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Philadelphia: This Week in History

By: ornamento.blog June 4, 2020June 4, 2020

Art, Art Architecture Philadelphia Philadelphia City Hall Photography, Philadelphia, Philadelphia History, Philadelphia Mural Arts, South PhiladelphiaFrank Rizzo, George Floyd, Octavius Catto, Philadelphia Public ArtLeave a Comment

It’s been quite a week. I wouldn’t say that things started with the murder of George Floyd, because they started long before that. I worked as a criminal defense lawyer in Philadelphia for seven years when I was in my 20’s and 30’s, taking mostly court appointments. I wasn’t a white knee-jerk liberal, and I wasn’t idealistic. But what I saw, and what I experienced changed how I see the world.

Many police departments have had toxic cultures when it comes to dealing with people of color. Philadelphia is no different. One of the most divisive figures in the city’s history has been Frank Rizzo who was the Police Commissioner from 1968 to 1971, and later, Mayor. There was a controversial mural of Rizzo not far from my house in the Italian Market. People in the neighborhood have been trying to get it removed for years. This week, the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program ended involvement with the Frank Rizzo mural and it is going to be replaced with art more fitting for the neighborhood.

Likewise the bronze statue of Frank Rizzo that has stood before the Philadelphia Municipal Services Building since 1999 has been removed after years of argument over whether it should stay or go.

7055b1c5ee834f16b891a5b97555b7f8 — Statue being removed during wee hours of June 3, 2020

I said in the opening sentence of this post that the events of this week didn’t start with the murder of George Floyd. We all have a tenancy to ignore things that don’t affect us and to bury feelings that make us squirm. It’s only human, but it’s dangerous-like ignoring a chronic headache that turns out to be a brain tumor that could have been treated if only we had paid attention. And it’s only human to do things a certain way because that’s the way we’ve always done them. That’s dangerous too, We have to think about what we think about and we have to be aware of our history. If they don’t teach us in school, we have to find out for ourselves.

I invite you to have a peek into Philadelphia history of the 1870’s, the era of Reconstruction when slavery as a formal institution had ended in this country and when social parity for everyone seemed like it might even be achievable. Until it wasn’t.

It only took 147 years for Philadelphia to commemorate the work of Octavius Catto who was murdered in 1871 while helping black voters exercise their right to vote. Read the post, Octavius Catto’s Quest for Parity. Then understand that we must change, or this tumor we’ve been ignoring for so long will kill us.

Philadelphia Fashions a District

By: ornamento.blog October 31, 2019October 30, 2019

Art, Art Architecture Philadelphia Philadelphia City Hall Photography, Philadelphia, Philadelphia HistoryArchitecture, Art, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Fashion DistrictLeave a Comment

I had some time after a visit to the hand doctor today, so I decided to check out the Philadelphia Fashion District.

The Gallery Shopping Mall in downtown Philadelphia has been completely renovated and reopened to the public in September as Philadelphia Fashion District. No one shops at malls anymore, so the developers couldn’t just follow the old model of retailing in a renovated space. So in addition to the standard mall retail therapy establishments, the Fashion District is offering some intriguing opportunities for artists, makers, and entrepreneurs.

The Fashion District has invested one million dollars for art installations geared to “making museum-caliber art more accessible to the city, while also elevating the beauty of The District.” The Bridgette Mayer Gallery has a display there with art for sale.

Conrad Benner, whose blog StreetsDept.com, chronicles street art in Philadelphia, has been charged with curating an exhibit of the work of Philadelphia street artists. These works are currently on display on the lower (concourse) level of the Fashion District through the end of this year.

The Fashion District has provided space for RecPhilly, an organization who provides co-working space, recording studios, visual labs & conference rooms for creatives. RecPhilly membership is financially accessible and has proven to so popular that there is now a waitlist. But new memberships are sure to open up in the future. Read more about RecPhilly on their website here.

The Fashion District is sponsoring more art-related events than I’ve written about here as well as planning to open up movie theaters, restaurants and performance spaces. They are trying to do a lot and we’ll see how it goes. Here are some pictures.

December January in Philadelphia

By: ornamento.blog January 17, 2019January 17, 2019

Art, Art Architecture Philadelphia Philadelphia City Hall Photography, Philadelphia, PhotographyArt, Philadelpjoa, Photography2 Comments

The Some pictures I took in December and January during Philadelphia walkabouts.

img_20190111_152004545_1280x720 — South Broad Street Townhouse

img_20190111_152300066_1280x720 — Philip’s Restaurant, South Broad Street How many funeral lunches have I attended there?

img_20190112_140316473_1280x720 — Near Broad and Ellsworth

img_20190112_140350557_1280x720 — Near Broad and Ellsworth. Was this a club of some kind?

img_20190112_142702650_1280x720 — Cigar factory converted to condos, 12 and Washington Streets

img_20190115_142352035_1280x720 — Apartment House Steps. Lombard Street

img_20190116_160027798_1280x720 — Someone took a wrong turn here, 8th and Christian Streets

img_20190105_161739238_1280x720 — Roots mural on South Street East of Broad. Hidden behind a chain link fence. For a better view, press here.

img_20190111_141845598_1280x720 — Avenue of the Arts, Broad ad Washington Streets

img_20190111_142208231_1280x720 — St. Rita’s Church, South Broad Street. The huge structure dwarfs the buildings near it.

img_20190111_142250046_1280x720 — Beautiful South Broad Street Townhouse.

img_20190111_150646795_1280x720 — I took the next 4 pictures in the vestibule of a South Broad Street townhouse. The house has not been altered inside too much except for the obligatory paneled bar in the basement.

img_20190111_150650310_1280x720

img_20190111_150706096_1280x720 — The floor tiles resemble many of those in Philadelphia City Hall which were made at the Moravian Tile Works and date from the 1890’s

img_20190111_150710869_burst001_1280x720

img_20190111_151231857_1280x720 — More Townhouses on South Broad Street, very well preserved and the fronts colorfully painted.

img_20181111_135934088_burst001_1280x720 — FMC Tower from the South Street Bridge

img_20181123_194202213_burst000_cover_top-01_wm — The Liberty Bell one frozen night in December

img_20181202_122321004_1280x720 — From the Rube Goldberg exhibition at the Jewish Museum in Philadelphia. Looks like his prediction came true. Down to the cat.

img_20181202_131103906_1280x720 — I waited until the restroom was empty before taking this picture in the Jewish Museum. Why? I hate answering stupid questions.

img_20181217_155054498_1280x720 — Ghost Bike Memorial, 11th and Spruce Streets. Emily Fredricks was killed on her bike when a trash truck crossed the bike lane without looking. I hope there will be less of a need for these memorials in the future.

img_20181221_214334856_1280x720 — Looking North from Clymer Street roof deck.

img_20181225_171113295_1280x720 — Christmas Day view from the South Street Bridge.

img_20190103_130643756_1280x720 — South Philadelphia yarn bomb.

img_20190105_160531873_1280x720 — Violin Maker 17th and Pine Street

img_20190105_160541341_burst001_1280x720

Octavius Catto’s Quest For Parity

By: ornamento.blog January 25, 2018June 3, 2020

Art, Art Architecture Philadelphia Philadelphia City Hall Photography, Philadelphia City Hall, Philadelphia History, SculptureArt, Branly Cadet, Octavius Catto, Philadelphia Public ArtLeave a Comment

3.C

Philadelphia unveiled its first public monument to an African-American on September 2017. “A Quest For Parity” is located on the south apron of Philadelphia City Hall.

Who was Octavius Catto? He was an athlete: He established the first successful African-American baseball club in Philadelphia. He was an activist and a key figure in the protests that led to the desegregation of streetcars in Philadelphia. He was an educator, teaching at the Philadelphia Institute for Colored Youth. He was a soldier: when the Confederates invaded Pennsylvania in 1863, he raised a company of Black soldiers, one of the first volunteer regiments of volunteers in the Commonwealth. He served as a Major and raised a total of eleven regiments during the war.

I ‘ve always thought of Octavius Catto as a Philadelphian even though he was born in South Carolina. He settled in Philadelphia and met his fiance Sarah Le Count here. The building that housed the Philadelphia Institute for Colored Youth still stands on Bainbridge Street a few blocks from my home, as does the spot on South Street where Catto was gunned down in an election day riot in October 1871. He was 32 years old. Too soon for his work to be done.

The statue of Catto is beautifully rendered by sculptor Branly Cadet who designed and executed the monument. The picture at the top of this post shows the gleaming metal ball that sits in front of the statute and reflects Catto, Philadelphia, and the passers-by.

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The twelve-foot bronze statue is imposing and lifelike; Catto seems about to tip off the pedestal. Is he running? Is he making an impassioned speech? Cadet aptly portrays Catto as a man of action, an activist, passionate and relentless.

If you find yourself in Philadelphia, go see the monument. To read more about the monument and the artist, press here. To see a documentary film about Octavius Catto, press here.

A Visit to the Masonic Temple

By: ornamento.blog March 10, 2016March 13, 2016

Art, Art Architecture Philadelphia Philadelphia City Hall Photography, Meetup, PhotographyArchitecture, Art, Freemasonry, Masonic Lodge, Philadelphia, Photography2 Comments

24914002363_d70fc7465c_o
I’ve wanted to tour the Masonic Temple in Philadelphia for quite some time. Even though there have been Masons in my and my husband’s family and I used to work in City Hall which is right across the street, I never made the trip.

Then I joined the Cityscape Tours Philadelphia Meetup group that Steve Rosenbach organized a year ago. When an email popped up in my account announcing an “Almost Free” tour of the Temple I signed up and I’m glad I did.

I arrived at the Temple a few minutes early and Steve was there with a list of names and a hearty welcome. He was very well organized. As more people arrived, it became evident that some had attended prior tours Steve had organized and that others were newbies like me. But everyone was very friendly and the fact that we all had cameras seemed to unite us somehow. I always feel self conscious when I take pictures in public (you’d never know this I suppose because I take pictures constantly wherever I go if it is legal and does not violate privacy, propriety or rules of etiquette.)

By way of background, the Masonic Temple was constructed between 1868 and 1873 in the Romanesque style of architecture developed by the Normans in the Middle Ages. The interior took another 15 years to complete and included It is on the list of National Landmarks.

There are seven lodge halls in the Temple and our group got to see four of them: Ionic Hall, Norman Hall, Egyptian Hall and Gothic Hall. We also saw the Grand Staircase, some fascinating artifacts in the attached museum, and some very old portraits of prominent Masons including George Washington. I took a lot of pictures but most of them did not turn out so well. No matter; it was a fun and interesting time and good company. To learn more about Freemasonry, press here.

Here are some pictures

24914002023_ec82b3cd1e_o — Grand Staircase

24914001543_87215550dc_o1 — Entrance leading to Grand Staircase

25447970051_95bc49c3f5_o — Outside Entrance

25540712905_2253b453da_o — Dedication Cornerstone

25422169182_60534f8548_o — Grand Staircase

I just found this interesting image cica 1840 of the site where the Masonic Temple now stands. Part of the Arch Street Church, which was later enlarged and is still standing, is visible.