Plan of design for City Hall of N.W. Penn Square, [Philadelphia, Pa.] [graphic] / Tho. U. Walter, Archt., Philada.

Format:

Image

Author/Creator:

Walter, Thomas Ustick, 1804-1887.

Contributor:

Visual Materials Collection (Athenaeum of Philadelphia)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

city halls--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia.

Penn Square (Philadelphia, Pa.).

Broad to Oak & Market to Filbert Sts. (Philadelphia, Pa.).

Philadelphia City Hall (Penn Square, Philadelphia, Pa.)--Proposal drawings--1837.

Local Subjects:

Penn Square (Philadelphia, Pa.).

Broad to Oak & Market to Filbert Sts. (Philadelphia, Pa.).

Philadelphia City Hall (Penn Square, Philadelphia, Pa.)--Proposal drawings--1837.

Physical Description:

1 drawing : ink & wash on paper ; 61 x 81.5 cm.

Contained In:

Walter, Thomas Ustick. Architectural drawings collection.

Place of Publication:

1837.

Notes:

Ground was broken for Philadelphia's existing City Hall on July 4th, 1874. John McArthur, Jr. was the architect, and Thomas Ustick Walter, the venerable architect of the U.S. Capitol Extension & Dome, and much of Philadelphia's architecture, was his assistant. The various competitions and political agenda's, beginning in the 1860's, which have been traced directly to the construction of the current City Hall, are documented in numerous sources, including Drawing toward buildings (1986) and Michael J. Lewis "'Silent, Weird, Beautiful': Philadelphia City Hall" in Nineteenth century, v.11, nos. 3&4, 1992. Walter's 1837 drawing, cataloged in this record, is evidence that the history of plans for a City Hall at the Centre Square/Penn Square site occupied a good part of the 19th century, with Walter involved at the beginning and at the end of the design process. During this lengthy evolution of the City Hall at Penn Square, the actual seat of Philadelphia city government was located in what is now the Independence Hall Complex, on Chestnut St. between 5th & 6th Sts. Philadelphia had purchased this facility when the U.S. government moved to Washington, D.C. It is interesting to note that both Walter & McArthur had died before completion of the project in 1901.

No documentation of the specifics of Walter's 1837 plan have been found in his letters, account books, receipt books, or other manuscripts located in the Athenaeum's Walter Archives. The History of Philadelphia (11884), show the McArthur City Hall as the frontiespiece of v. 3, and on pages 1772-1773 of that volume states "As early as 1838 an act was passed authorizing the mayor, aldermen, and citizens of Philadelphia to erect a city hall on any part of the ground in said city now known by the name of Penn Square." No mention of Walter as the architect is given at this time. It is known from the Walter archives that Walter was working on a Watch House for the City in 1937, and in 1836 was constructing the Central High School on Juniper St. opposite Penn Square. He would have been familiar with the government, as well as the site in 1837, and was already well respected for his Girard College and Moyemensing Prison projects.

Walter's 1837 plan shows the building located on the northwest quadrant only of the full Penn Square. The main entrance of Walter's building is to the east on Broad Street, which then ran through the square. The rear is to the west on Oak St., with the side entrances on the north & south borders, Filbert & Market Sts. Lewis(1992) states that the 1860 competition called for two separate buildings at the intersection of Broad & Market, a courthouse on the northwest corner & a city hall on the northeast.

A Plan of the City of Philadelphia by J. Drayton, 1824, shows the area "Centre Square", at the intersection of Broad St., north & south, and High St., later known as Market St., east & West. Oak St. does not yet exist. A Plan of the City of Philadelphia by William Allen, 1828, now shows "Penn Square" at the intersection of High & Broad Sts., with Oak St. the north/south street west of Broad, and Juniper St. to the east. A map fragment "7" of the Ninth Ward, by G.H. Jones & Co., 1875, shows that as the new City Hall was being constructed on the Penn Square site, Broad & Market Streets no longer ran through the center of the Square, and Oak St. is now called Merrick St. Merrick St. later became also Broad St., when the Broad St. Station sat there, and is currently 15th St.

WTU*018*001 for the 1837 project, cataloged here, is now called WTU*018A*001. Drawings WTU*018*002 & 003, for the later project, ca. 1873, are now called WTU*018B*001*002, and cataloged separately.

Forms part of: Walter, Thomas Ustick. Architectural drawings collection.

Cited in:

Laverty, v.1, p.237, WTU*018/003 [sic WTU*018A*001]