Jayne Building [graphic]

Format:

Image

Contributor:

Butler, J. M.

Jayne, David.

Johnston, William L.

Walter, Thomas Ustick, 1804-1887.

Visual Materials Collection (Athenaeum of Philadelphia)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Retail stores--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia.

84 Chestnut St. (Philadelphia, Pa.).

242-244 Chestnut St. (Philadelphia, Pa.).

238-240 Chestnut St. (Philadelphia, Pa.).

246 Chestnut St. (Philadelphia, Pa.).

Jayne Building (Philadelphia, Pa.).

Local Subjects:

84 Chestnut St. (Philadelphia, Pa.).

242-244 Chestnut St. (Philadelphia, Pa.).

238-240 Chestnut St. (Philadelphia, Pa.).

246 Chestnut St. (Philadelphia, Pa.).

Jayne Building (Philadelphia, Pa.).

Physical Description:

1 print : engraving ; plate mark 55.5 x 39.5 cm. on sheet 75.5 x 55 cm.

Contained In:

Walter, Thomas Ustick. Architectural drawings & graphics collection.

Place of Publication:

between 1852 and 1857.

Notes:

This image is nearly identifical to Plate 45 published in Philadelphia architecture in the nineteenth century (1953). This source identifies the engraver as J.M. Butler. The Plate 45 image, cited as located at the Library Company, shows a different treatment of the lettering above the entrance as "Dr. David Jayne & Son" and additional identifications on the other buildings. The Walter archives print documented here reads "Dr. D Jayne & Son" above the entrance, left justified.

Webster, in Philadelphia preserved (1976), p. 80-81, dates the original building as 1849-1850, stating that Walter fininshed the building after the death of the original architect, William Johnston, in 1849. Walter also added the 6-story side wings on either side of the original building in 1851, per Webster. The image documented here shows "84" at the cornice for the address 84 Chestnut St. Webster gives the address of the original building as 242-244 Chestnut St., with wings on either side as 238-240, and 246 Chestnut. The discrepency in the address is explained by Philadelphia's street address renumbering ca. 1857. The date of the print then is presumed to be between 1852-1857, after the construction of the wings and before the address change. Webster gives the client, Dr. David Jayne, as "a prominent patent-medicine producer and real estate developer", and notes the building as a prototype skyscraper design. Entries in Walter's diaries, also located in the Athenaeum's Walter Archives, suggest that he may have been responsible for the design and construction of the upper floors and cupola, which give the building its distinctive heighth for its time.

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