Philadelphia 1865: A City on the Edge

Time: 6:00 to 8:30pm (Lecture begins at 6:00; a special cake competition and member reception will follow.)

Location: Wagner Free Institute of Science, 1700 W Montgomery Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19121

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Delivered by Bruce Laverty, Gladys Brooks Curator of Architecture at the Athenaeum of Philadelphia

In 1865 Philadelphia was a city on the edge; a city on the edge of grief; a city on the edge of growth; and a city on the edge of genius. That year saw Philadelphia’s joy of Northern victory dashed by the overwhelming shock and grief brought on by the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Less acute, but even more sobering, was the growing realization in 1865 that Union victory and the abolition of slavery were by no means the end of race problems in the City of Brotherly Love. In 1865 Philadelphia commenced the most rapid physical growth in its history; by century’s end the built portion of the city had more than doubled in size. Finally, 1865 was the year when the genius of local entrepreneurs, both individually and collectively, through the efforts of scientific, benevolent, and educational associations, achieved the critical mass that launched Philadelphia into modernity. This “Weeknights at the Wagner” lecture will also feature a cake competition to celebrate the Wagner’s National Landmark building, which turns 150 this year. Following the lecture and the announcement of the competition winners, there will be a member reception where cakes will be served.

Bruce Laverty, a life-long resident of Philadelphia and graduate of LaSalle College, has been Curator of Architecture at the Athenaeum of Philadelphia since 1983. He prepared that institution’s first catalog of architectural drawings. During his tenure at the Athenaeum, the architectural collection grew from 30,000 to more than 220,000 drawings and he oversaw the creation of nearly 8,000 Visual Materials records documenting them. He has served as curator for more than a dozen exhibitions at the Athenaeum and in 1998 he received the Preservation Achievement Award for his work as curator, editor and co-author of “Monument to Philanthropy: The Design and Building of Girard College, 1832-1848."

(Photo credit: Microscopic View of Philadelphia, Chromolithograph by Herline & Co., Published by John Weik, Philadelphia, 1869, Zebooker Collection, Athenaeum of Philadelphia.)