WALKING TOUR: An architectural parade of Philly's Victorian past

City Paper reporter Clare Foran recently took the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia's architectural walking tour: "Victorian Philadelphia West of Broad." Here's what she learned.

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WALKING TOUR: An architectural parade of Philly's Victorian past

POSTED: Monday, July 25, 2011, 12:00 PM

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City Paper reporter Clare Foran recently took the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia’s architectural walking tour: “Victorian Philadelphia West of Broad.” Here’s what she learned.

The segment of Broad Street known as “Avenue of the Arts” boasts some of the finest theaters and performing arts venues in the city. But this wasn’t always the case. In the mid-19th century, Broad Street was a densely populated residential area, lined with single-family homes. It wasn’t until the 1920s that larger, multi-purpose buildings started to appear along the Broad Street corridor.

A number of these buildings still stand today — many of them considered to be outstanding examples of Victorian architecture. In fact, a number of Philadelphia’s most iconic buildings date from the Victorian era. “Everyone thinks of Philly as a colonial town,” said volunteer tour guide Lynne Schwartz. “But it has some of the best Victorian architecture in America.”

But what exactly is Victorian architecture? Rather than referring to a single style of architecture, Victorian architecture serves as a period designation assigned to buildings constructed during the reign of England's Queen Victoria — roughly the mid-19th to early 20th century. Victorian architecture is far from uniform. A number of architectural styles were popular during this time, among them British Arts and Crafts, French Second Empire, Italianate, Jacobean and Gothic Revival. Despite regional variations in architectural styles, however, there are certain commonalities among most Victorian-era buildings. The period was marked by prosperity and rising levels of wealth in the United States, leading architects to design whimsical buildings with showy ornamentation. This was the Gilded Age, after all.

Few buildings reflect this sense of opulence better than the Bellevue Hotel (200 S. Broad St.) — the first stop on our tour. Designed by architect George Hewitt and completed in 1904, the Bellevue is an example of Parisian Belle Epoque architecture (think: the era Marion Cotillard’s character longs for in Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris). The hulking structure is 19 stories tall, with a wide base and massive pediment — the uppermost decorative shelf at the top of the building. In its heyday, the Bellevue played host to the who’s who of Philadelphia high society, as both a hotel and a venue for events and social gatherings. Today, the hotel is not quite as exclusive. Still, with its distinctive limestone and terra façade, the Bellevue continues to be an important city landmark.

Further down the street stands the Philadelphia Union League (140 S. Broad St.). Similar to the Bellevue, the Union League is patterned on French architecture, its sloping Mansard Roof characteristic of the Second Empire style. The Union League is a much smaller structure than the Bellevue, however, standing at only four stories tall. Regardless, the Union League cuts an imposing figure, with a cascading double staircase emanating from either side of a large portico. The League served as a recruiting station for volunteer soldiers after the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. It also functioned as a social club for Union supporters — (read: Republican males) — with league members regularly welcoming high-ranking U.S. political figures and foreign dignitaries into their midst.

Next up: the Academy of Music (1420 Locust St.). Constructed in 1857, the Academy was built in the Italianate style – a rare example of this type of architecture in Philadelphia. The structure is highly symmetrical and features a split red brick and stone façade. Its most distinctive feature is its two-story arched glass windows, extending from one end of the building to the other. Though the exterior of the Academy features a number of decorative flourishes, it is less ornate than either the Bellevue or the Union League. In contrast to the upward sloping roof of the Union League, the building’s roof is completely flat in the style of Italianate construction. Over the years, world-renowned artists have taken the stage at the Academy, including Marian Anderson, Aaron Copland and Luciano Pavarotti. The Academy also holds the distinction of being the oldest continuously operating opera house in the United States.

Other stops on the tour included the Philadelphia Racquet Club, designed by Horace Trumbauer and St. Mark’s Episcopal Church located on the 1600 block of Locust. In a testament to the wide variety of architectural styles seen during the Victorian Era, neither building resembles the Bellevue, the Union League or the Academy of Music. The Racquet Club is far more conservative than any of the other buildings, signaling that by 1906, the year it was built, lavish adornment had fallen out of fashion. Its exterior is modeled on colonial architecture. The interior of one of its banquet halls, however, bears the trace of the Victorian era, with elaborately ornamented gothic decoration. St Mark’s Church adds further contrast as a Gothic Revival building constructed in the style of a medieval cathedral.

Though many of these buildings are familiar sights, how often do we stop to look closely at them or consider their significance? The Preservation Alliance’s walking tour of Victorian Philadelphia shows how each building tells the story of the period in which it was built. As Lynne reminded the tour group while we stood admiring the pediment atop the Bellevue: “when you’re walking around the city, don’t forget to look up!”

(clare.foran@citypaper.net)