Item Info

Historic Street Address: 2027 Fairmount Avenue
Historic Street Address: 29 East Penn Street
Historic Street Address: 6th & Walnut Streets, NE corner
Media Type: Scrapbooks
Source: Print and Picture Collection
Notes:

Item 1, top left: Image of the Walnut Street Prison (formerly, the Old Walnut Street Jail), at the NE corner of 6th & Walnut Streets.  It was designed and built in 1775 by architect Robert Smith, initially as a traditional jail; in 1790, an additional building was added as the first "penitentiary", a Quaker concept intended to be safer and to encourage reflection and repentance.  In this image, the caption refers to "GOAL [sic], in Walnut Street" and depicts a house being moved past the prison by multiple teams of horses  The prison became overcrowded and unsafe by 1838.  The building was demolished, and future prisoners were sent to the Eastern State Penitentiary.  Engraving by William Birch & Son, published by R. Campbell, 13 x 11.5 cm, 1799.

Itme 2, top right:  Image of a constable box, used for holding detained individuals waiting for transportation to jail.  At the time of this article, this particular "old watch box" was located on the grounds of historic "Ivy Lodge", built in 1853 by Thomas Ustick Walter, at 29 East Penn Street, Germantown.  The box was originally in use in colonial Philadelphia, then preserved (as an historic relic) at Ivy Lodge by owner John Jay Smith in 1853, then eventually donated to the Arch Street Meeting House, at 320 Arch Street (year unconfirmed).  Text and a reproduction of a photograph ("courtesy of Phila. Record"), for an unidentified newspaper, 11.5 x 17 cm, undated. 

Item 3, center left:  Image of Eastern State Penitentiary ("zuchthaus" is German for penitentiary), at 2027 Fairmount Avenue.  It was designed in 1821 by architect John Haviland, and was in operation from 1829-1971. The building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965.  Initially intended to promote introspection and atonement through solitary confinement, the widely-copied design and philosophy were eventually abandoned as inhumane, with the prison closing in 1971.  During a period of disuse, the property was considered for redevelopment; but in 1988, a neighborhood task force successfully stopped it, and in 1994, the Eastern State Penitientiary Historic Site opened to the public for history tours.  Drawing for an unidentified German publication, 12.5 x 10 cm, undated.

Item 4, bottom left:  Newspaper column by a W. Clement, musing about the sweeping changes in development around the Broad & Arch Streets area, focusing on the 40-year period from 1830-1870.  He mentions wilderness, shanties, a mill, and a prison; he especially dwells on the nearby execution of James Porter in 1830.  Then he marvels at the the subsequent building of churches and "other handsome buildings rising up in every direction!"  Text for an unidentified newspaper, 6 x 9.5 cm, c. 1870. 

Item 5, bottom right:  Image of the burnt shell of Pennsylvania Hall.  It was built in 1838 for the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, and  designed by architect Thomas Somerville Stewart.  Located at 109 N. 6th Street, in the geographic center of liberal political and Quaker influence, the building was intended as a lecture hall for social activism topics, especially anti-slavery and women's rights.  Upon opening on May 14, 1838, the building was attacked with violent protests by anti-abolitionists; and three days later, on May 17, it was destroyed by fire by the mob.  The ruin remained standing until repurposed as a temple for the Odd Fellows Society in 1846.  It was ultimately demolished in 1908. Engraving by Reuben S. Gilbert, delineated by John Archibald Woodside, 18 x 10.5 cm, 1838.

Creation Year: 1845
Geocode Latitude: Geocode Longitude:-75.172655
Geocode Latitude:39.968368

Call Number: A917.481 P536 v.19
Creator Name: Castner, Samuel, Jr., 1843-1929 - Compiler
William Birch & Son - Engraver
Robert Smith - Architect
Thomas Ustick Walter - Architect
Reuben S. Gilbert - Engraver
John Archibald Woodside - Artist