Masonic Temple, Broad and Filbert Streets; Norman architecture; built, 1870; John T. Windrim, architect. Rooms with notable decorations are the Egyptian; Oriental, Moorish style from sketches made in the Alhambra by John Sartain; and Corinthian, copied from well-known standards of architecture, ornament and familiar figure composition. Museum said to be the greatest existing Masonic museum, contains aprons of Past Grand Masters of the three oldest Lodges in the world; and George Washington’s apron, made by Madame Lafayette and presented to him by the Marquis, worn by Washington at laying of the corner-stone of the Capitol at Washington; an ancient Templar Cross, original Crusader’s Cross, found in a grave at Tyre, Syria, A.D. 1250; notable jewelers’ art of England, Denmark, Germany, France, and Great Britain, in badges, including one owned by Napoleon I; tablet from Temple of Herod; Sephar Torah, ancient scroll of the law found in Germany, over eighteen feet long, and from three hundred to five hundred years old. Library, Byzantine decorations, with coats of arms, of various Guilds and Grand Lodges, in the ceiling. The Great Hall, or front entrance, contains portraits and paintings, among them “The Puritans” by F. J. Waugh and “A Marine Scene” by Richards; Seals of the States of the Union, and paintings portraying the Pan Athenia, Greek festival. On the second floor are the Grand Lodge Room, representing a Corinthian temple, constructed to appear roofless; the columns, reproductions of the Lysicrates, Athens; mural paintings represent the mythology of the Greeks, “Weighing of the Soul,” “Ulysses Passing the Island of the Sirens,” “Birth of Athena,” “Judgment of Paris,” “The Golden Fleece.” Renaissance Hall, the Tabernacle, contains the Veils of the Temple. Two paintings at either end represent a High Priest, and a Scribe. Ionic Hall and Norman Hall have characteristic ornamentation; Egyptian Hall, decorations are copied from Temples of Karnak, Elephanta, Philae, Rameses, the Cataracts and Tombs; Ceiling from Temple of Denderah; also the scene “Weighing the Soul,” showing Egyptian mythology allied with Greek.
Mint of United States at Philadelphia, Sixteenth and Spring Garden Streets, open daily, except Sundays and holidays, 9.00 A.M., to 3.00 P.M. Classic Ionic, granite, built, 1901, by the Supervising Architect of Washington, D. C. Main lobby finished in Italian marble with mosaic ceiling; panels illustrate ancient methods and processes of coinage; artist, W. B. Van Ingen. Largest and most completely equipped Mint in the world. Numismatic room, accessible to the public, contains large collection of coins and medals; among them the widow’s mite, found in ruins of Temple in Jerusalem.
Pennsylvania Bible Society, 701 Walnut Street, organized in Philadelphia, 1808. First Bible Society on American continent; present building erected, 1853. First President, Right Rev. William White, D.D.; first meeting, called by Robert Ralston in his own home; object, to further our country’s welfare through the Bible, the Book teaching love, unity, and forbearance; therefore qualified to band the people together and advance national betterment. The establishment of such an organization in our land was recognized by gift of £200 by the British and Foreign Bible Society, London. All denominations have been represented in the line of Presidents; during Bishop Whitaker’s incumbency the Pennsylvania Bible Society was connected with the American Bible Society in New York, now the national organization. General Lafayette in 1824 was presented by this Society with a specially prepared copy of the Scriptures. At the centennial of this Society, in 1908, celebrated in the Academy of Music, Bishop Ozi W. Whitaker, D.D., presided; Right Hon. James Bryce, British Ambassador, made an address and presented to Bishop Whitaker a beautifully embossed Bible, sent by the British and Foreign Bible Society, emblems on the cover were from early Christian examples, similar to those on the Coronation Bible given to King Edward VII; Ambassador Bryce was in turn presented with a richly made copy of the Scriptures, by the Pennsylvania Society; greetings were received from President Theodore Roosevelt and Governor Edwin S. Stuart of Pennsylvania, and from other Bible societies. At the Tercentenary celebration of King James version of the English Bible, in the Academy of Music, 1911, James A. MacDonald, LL.D., of Toronto, spoke of “The Influence of the Bible Upon the Commonwealth.” Letters were read from King George V of England, and President William H. Taft. This Society now circulates between two and three hundred thousand Bibles per annum, printed in over fifty languages and dialects, for Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, over which this house has especial jurisdiction. Any separate book of the Bible may be obtained for two cents.
Philadelphia Commercial Museum, Thirty-fourth Street below Spruce, organized, 1894, is the only Commercial Museum in the United States; it received immense collections from the Chicago “Columbian Exposition,” over forty governments being represented; many subsequent collections from other international expositions; and special exhibits, illustrating the people and products of the world. A free reference library is here, of Foreign and American Commerce and Travel, which could not be duplicated, and courses of free lectures are given which cover subjects of geographic, commercial, and industrial importance, illustrated by colored lantern slides and motion pictures; colored slides, with lantern screen and type-written lectures, covering same field of geography, commerce, and industry, are loaned, free of cost, to public-school teachers, in all parts of Pennsylvania; they reach tens of thousands; also collections of specimens, to aid teachers, are sent free of cost, as a gift to Pennsylvania public schools; they are arranged, showing important raw material, and process of manufacture. Manufacturers are furnished with information on all matters pertaining to foreign trade; the Foreign Trade Bureau is the acknowledged leader of such organizations in the world.
The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, 1600 Walnut Street; first in America, organized at meeting in Franklin Institute, 1827, to promote horticulture and create love for flowers, fruits, and vegetables by their cultivation. Minutes of the Society and list of membership is complete from formation to present time. Lectures by an expert in the various branches of horticulture are given at each monthly meeting, from November until May. Annual exhibitions are, Spring Flower Show before Easter, three days; Peony, outdoor grown Rose and Sweet Pea Show in Philadelphia suburbs, from May to July, according to season; Dahlia Exhibition, in September; Chrysanthemum, early November. The Society has a library of several thousand books on agriculture and horticulture, some very rare and of great value, and all recommended works, of recent publication, in Europe and America. “Great gardens educate people in gentility as well as in horticulture.”
Wagner Institute, southwest corner of Seventeenth Street and Montgomery Avenue; founded by Professor William Wagner, 1847. Circulating and reference library open daily except Sunday, 9.00 A.M. to 9.00 P.M. Museum collections, chiefly in reference to geology and mineralogy, open Wednesday and Saturday afternoons. Courses of lectures conducted through the collegiate year.
LIBRARIES
The Library Company of Philadelphia, Locust Street, east of Broad; first circulating library in the United States; founded by subscription in 1731, by Benjamin Franklin and his friends of the Junto Club; charter granted by John, Thomas, and Richard Penn in 1781; original building, Fifth and Library Streets, designed by Dr. Thornton, now the Drexel Building; present building, architect, Frank Furness in 1889; is a haven for scholars interested in historical research; also has important collections of books on costume, foreign literature, and complete set of Punch, begun in 1840; among historic relics are original sketches made for Watson’s Annals of Philadelphia; William Penn’s desk from Pennsburg; John Dickinson’s reading desk, and Heraldic Hatchment, used at his funeral; and the André collection. The Ridgeway Branch, Broad and Christian Streets, founded by bequest of Dr. James Rush; architect, Addison Hutton; built, 1878, Doric, granite; contains terra cotta bust of Minerva, heroic size, probably French work; formerly behind the Speaker’s chair in the Continental Congress, Sixth and Chestnut Streets, given to the Philadelphia Library, 1783, also some articles of Boule, and illuminated manuscripts.
Mercantile Library, Tenth Street above Chestnut; was established 1821, at 100 Chestnut Street, present building, originally a market house, with room seventy-four by two hundred feet, and high-arched ceiling, makes ideal condition for library work on one floor; this is a circulating library of general literature for stockholders and members, who only are admitted into the reading room, where they have unrestricted use of books.
Philadelphia City Institute, 218 South Nineteenth Street, was founded, 1852, by public-spirited citizens, for the purpose of benefiting young men, by establishing a free library and night school; library free to the public.