Merchants' Exchange Building (Philadelphia)

Last updated

Merchants' Exchange Building
Philadelphia Merchants Exchange Building (20864134401).jpg
Street map of Philadelphia and surrounding area.png
Red pog.svg
USA Pennsylvania location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location143 S. Third Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Coordinates 39°56′50″N75°08′46″W / 39.9473°N 75.1460°W / 39.9473; -75.1460
Architect William Strickland [1]
Architectural style Greek Revival
NRHP reference No. 01001047
Significant dates
Added to NRHPAugust 7, 2001 [2]
Designated NHLAugust 7, 2001 [3]

The Merchants' Exchange Building is an historic building which is located on the triangular site bounded by Dock, 3rd and Walnut Streets in the Old City neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was designed by architect William Strickland, [1] in the Greek Revival style, the first national American architectural style and built between 1832 and 1834. It operated as a brokerage house in the nineteenth century, but by 1875 the Philadelphia Stock Exchange had taken the place of the Merchants' Exchange.

Contents

The building was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2001. [3] [4]

It is the oldest existing stock exchange building in the United States, but is now used as the headquarters of the Independence National Historical Park. [5]

Origin

The City Tavern, which had been the center of the Philadelphia business community since it was built in 1773, became increasingly crowded because of the unsuitability of its floor plan to accommodate its growing clientele. At this time, Philadelphia epitomized America's ideal city by maintaining strong economic, political, and architectural advancements. The middle class was strengthening and citizens were becoming more inclined to start their own businesses, so commerce and trade continued to thrive. The economic boom of the Jacksonian era reinforced the idea among merchants that there was a need for a centralized exchange building.

In 1831, a group of prominent Philadelphians led by Stephen Girard, the nation's wealthiest man at the time, constructed a building for trade, commerce, and post to preside. Thus, they founded the Philadelphia Exchange Company and appointed an architect to begin the introductory stages of creating what later became the Merchants' Exchange Building. [6]

Architecture

The front of the building (2012) Merchants' Exchange front from southwest.jpg
The front of the building (2012)

The Greek Revival movement became particularly attractive for American architects in the late eighteenth century on account of the rising popularity of ancient Greece's democratic principles and the strong desire to recast the nation's image and further distance it from Great Britain. Greek Revival architecture began to gain favor in the United States when Thomas Jefferson appointed Benjamin Henry Latrobe to design a number of prominent buildings in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia for the Federal government. Latrobe led the country's movement toward the Greek Revival style through the late eighteenth century and developed it for future American architects.

Among several mentees of Latrobe was William Strickland, the man who was ultimately appointed architect of the Merchants' Exchange Building. Strickland's design is admired to this day for its balance of order and ornamentation, one of the ideals of the Greek Revival style.

While the trustees of the Philadelphia Exchange Company chose Strickland for his increasing local popularity, his design of the Merchants' Exchange Building is remembered today not only for its reflection of the Greek Revival style, but also the uniqueness in its design. [6] The plot of land allotted for the building was one of the few triangle plots that were not a part of William Penn's original grid layout of Philadelphia.

Strickland's use of a semicircular facade at the rear of the building is an example of his ingenuity in adapting the design so that the building could naturally flow with the arch of the curved road that borders the property. Although both sides of the building have distinctively different facades, Strickland evoked the Greek Revival style through his use of marble Corinthian pillars and elaborate ornamentation. Strickland's use of the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates as inspiration for the building's lantern tower drew the local press to write in a newspaper in 1831 that "Philadelphia is truly the Athens of America." [6]

Strickland later went on to be the architect of the Second Bank of the United States and the steeple on the Independence Hall Tower, though the Merchants' Exchange Building is still widely recognized as his greatest masterpiece because of its unique asymmetrical shape.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Bank of the United States</span> National bank in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1816–41)

The Second Bank of the United States was the second federally authorized Hamiltonian national bank in the United States. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the bank was chartered from February 1816 to January 1836. The bank's formal name, according to section 9 of its charter as passed by Congress, was "The President, Directors, and Company, of the Bank of the United States". While other banks in the US were chartered by and only allowed to have branches in a single state, it was authorized to have branches in multiple states and lend money to the US government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin Henry Latrobe</span> English architect (1764-1820)

Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe was an Anglo-American neoclassical architect who immigrated to the United States. He was one of the first formally trained, professional architects in the new United States, drawing on influences from his travels in Italy, as well as British and French Neoclassical architects such as Claude Nicolas Ledoux. In his thirties, he immigrated to the new United States and designed the United States Capitol, on "Capitol Hill" in Washington, D.C., as well as the Old Baltimore Cathedral or The Baltimore Basilica,. It is the first Cathedral constructed in the United States for any Christian denomination. Latrobe also designed the largest structure in America at the time, the "Merchants' Exchange" in Baltimore. With extensive balconied atriums through the wings and a large central rotunda under a low dome which dominated the city, it was completed in 1820 after five years of work and endured into the early twentieth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greek Revival architecture</span> Architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries

Greek Revival architecture was a style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, as well as in Greece itself following its independence in 1832. It revived many aspects of the forms and styles of ancient Greek architecture, in particular the Greek temple. A product of Hellenism, Greek Revival architecture is looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture, which was drawn from Roman architecture. The term was first used by Charles Robert Cockerell in a lecture he gave as an architecture professor at the Royal Academy of Arts in London in 1842.

The architecture of the United States demonstrates a broad variety of architectural styles and built forms over the country's history of over two centuries of independence and former Spanish, French, Dutch and British rule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal architecture</span> Architectural style in the US

Federal-style architecture is the name for the classical architecture built in the United States following the American Revolution between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was influenced heavily by the works of Andrea Palladio with several innovations on Palladian architecture by Thomas Jefferson and his contemporaries. Jefferson's Monticello estate and several federal government buildings, including the White House, are among the two most prominent examples of buildings constructed in Federal style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Stephen's Episcopal Church (Philadelphia)</span> Historic church in Pennsylvania, United States

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church is a historic parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, founded in 1823 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and located at 19 South Tenth Street, on the corner of Tenth Street and Ludlow Street. St. Stephen's was designed by William Strickland in the Gothic revival style. It is the oldest extant building in Philadelphia in this style and was designed by an architect-engineer best known for Greek Revival buildings, though, like his mentor Benjamin Latrobe, he produced buildings in other "picturesque" styles as well. St. Stephen's first service was held on February 27, 1823. On June 4, 1979, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. On May 28, 1957, it was designated a historic landmark by the Philadelphia Historical Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Strickland (architect)</span> American architect

William Strickland was a noted architect and civil engineer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Nashville, Tennessee. A student of Benjamin Latrobe and mentor to Thomas Ustick Walter, Strickland helped establish the Greek Revival movement in the United States. A pioneering engineer, he wrote a seminal book on railroad construction, helped build several early American railroads, and designed the first ocean breakwater in the Western Hemisphere. He was elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1820.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neoclassical architecture</span> 18th–19th-century European classical revivalist architectural style

Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing styles of architecture in most of Europe for the previous two centuries, Renaissance architecture and Baroque architecture, already represented partial revivals of the Classical architecture of ancient Rome and ancient Greek architecture, but the Neoclassical movement aimed to strip away the excesses of Late Baroque and return to a purer and more authentic classical style, adapted to modern purposes.

Gideon Shryock was Kentucky's first professional architect in the Greek Revival Style. His name has frequently been misspelled as Gideon Shyrock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monumental Church</span> Former Episcopal church and national landmark in Richmond, Virginia, United States

Monumental Church is a former Episcopal church at 1224 E. Broad Street between N. 12th and College streets in Richmond, Virginia. Designed by architect Robert Mills, it is one of America's earliest and most distinctive Greek Revival churches. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has been designated as a National Historic Landmark and is located in the Court End historic district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Architecture of Philadelphia</span> Philadelphia architectural styles

The architecture of Philadelphia is a mix of historic and modern styles that reflect the city's history. The first European settlements appeared within the present day borders of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the 17th century with most structures being built from logs. By the 18th century, brick structures had become common. Georgian and later Federal style buildings dominated much of the cityscape. In the first half of the 19th century, Greek revival appeared and flourished with architects such as William Strickland, John Haviland, and Thomas U. Walter. In the second half of the 19th century, Victorian architecture became popular with the city's most notable Victorian architect being Frank Furness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downtown Presbyterian Church (Nashville)</span> Historic church in Tennessee, United States

The Downtown Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, a part of the Presbyterian Church (USA), was formerly known as First Presbyterian Church. The church is located at the corner of Rep. John Lewis Way and Church Street. As Old First Presbyterian Church it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1993, for its distinctive Egyptian Revival architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andalusia (estate)</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

Andalusia, also known as the Nicholas Biddle Estate, is a historic mansion and estate located on the Delaware River, just northeast of Philadelphia, in Bensalem Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The community surrounding it, Andalusia, takes its name from the 225-acre estate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Market and Head House</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

New Market, as it was originally known, and later also known as Head HouseMarket and Second Street Market, is an historic street market which is located on South 2nd Street between Pine and Lombard Streets in the Society Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With a history dating to 1745, it is one of the oldest surviving market buildings of its type in the nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hermann–Grima House</span> Historic house in Louisiana, United States

The Hermann–Grima House is a historic house museum in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The meticulously restored home reflects 19th century New Orleans. It is a Federal-style mansion with courtyard garden, built in 1831. It has the only extant horse stable and 1830s open-hearth kitchen in the French Quarter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Provident Life & Trust Company</span> Bank and insurance company in Pennsylvania, United States

The Provident Life & Trust Company is a demolished Victorian-era building in Philadelphia designed by architect Frank Furness and considered to be one of the famed architect's greatest works. A bank and insurance company founded in 1865 by members of the Society of Friends (Quakers), the Provident's L-shaped building had entrances at 407–09 Chestnut Street, which served as the entrance to the bank, and at 42 South 4th Street, which was the entrance to the insurance company. The two wings were eventually consolidated into an office building, also designed by Furness, at the northwest corner of 4th and Chestnut Streets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latrobe Gate</span> United States historic place

The Latrobe Gate is a historic gatehouse located at the Washington Navy Yard in Southeast Washington, D.C. Built in 1806 and substantially altered in 1881, the ceremonial entrance to the U.S. Navy's oldest shore establishment is an example of Greek Revival and Italianate architecture. It was designed by the second Architect of the Capitol Benjamin Henry Latrobe, whose works include St. John's Episcopal Church, the Baltimore Basilica, and the United States Capitol. The Latrobe Gate is one of the nation's oldest extant examples of Greek Revival architecture. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 14, 1973, and is a contributing property to the Washington Navy Yard's status as a National Historic Landmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Strickland Row</span> Historic houses in Pennsylvania, United States

William Strickland Row was a set of seven historic rowhouses, four of which survive.

Nicola Monachesi (1795–1851) was an Italian painter believed to have painted the earliest frescos in the United States. He was born in Tolentino in the Marche region of Italy and was considered a citizen of Rome. He died in Philadelphia a naturalized citizen of the United States. In Italy, he was a pupil of the Accademia di San Luca, Rome, studying under Gaspare Landi, and won his first prize for painting. He emigrated to America in 1831-32, entering through New York and settling in Philadelphia. He worked mostly as an interior decorator, drawing neoclassical artistic paintings on wall surfaces and portrait paintings on canvass decorating churches, commercial buildings, and mansions.

References

  1. 1 2 "Merchants' Exchange". The Library Company of Philadelphia . World Digital Library . Retrieved January 4, 2014.
  2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  3. 1 2 "Merchants' Exchange Building". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved February 17, 2008.
  4. Wolf, Zana C. and Tonetti, Charles (September 30, 2000) National Historic Landmark Nomination: Merchants' Exchange Building / Philadelphia Exchange, National Park Service and Accompanying 8 images, from 1834, 1964, and undated
  5. Historical marker at the building
  6. 1 2 3 "Philadelphia Merchants' Exchange" on the usahistory.org website of the Independence Hall Association