Newspapers / The Raleigh Times (Raleigh, … / June 18, 1896, edition 2 / Page 4
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AN INDUSTRIAL SUPPLEMENT. jimpi II 1,11 1 ^ »* UNITED STATES POST-OFFICE. Philadelphia’s City Hall the Finest and Largest Municipal Build ing in the World. HAS COST $20,000,000 Philadelphia’s City Hall, the public building in America and the most imposing structures largest one of in the subject, William Penn, Esq., sonn and heir of Sir William Penn, deceased, etc. Public elevators are operated, connect ing with all floors, and another rises to the top of the great tower, being operat ed every week-day. The remarkable hanging stairways at the four angles of the building, are worthy of special no tice by the visitor. An interesting object to be seen temporarily, upon free exhi bition at the City Hall, is a beautiful model of the Centennial exhibition, placed in a room upon the second floor at the northern entrance. It is a part of the present plan to il luminate the exterior of the building at night with splendid lamps nearly fifty feet in height, one at each corner of the structure, bearing groups of incan descent and arc electric points, thus in tensifying the lights and shadows that surround this majestic business office of the people, and furnishing a final em blem of joy and sorrow in the busy current of human life that surges without cessation around its base. metrical whole. The streets are to-day laid out according to Penn’s original de sign, fifty feet in width, and run from river to river—east and west—and from north to south, intersecting at right angles. The latter streets are numbered in numerical order, and Market Street, is 100 feet wide, divides the city into two districts, north and south. and glass, and requires the services of; center of the coal region, is the center of a large number of skillful workmen. 1 4 ’-- ---’ ’--" -^ - ” ^-- ’ Philadelphia has at least two of the largest establishments for this kind of work in the country, and the proprie tors not only take contracts for work In the city, but have been quite suc- C ®? S £W bidding on outside jobs. One establishment alone employs several hundred, first-class' workmen. They nec essarily use thousands of feet of lad dersand thousands of brushes of vari ous kinds. the coal market of the world. The bus- iness has assumed stupendous propor- tions and it would be indeed difficult to estimate the vast total of tons that are sold through Philadelphia mine owners and wholesale dealers. The money .for the opening up and was of 732 tons, no ship larger than 300 tons was built in Philadelphia prior to 1790. From 1790 till the outbreak of the War of 1812, Philadelphia easily led the coun try in ship building, particularly in re gard to the size and quality of the ships industries, which the .^ards of Phil adelphia shared, though the enterprise of her builders found seft e relief in the construction of a very I isiderable ton nage for -foreign accoutW. This embraced both merchant ships and men-of-war, and included one line- world, occupies the site of a quadrangle, originally surveyed by the founder, Wil liam Pehn, as a public park, and so maintained until the beginning of the present work, twenty-two years ago. The City Hall is commonly known as the Public Buildings, and accommodates the departments of both the city and county authorities. The location of the building was de creed by popular vote. The principal offices, courts and chambers' of the several fronts have been occupied by the public departments for a number of years. The vast work, upon which about $20,000,000 have been expended, mow approaches completion. The length of the north, and south fronts is 470 feet, and that of the east and west, fronts is 486% feet, terial principally used for building and the enormous marble from Massachusetts The interior windows of its of busy public offices look The both ma- the tower is quarries, six floors out upon a courtyard 200 feet square, the favor ite "short-cut” of many busy thousands every day. Four grand archways, 18 feet wide and 36 feet high, richly embellished with polished columns and beautiful sculpture, are the sluiceways for the ceaseless human tide that surges through this splendid plaza. Who shall foretell what noble, impressive, perchance tragic, scenes this Plaza de la Hotel de Ville of the Quaker City shall witness in the centuries yet to come; when those masters, who designed and built the surrounding walls are remembered only by the occasional antiquarian who gropes in the corridors below and chances upon the tablet of the corner- stone; when the conditions of life in these latter days of the great century of progress, as they are outlined upon these pages, will be to the citizen and stranger but a tradition, and those things of which we boast are but the feeble efforts of a young and Inexperi enced people. Philadelphia of to-day is willing that this majestic building, and especially its tower, shall stand before the people of generations yet to come as the sym bol of civilization and taste obtaining among us in the year of our Lord 1896. The tower is the great peculiar fea ture of the entire structure, and no person who has once enjoyed the far- reaching ahd Impressive bird’s-eye view of this busy aggregation of humanity will regret the millions it has cost to rear this purely ornamental shaft. The tower is ninety feet square at the base, and its walls are twenty-three feet thick. The entire height of the work to the broad-rimmed hat upon the head of William Penn is 548 feet, an elevation greater, it is said, than any steeple or structure in the world built in con nection with an edifice. It exceeds that of the Great Pyramid, 67 feet; St. Peter’s Church, Rome, 99 feet, and is (nearly twice the height of the dome of the National Capitol. The Wash ington Monument is but seven feet high er. A great clock, the dial plates of which have a diameter of twenty-three feet, adorns the tower at an elevation visible from all parts of the city. 13"® observant stranger and citizen alike will find a wealth of allegorical suggestion in the symbolic statuary much of it of heroic size, which embel lishes the exterior, corridors and inner courts of the building. The four quar- t® 1 ’. 8 ,. 01 the globe are typified by the Asiatic elephant, the African tiger, Eu ropean bullock and the American bear and also by beautifully chiseled figures 01 ^b®^ Caucassian, Mongolian, African and other facial types. Upon the north ern front are the figures of William Fenn, an Indian, a Norseman, a Puritan and the Progress of Civilization. Other figures represent Victory, Fame, Edu cation, Science, Poetry, Music. Art Bot any, Navigation, Architecture and Me chanics. The east front and Mayor’s entrance bears figures of Asiatic, Chin ese and Japanese types, and those ex pressive of Art, Science, Peace, Industry, Mining, Engineering, Morning, Light etc. The south front and entrance to Courts of Justice contain figures of Afri cans, South Sea Islanders, Tigers and Lions, the City and State Coat of Arms, and also Moses typifying the Law of Justice, Execution. Youth, Water, etc. The western facade and the corridor, which is identified with the Criminal Department, contains, figures of Charity, Sympathy, Repentance, Meditation, Sor row and Rain, Tigers, Thorns and This tles. The figures of Indians, squaws and Western pioneers in picturesque groups indicate the direction of outlook from its windows. This comprehensive scheme of emblematic treatment is continued in the principal apartments, notably in the Supreme Court Chambers, which are further embellished with portraits of famous jurists of the State. The fur- nishing throughout is of and sumptuous character. ubstantial The magnificent bronze figure of Wil liam Penn, the work of Philadelphia mechanics, is placed at the top of the tower. It is 37 feet high and weighs 52,400 pounds. It was cast in forty-seven pieces and so skillfully joined that the most careful inspection fails to detect the junctures. The following are the di mensions of the different elements of the circumference; nose, 13 inches long; eyes 12 Inches long and 4 inches wide; mouth’ from corner to corner, 1 foot; face, from hat to chin, 3 feet 3 inches; hair, 1 feet long; shoulders, 28 feet in circumference and 15 feet in diameter; waist. 24 feet in circumference and 8 feet 9 inches in di ameter; buttons on coat, G inches rn diameter; hands, 6 feet 9 inches in nir. cumferencc. 3 feet, in diameter and 4 feet long; fingers, 2 feet 6 inches long; finger nails, 3 inches long; legs, from nkle, 5 feet in circumference wide Streets. The National Capital has been called a city of magnificent distances, but Philadelphia is far more deserving of the title. The magnificent distances of Philadelphia are truly magnificent streets stretching for miles and miles from the heart of the city. They are streets well laid, a majority of them broad and straight and all of them paved. The city can boast of 830 miles of well-paved thoroughfare and of this great amount more than one-third is of asphalt. Broad Street, one of the grandest thoroughfares in the world, extends in a straight line from two sides of the City Hall for a total distance of twenty and one-quarter miles. It is the longest straight street in the world. , all 1 , the Greets where the newer bl 1 ® 8 are run asphalt is the ma terial used for paving. Between four and Dve hundred miles of electric railway, more than is found in any other city of the world, is daily operated by several companies. The latter have pursued a liberal policy in affording excellent facili ties to their patrons, both in the charac- ter t heir e fl ui Pment of the latest modem type and in the frequency and iarity.of the service. Thus, without the objectionable features of elevated or uuuersround railway systems, with which problems New York, Boston and nn^m ar ? e Cities are smuggling, Phila delphia has most satisfactorily and quietly solved the problem of city rapid transit by extending and developing her ^I^ 0 ®* 8 ^ 1 ® 11 !!' L ' ast year the surface roads of this city carried about 180,000,000 passengers, probably the largest business done by any street railway system in existence. The excellent plan upon which the city was laid out makes rapid transit for all J°i ^m® a very light thought to Philadelphians. To Penn belongs the credit of a keeness of appreciation in this respect and he alone, perhaps, of all men of his day, Lad the genius sufficient to plant here a city worthy of nature’s magnificent surroundings. 13 ) v ?P to note here that of all the °F I he , continent, Philadelphia was the first to be laid out on a definite and comprehensive plan—a plan so broad in 80 enduring in its nature that Philadelphia stands to-day, as it has stood tor more than two centuries pre- enunent among the cities of the world a j , 0n ® clty whose model has proven adapted to the needs of the growing capacities and intelligence of succeeding generations. Th ® x? ll ! er great cities of the country owed their plan and their conformation largely to chance. This was notably the case with New York and Boston, and can be seen to-day in the older parts of those cities that were built up even so recently as the last generation. A single street often sufficed for the nucleus of a colonial city, and at best the colonists only had a thought for their immediate needs. As the villages grew into cities the natural and irregular paths made by men and animals in their jouneyings to and fro across unbroken fields or through the primeval forests served first as country highways and next as village streets, to be preserved in all their tor tuous windings a,s the cramped and congested arteries of a busy city’s trade. Great conflagrations have served in other cities to compensate for their de struction of property by affording an opportunity of revising the street plans, wh'le In America and Europe to-day fD^t municipalities and rich and power ful governments are striving with enor mous expenditure of labor and money to rebuild great cities to meet the growing necessities of modern times, and correct the errors of early builders who saw not beyond the conditions of their own day. Not so with Philadelphia. The far-see- lngmind of her great founder grasped with intuitive force the essential re- Sune? 6 ?! 3 - of the ideal clty > and the Philadelphia of to-day is still the city pl Penn—the broad plans of its founder have met the requirements of two cen turies of growth, and a development along the plans made by Penn in 1G83 will meet the needs of centuries to come, there were no narrow and tortuous streets permitted in Penn’s time. Broad highways laid out at right angles were its essential features, and the underlying principle of the whole, system was a de sire to avoid the unwholesome crowding pt population which Penn had observed to be pne of the greatest evils of Euro pean cities. To this end each householder ■ 1 6 n ® w city was given a generous sized plot of ground and was urged to build in the center that there might be at the front and on either side a wide space for gardens, for green lawns and spreading trees, and, above all, for an abundant circulation of pure air. The essential features of this wise plan have been preserved through the centuries sitice, and Philadelphia is to-day a city of the most beautiful and healthful homes that can be found on this continent, or, indeed, in the whole world. The neces sities trade have here, as in all other cities, forced a concentration of trade in certain localities where similar lines of business find an advantage in proxi- mity to neighbors, but the outlying growth of the city has been one of broad and liberal expansion, and there are important business houses that find a thriving trade in contributing to the needs of their respective districts than can be found in any other great city of the land. As originally platted by Penn’s survey ors the city extended from river to river east and west, and from Cedar Street on . th e south to Vine Street on the north r hi s tertutory was laid out in 200 blocks, with broad streets intersecting at right angles, and the streets were so planned by Penn s instructions that they could be extended from the water front into the country beyond as the city grew it tr yly was a conception of a master- mind and so faithfully executed that the growth of the city to-day is still progressing on this same wise plan of rectangular blocks which serves in a great degree to give the city that ap- poaraiice of neatness and of perfect order -which is one of its most striking characteristics. The territory thus mapped out by Penn was of such gen- ' erous dimensions that for nearly a cen tury it sufficed to encompass the growth oi the city. When we reflect that Aurin"- this period Philadelphia had become the superior of Now York as a'commercial center, we can the better appreciate the comprehensiveness of Penn’s plans Water Supply and Sewerage. In the development of a city its water supply and its system of sewerage are factors of prime importance, exercising an immense influence on the question of health and making the city either desir able or not as a place of residence. In both these elements the city of Philadel phia is particularly favored. The ques tion of a water supply adequate to the growing needs of the city early engaged attention, and Philadelphia was the first of the large cities of the country to pro vide itself with an adequate system of water works. The Schuylkill was taken as the source of supply and the original works at Fairmount were the marvel of Building Operations. For nearly a decade Philadelphia has been witnessing building' operations in her midst, averaging in round numbers 10,000 a year at an average cost of more than $25,000,000. Less than one in six of these operations were alterations or enlargements. A vast amount of public, charitable, scientific, commercial and railroad and steamboat work has been done. But the great bulk of all the work has gone in the direction of workshops, mills, fac tories, foundries, warehouses and stores, and then into homes for the people; of the latter alone, it is roughly estimated, there are, in this year 1896, 200,000 two, three and four stories high, occupied separately by single families. The ap proximate total of all buildings in the city is 275.000, against a total of about 130,000 in New York, where the number of resident Owners is estimated at only 13,000. These figures may be better un derstood when it is explained that New York, which has a population of over 2,000,000, has less than half the area of Philadelphia, which has a population of considerably more than 1,000,000. Its wide boundaries have had much to do with Philadelphia’s development as a “City of Homes,” and the settlement here of multifarious Industries in some of which, as in the carpet trade, she leads the manufacturing world, has In spired her builders to greater achieve ments as much in the matter of mill and office construction as in the building of hemes. The antiquated structures of the illus trious old residents have been rapidly disappearing from the business thor oughfares; country seats have given way to rows of cosy houses and high and costly piles of brick and iron and granite and marble have been introduced in the finest and most imposing styles of modern architecture. Not dwellings and manufactories only, but hospitals, churches and clubhouses have been mak ing their appearance in great profusion, and in such beauty and symmetry of proportion as to win the enconiums of visitors from every country. In 1895 there were about 12,000 opera tions, costing exclusive of land, $34,357,- 646, of which 6856 were dwellings cost ing $16,865,200. When one pauses to con sider that Philadelphia has over 1150 miles of streets, of which 800 miles are paved; that she has about 400 miles of sewers, and over 2G,000 gas lamps in ad dition to electric lights, with numerous public squares and parks, an additional working of the vast coal regions was and is supplied by enterprising business men of this city of Brotherly Love. They have millions of dollars invested in the “black diamond” mines and many thou sands of families in this city and through the State obtain a livelihood by this in dustry. There are first the mine owners, then the shippers, and lastly the wholesale and retail dealers. The profits on each ton of coal after passing through so many hands is small, but the great volume of the business makes it one in which very few people have lost money. Here in the city of Philadelphia it is nossible for a man, if he have sufficient means, to buy a ton of coal, ten or a hundred thousand tons, or a dozen mines. There is no limit to this coal game and Philadelphia reaps the rewards of its immensity. Perhaps in no city on the face of the globe—unless it be those situated direct- ly near mine shafts—can coal be pur chased for a sum as reasonable as it can in Philadelphia. The industry has been of great benefit in many ways, but principally in making of Philadelphia the greatest of manufacturing centers. And, furthermore, there is no good reason why the manufacturing interests of the city should not continue to build up and expand. The railroads running from the coal regions to this city have always been extremely fair in the matter of rates and this fact alone has contri buted in no small degree to Philadel phia’s material growth. The coal fields of the State are in exhaustible and in this we have the assurance of a continued and permanent prosperity. The coal miners, shippers, wholesale and retail dealers, are among our foremost business men, and the hustling of the future will be certainly as great as that of the past. Philadelphia Hotels. Fully in keeping with the city in gen eral—its streets, business houses, churches and homes—are the hotels of Philadelphia. Not alone fully in keeping in the matter of architectural structure, but in their atmosphere and hospitalitv. The city is well provided in this re spect, and at almost any time—unless the crowds should be most extraordinary— her hotels can comfortably accommodate all visitors, treat them well in every respect and send them away happy. There are in the city about a dozen large hotels, mostly^of modern design, and all thoroughly equipped. One of the largest, standing on our finest thorough- fare,. was but recently completed. It compares most favorably with the finer houses of London, Paris or New ork. Several other hotels nearby are excel lent institutions known the country over for their hospitality and elegance of apartments, as well as superbness of cuisine. Several other houses located in built. During those times even the Uncle Sam’s New Navy, the Na tion’s Pride, Built in Phila delphia Yards. A GREAT INDUSTRY. In view of the fact that a very large proportion of the splendid vessels consti tuting the new navy of the United States are of Philadelphia construction, and that those magnificent ships are recognized os first in their class the world over it would seem almost superfluous to write regarding the ship building industry of this city. But it is impossible to over look it since Philadelphia helped make the nation for which she is now building naval giants to defend. Ship building has been a prime industry of Philadelphia since the founding of the city. During the colonial period no adequate records were kept, but from tradition and from private documents it is known that Penn himself began to promote ship building within a few years after his settlement here. Of course, the earlier construction was not important, though it is known that vessels large enough for the coasting and West India trades were built within the present water front of the city during the first quarter of the Eighteenth Century. Tra dition places the locality of the first ship yard in the vicinity of the present foot of South Street. However, as a topic of general modern Interest, ship building in Philadelphia, may be dated at the close of the War of Independence. That war had left the colonies entirely destitute of shipping. It is worth while to remark, as a trib ute to the sturdy patriotism of the First Congress, that with every temptation to buy ships abroad, with domestic ship building paralyzed and with commerce languishing for want of vessels, the third act approved by President Washington prohibited the registry of foreign built vessels; and this act, as amended and enlarged December 31, 1792, now forms the basis of the navigation laws of the United States. During the period between the practical end of the Revolutionary War and the assembling of the first Fed- whalemen of New Bedford and Nan- tucket, with New England ;hip yards alongside their own wharves, often came to Philadelphia to get their ships built. The ship building supremacy of Phila delphia at this time was due partly to the excellent quality and great quantity of the timber in the region tributary to her, and partly to the skill and aptithde which her shipwrights had %^-ierited from colonial times. It was during this period also that Philadelphia inaugurated the idea of steam navigation, by building for John Fitch the first American steamboat, which, in 1790, began regular trips be tween this city and Trenton, taking a day for it each way. A chronicler of that time says that “the boat is a pleasanter vehicle than the mail coach, because of its freedom from jolt and jar, but it is not so expeditious.” A second steamboat was launched in 1791, about at the present foot of Palmer Street, but when nearly complete was driven from its moorings by a storm and wrecked on Petty’s Island. This bankrupted Fitch and his backers, and steam navigation ofr'the Delaware lan guished for several years. However, the name of Fitch’s boat, the “Perse verance,” lived after her and has be come the motto of Philadelphia ship builders. In 1809 another steamboat line was established to run between Philadelphia and Trenton. This was successful, and steam navigation on the Delaware has since been uninterrupted. This incident is mentioned here in its chronological order as part of the ship building his tory of the city, but, of course, it was many years before steam shipping be gan to cut any important figure in the sum total of output. The first decade of the present cen tury emphasied the supremacy of Phil adelphia in naval architecture. Balti more, Boston and New York, in the order named, struggled along during this period, but far in the rear; so much so that Philadelphia constantly built East Indiamen for Boston merchants, Atlantic packets for the New Yorkers, and coasters and coffee ships for the Baltimore trade, taking the cream of ship building orders away from the ship yards of those ports by simple dint of superior skill and economy. One Philadelphia ship, the “Rebecca Sims,” of 500 tons, built at Kensington in 1801, made about 100 Atlantic passages be tween that date and 1823, and then, being sold to a New Bedford firm for whaling service, made eleven round-the- world sperm and right-whaling voyages, until 1862, when she was bought by the United States and used as a coaling ship for the blockading squadron off Charleston in 1862. After some service in this capacity the good old ship was scuttled and sunk in Morris Island of-battle ship, -which was sold, in 1826, to the.Emperor Nicholas, .of Russia. Al this time the depletion of forests in. Great Britain began to tell on ship! building in that country and in 1830 twee Philadelphia ships, ori-unally built fori the China trade, of 180q a r-'’ 4 — - -- spectively, were purchi lish East India Comps, a great fuss in England' id 1540 tons re-„ d by the Eng- y. This raised and resulted in action by the Board c i Trade which effectually closed the B American built ships, ■ thorities resolutely insi 'itish market to he British au- ting that their merchants must have, their ships built in England, even thou! import almost every foo in their construction. What may fairly be t ern epoch of Philadelph began about 1830. Her s the arts pertaining to na had by that time becom lished, and univer h they had to of timber used srmed the mod- a. ship building ipremacy in all val architecture a so well estab- sally admitted, 1 hitherto pre tended to some sort of rivalry, that the even by cities which ha question of the future v as simply that of holding her own. The tendency to augment the size and power of steamships has approached the maximu cial practicability, but reached a stage at which now doubtless ■n of commer- it has already the small ship yard, except tor special construction such as tugs, yachts and riverf craft, is neces- , and"the four- sarily a thing of the pas teen busy yards which of Philadelphia sixty j never be seen again. Some persons entertain the predominance of Phils building- is of recent date ly to the radical changes were the pride ears ago will the belief that idelphia in ship- and due large- 1 in material and conditions of construction. The reverse There has never been a day from 1710 to 1894 when Philadelphia wag not in the lead in everything pertaining to naval architecture, anti since the ad vent of the steam era, in marine engi neering. In the old days Baltimore some- is true. times rose to the dignity off what sporting people call a “pretty good second,” and New York has undergone occasional brief spasms of ship-building activity, but the career of Philadelphia hate been steady, her progress consecutive,' and the rank she enjoys to-day of the first ship-build ing city of the Western Hemisphere and second to none in the world so far as Importance and quality of output are concerned, is simply that which she has honestly earned in nearly two centuries of steadfast diligence and patient skill. The scroll bears a seal of Charles II, 2 feel in diameter, and on the exposed page has the following inscription- Charles 11. King of England and I'Dinee. Delender of the Faith-To whom these presents shall come, “Grpetlng-” Whereas. Our trustie and well-beloved mainly in the country districts to lie north, within convenient distance of the main city, which steadily grew in this direction and in time absorbed these suburban districts, which being laid out °m tb 6 ,same rectangular plan as the older city, t pow form a part of a sym- ^Oi B-'M 1 J ' ■ THE CITY HALL. the day. They still form a part of the water works system which has been de veloped with the growth of the city. The great portion of the supply is still taken from the Schuylkill, but a part is now drawn from the Delaware at Lardner’s Point. There are ten reservoirs, includ ing one now being completed, with a to tal storage capacity of more than 1,000,- 000,000 gallons. The average daily con sumption is 132 gallons per capita of pop ulation. The system of drainage has been vast ly. improved during the last few years, and as now planned Philadelphia will soon be the best sewered city in the United States. Since 1854 nearly 400 miles of sewers haye been built at a cost of nearly $10,000,000 dollars, and there are how about 435 miles of sewers, of which eighty are main sewers, some of which are twenty feet in diameter, or big enough to drive a horse and carriage through, and 350 miles of branch sewers, which form part of a comprehensive plan that will in time afford thorough drain age to the entire city. Police and Fire Departments. In these two important features of municipal administration Philadelphia is well favored, and the systems for the preservation of order and the protection of property are not surpassed by any city in the country. Philadelphia is essentially a law-abid ing city and her people are most admir ably protected from any outward an noyance. The police force, which con sists of over 2000 men, is next to the largest in the country and is under per fect discipline. The entire city is under police protection and a mounted force pa trols the suburban districts. The fact that for many years Philadel phia has suffered no devastating confla gration is largely due to the efficiency of its fire department. There are now over 500 men in the department and all the apparatus is of the latest and most ap proved pattern. Dredging. Uncle Sam has given at various times large contracts to Philadelphia dredg ing companies, but he has not given them sufficient work to do to meet with their capacities. The dredging compan ies of this city are thoroughly fitted to do all manner of dredging work, hav ing some of the most powerful dredges ^b® cou ntry. They are prepared' at all times to make channels where be fore there were none or to deepen those that at present are shallow. There is still opportunity for considerable dredg ing in the river between the city the Delaware Breakwater. reason for extensive building presents it self. There has been no retrogression in this phase of. Philadelphia’s development, the march of progress has been steady in the quantity of work done, as well as in the methods of construction employ ed, and public and private enterprise, the former sometimes hampered by a low tax-rate, have gone hand in hand to the metes and bounds of the city’s great area. Credit is due to capitalists, business men and philanthropists for this expan sion of building and building- ideas," but the city itself is not to be omitted from the roll of those to whom, the praise should be given. She has set many an example in architectural finish and struc tural durability that might be followed with profit in other cities. Her spirit of progressiveness has mani- fected itself in the construction of a City Hall, which up to the present time has cost about $20,000,000, and which, when finished, will be without its equal in the United States. Her spirit is also shown in the standard of excellence maintained for her school houses, her police and fire houses, and in her gas houses and water works. She has en deavored to keep up with the enterprise of her citizens; she has encouraged the right kind of building; she has witnessed the disappearance of old and dilapidated structures; she has prohibited the con struction of frame or other dangerous or Inflammable buildings, and in all that pertains to domestic and public conveni ence, in homes or in businfess places, Philadelphia is keeping abreast of the times. The comfort and beauty of Philadel phia dwellings are exceeded only by the ize and style of its many business blocks Philadelphia architects, like Philadelphia lawyers, have standing in every com- gmunity; many buildings in Philadelphia have made the designers world famous. In the matter of homes Philadelphia leads all cities in the land. The house of seven rooms, that may be rented for $15 a month contains every necessary convenience found in mansions costing fortunes. Over 121,000 citizens own land. For example: A plot of grass in front and a bit of clay in the rear of his two-story brick house gives play room to the workingman’s children; the ce mented cellar keeps its contents pure and dry; the cosy bathroom insures cleanliness and health; the numerous closets, the stationary stands, sinks, bookcases and wardrobes help furnish the house, and the little range in the kitchen completes the home that even the. most lowly Philadelphian may reasonably hope the business section of the town have a deservedly large trade and are popular with home people as well as with the traveling public. As a matter of fact, there is no promi nent section of the city without a first- class hotel establishment, and visitors need never fear that any one of them cannot properly care for all his wants. The hotel men are as a rule genial and refined gentlemen who’ occupy their po sitions because of eminent fitness. They appreciate the fact that the stranger is not always happy simply because he is traveling for Business or for pleasure, and they take-J, open themselves to in dividually loo-kaput for his little require ments and desires. The hotels of the city are prosperous. There is not one of them around which is an air of decay or deadness. They have, in a majority of cases, all the business they can conveniently handle. The plans upon whiSh they are conduct ed are both American and European, the latter, being the plan of the greater number. The hotelkeeper of this city, and through him the guest of his house, is especially favored by nature. The ex cellent climate of the city acts as a stimulus to- the hotel business, and the bill of fare which the Philadelphia hotel keeper is able to- spread before his guest is unquestionably superior to anything offered in any other city of the United States. The best hotels of Great Britain or of Continental Europe do not pretend and could not afford to place upon their tables the luxuries of the Philadelphia houses. This is due in a great measure to our proximity to the fruitful West India Islands and to- the fields of Dela ware and New Jersey. Nearby the city, comparatively speak ing, is some of the best fishing in the world, both of the fresh and salt water varieties. Down the coast, and a few miles from here, along the shores of Chesapeake Bay, are found the oyster, the diamond-back terrapin, the canvas back duck and the shad. In the moun tains of Pennsylvania are found the choicest wild game of the woods, while from the fertile country about the city itself are to be had the freshest vegeta bles of the land. In all the prominent hotels are found French chefs whose skill has made the excellence of Philadelphia hotel tables proverbial. They are large salaried as a rule and better, perhaps, cannot be found anywhere. Altogether, the city’s hotels are most satisfactory, as the most ex perienced travelers daily witness. era! Congress, that is to say, from 1781 to 1790, the defense acts of the Conti nental Congress remained in effect, and these permitted registry of foreign built ships only when condemned as prizes of war. The records for that period are im perfect, but they show the construction of at least 162 vessels in Philadelphia ship yards, aggregating 18,000 tons regis ter, or an average of abuot 110 tons. Ex cepting the Alliance, a frigate, presented to the King of France, in 1784, which Channel to close it against blockade runners. The quality of the “Rebecca Sims” as a sample of Philadelphia ship building may be interred from the fact that, in May, 1807, she left the capes of the Delaware, and in fourteen days hauled up to her wharf, at Liverpool, “without once shivering her topsails,” as sailors say. That was eighty-six years ago, but the old “Rebecca Sims” still holds the sailing record between Cape Henlopen and the Mersey, and probably will hold it forever. After the War of 1812, ensued a long period of depression in all trades and and Painting and Decorating. Painting, glazing and decorating - at 1,1 a growing city like I hiladelphla requires a vast amount of material, such as paints, oils, varnish The Coal Business. Pennsylvania is recognized as the great coal producing region of the earth. Her product is carried in ship bottoms to the four winds of heaven" and it is al most a fact that Pennsylvania “carries coals to Newcastle." Philadelphia, while by no means the Wherein We Are First. The American Philosophical Institution, the first institution devoted to science in America, was founded in this city by Benjamin Franklin, in 1734. . The first lightning rod used in the world was set up by Benjamin Franklin at his dwelling house, on the southeast corner of Second and Race Streets, in September, 1752. * Fire Apparatus. The making of fire apparatus of every description is an important part of the city’s industry. Just praise is due all who succeed in inventing and manufac turing any improvement, and therefore Philadelphia manufacturers deserve praise. The chemical fire engines and hand fire extinguishers are complete and effec tive, and are used throughout the world. They are especially serviceable in the suburbs of cities and in (country towns where the use of steam Engines is im practicable. Until the invention of these machines fires have been met by means too slow and too cumbersome. The time consumed in sending for a hand or steam engine and getting it into working order often proves fatal, and fires that have an insignificant beginning often end in the most fearful conflagrations. The chemical engine is regarded as a great acquisition to an efficient fire department, and it is so constructed that any ordi nary fireman can use it. i They possess rare qualities in the extinguishing of in cipient fire, and preventing the spread of flames by ignition of neighboring roofs. These Philadelphia engines have an en- virable reputation and are in use in all sections of the country. In addition to these hook and ladder trucks, hose wagons, hose carriages, and other fire department supplies are manu factured here. It is one of the success ful industries of the city that has enjoy ed a steady growth under capable and efficient management. Photographers’ Paper. In this can be found a manufacturing establishment that has r.> counterpart in the world. It was founded in 1889 by a practical photographer who had turned his attention to argentic or sensatized paper, which has in the past few years come rapidly into use for photographs. There are establishments n the United States where this kind of paper is manu factured, but no place can boast the same system and perfection that has been attained by the Philadelphia con cern. It has taken nearly two decades to perfect this paper and it has the quali ties of absolute permanency, positive fidelity in reproduction without loss of any feature discernible in the original, ease and certainty in manipulation for reproduction, and an unlimited capac ity for enlargement of pictures in crayon or in colors. A negative twenty-five inches square has been enlarged to 5832 square inches, or nearly 232 times. The business is growing to immense propor tions. The importance of the industry to Philadelphia is that it is special and unequaled, and therefore -helps to ad vertise the city faster than an article that has no such special features. Marins Insurance. The Importance of fire and marine In surance to the great interests of a manu facturing city like Philadelphia is at once apparent. This city started several years ago as an insurance center because of its location near New York and the lake and canal interests, and has retained the bulk of the business since. Practically all the companies of England and Amer ica are represented here, and the business is governed by a local board that makes the rates, reports On risks, etc. The in surance business in Philadelphia is in charge of representative men, who' con duct the work upon sound principles. These men have, exclusive of the efforts of the companies they represent, done much to make the fire and marine insur ance business what it is. Planing Milla. Many large planing mills and a few small ones do the wood work for Philadelphia. These mills take contracts for doors, sash, blinds, and, in fact, all doors, sash, blinds, and, io fact, all the wood work in a build.ng contract for residences, stores or .arge public buildings. From 2500 to 3000 ..nen are em ployed in the mills, besides a large num ber on the jobs. The capital invested is f^m $3,000,000 to $3,500,000 The plan ing mills of this city are well equipped with all necessary machinery for turn ing out the various kinds or work with perfection and dispatch. Nearly all the mills carry large stocks of Lumber. The business is progressing favorably, and those engaged in it predict a very suc cessful season. . Merchandise Brokers. Philadelphia has a good number of enterprising and reliable merchandise brokers, with whom it is a pleasure to deal, and through whom it is possible to buy anything from a paper of pins to a steam engine. They are a business necessity, and without them the business world would not know how to get along. The business handled by them represents a Vast amount each year and Indicates the prosperity of the brokers. ACADEMY OF THE FINE ARTS.
The Raleigh Times (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
June 18, 1896, edition 2
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