematical and William Vogdes, 3 Scientific Department. Henry M'Murtrie, Professor of Special Physics. 96 LIONS OF PHILADELPHIA. iiSSEMBIiir BUI1.DII7GS. This splendid pile of buildings is situated at the corner of Tenth and Chesnut streets. It was erected in 1838, and was first thrown open to visitors on the 30th of January, 1839. The lower or basement story is occupied by elegant stores, extending the whole length of the building on Tenth street, nearly to George street. The whole of the second story is occupied by the Grand Saloon, by far the most magnificent in our city. Its entire length is 245 feet, but it is so constructed as to form two saloons, leaving the main one 120 feet long. One side is adorned with 11 mirrors, 10 feet in length, between each of which is a Corinthian column, crowned with a wreath of flowers, which are exactly matched on the opposite side. The orchestra is unique, being fronted upon a damask back-ground, with a row of elegant ha.rps. The gas fix- tures, curtains, extensive windows, dressing-rooms, and every thing else, are in a style of corresponding magnifi- cence, giving the free feeling to the spectator, as he enters, of walking into the private parlor of a splendid mansion. 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