Entertainment

The Art Club of Philadelphia

PhillyHistoryTeam — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:49:34 GMT

By Deborah Boyer

Incorporated on January 18, 1887, the Art Club of Philadelphia was formed “to advance the knowledge and love of the Fine Arts, through the exhibition of works of Art, the acquisition of books and papers for the purpose of forming an Art Library, lectures upon subjects pertaining to Art, receptions given to men or women distinguished in Art, Literature, Science or Politics, and by other kindred means, and to promote social intercourse among its members."¹

Created as both a social club and an organization for the support of the arts, the Art Club needed a club house that would help meet the objectives laid out in its charter. Members of the club selected a location on Broad Street near the intersection of Broad and Chancellor Streets. The building at that location had previously served as a boarding house before being purchased by J.B. Lippincott and then by the Art Club for $100,000. Architect Frank Miles Day was selected to design the building, his first major commission as an architect. He would continue to work in Philadelphia and serve as president of the American Institute of Architects in 1906 and 1907.² He also lectured on architecture at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University before his death in 1918.³

The building required extensive renovations to meet the needs of the Art Club, including tearing down the back building to expand the space. The building and renovations were completed in 1889 and the Art Club held its first meeting in the new clubhouse on December 7, 1889. The building featured galleries for public exhibitions, parlors, a library, and a gentleman’s café and billiard room as well as private club spaces including a members’ dining room and bedrooms and bathrooms reserved for the use of club members. Servants’ quarters were located on the fifth floor. An article in the New York Times on December 8, 1889 noted that the entire building was “wired for electric lighting and also arranged for gas service.” The article also notes the beautiful furnishings and design of the building and describes it as “one of the most beautiful and artistic clubhouses to be found in the country."⁴

The Art Club’s former building on Broad Street was demolished in 1976-1976.⁵

Sources:

[1] Art Club of Philadelphia, “Charter, constitution and by-laws of the Art Club of Philadelphia with house rules, report of the Board of Directors and list of members.” Philadelphia: Patterson & White Co., 1917, p. 15.

[2] The New York Times. “Frank Miles Day Dead.” June 18, 1918. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9C03E3DE173EE433A2575BC1A9609C946996D6CF

[3] Frank Miles Day Collection, The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. http://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/faids/aaup/Day.pdf

[4] The New York Times. “Philadelphia’s Art Club – First Meeting in its New Quarters.” December 8, 1889.

[5] “Philadelphia Art Club 220 S. Broad Street.” Historic American Building Survey HABS No. PA-1529. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hh:@field(DOCID+@lit(PA1052))

Edwin Forrest: A Legend of American Theater

PhillyHistoryTeam — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 20:21:55 GMT

By Deborah Boyer

In the early 1800s, Americans flocked to theaters as a source of entertainment and drama. During this time, American actors began to challenge the dominance of British actors and theater. One of these actors, Edwin Forrest of Philadelphia, would become one of the most well-known and popular performers of the first half of the nineteenth century.

Born on March 9, 1806 in Philadelphia, Forrest joined his first theater company at the age of twelve. In 1820 at the age of fourteen, Forrest made his professional debut at the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia. For several years, he traveled to Cincinnati, Louisville, and other towns in what was then known as “the West” before making his debut in New York City in July 1826 in Othello. Although that performance was not well-received, a performance at the Bowery Theatre in November in the same role was so successful that Forrest became the leading attraction for the remainder of the season.

Over the next twenty years, Forrest became known and admired as a talented and popular actor. Both a Shakespearean actor and a supporter of emerging American playwrights, his roles included Spartacus, Macbeth, Hamlet, and Metamora in Metamora; or, The Last of the Wampanoags. In the late 1840s and early 1850s, Forrest’s reputation was damaged by a very public and bitter divorce from his wife Catherine as well as a rivalry with the British actor William Macready. The rivalry between the two actors culminated in the Astor Place Riot on May 10, 1849 when supporters of the two actors clashed in a conflict that left at least 20-25 people dead.

Forrest continued to appear in plays and perform readings during the 1850s and 1860s. In 1855, Forrest purchased a stone mansion at 1346 North Broad Street in Philadelphia. Three and a half stories tall and built in the Italianate architectural style, the house included Forrest’s extensive library and a courtyard with a fountain. A gallery attached to the house provided space for Forrest’s art collection as well as a private theater with a small stage.

Forrest died at his Broad Street home in Philadelphia on December 12, 1872. In his will, he left much of his estate for the formation and maintenance of the Edwin Forrest Home, a residence where elderly actors could live and receive medical attention for no cost. The home initially opened at Springbrook, Forrest’s country residence in the Holmesburg area of North Philadelphia, in 1876. In the 1920s, the home moved briefly to a mansion in Torresdale before relocating to a facility at 4849 Parkside Avenue near Fairmount Park in 1928. The home remained in existence at that location until 1986 when it merged with the Lillian Booth Actors’ Home of the Actors’ Fund of America in Englewood, New Jersey. A wing at the Lillian Booth Home is named in honor of Edwin Forrest.

After Forrest’s death, his home on Broad Street remained vacant until 1880 when it was purchased by the Philadelphia School of Design for Women. In the 1960s, it became the location of Heritage House, a community center for young adults, before becoming the home of the Freedom Theatre, Pennsylvania’s oldest African-American theater founded in 1966. Freedom Theatre continues to offer classes and performances in the former Edwin Forrest House.

In Philadelphia, Forrest and his contributions to American theater are remembered in a variety of ways. The Forrest Theatre at 1114 Walnut Street is named after the actor as is the Edwin Forrest Elementary School at 7300 Cottage Street. In 1990, the Walnut Street Theatre established the Edwin Forrest Award recognizing an individual or organization’s significant contributions to American theater. On March 9, 2006, Philadelphia celebrated Forrest’s 200th birthday by declaring March 9 “Edwin Forrest Day” and collecting donations at local theaters for the Lillian Booth Actors’ Home of the Actors’ Fund of America.

Sources:

[1] “Collection 3068: Edwin Forrest Home Records.” The Historical Society of Pennsylvania. http://www.hsp.org/files/findingaid3068edwinforresthome.pdf

[2] “The Edwin Forrest Award.” Walnut Street Theatre. http://www.walnutstreettheatre.org/theatre/forrest.php

[3] “Forrest (Edwin) House.” National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form. http://www.arch.state.pa.us/pdfs/H001370_02B.pdf

[4] Freedom Theatre. http://www.freedomtheatre.org/

[5] “Greater Philadelphia Theatres Honor Edwin Forrest, Raise Money for Actors' Home; City Declares March 9th Edwin Forrest Day.” News Release. Theater Alliance of Greater Philadelphia. http://www.theatrealliance.org/news/2006/0224.html

[6] “Historical Markers – Freedom Theatre.” ExplorePAhistory.com. http://www.explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=824

[7] The New York Times. “Obituary. Edward Forrest, Tragedian.” December 13, 1872. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9407E0DC163BEF34BC4B52DFB4678389669FDE

[8] “Theatre Information: History.” The Forrest Theatre. http://www.forrest-theatre.com/history.htm

The Dempsey-Tunney Fight of 1926

PhillyHistoryTeam — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 20:19:55 GMT

By Deborah Boyer

Among the many events at the Sesquicentennial, perhaps none drew as much attention and publicity as the world’s heavyweight title fight between defending champion Jack Dempsey and challenger Gene Tunney. Held at the Sesquicentennial Municipal Stadium on September 23, 1926, the boxing match drew a crowd of over 120,000 people and became one of the best known fights of the 1920s.

Although Tex Rickard, the promoter for the fight, originally investigated staging the match in Chicago or Jersey City, he eventually arranged for it to be held on September 16, 1926 at Yankee Stadium in New York. These arrangements had to be abandoned, however, when the License Committee of the New York State Athletic Commission refused to issue Dempsey a license to box in New York. Rather than fight the decision in court, Rickard chose to accept the offer of E.L. Austin, Director of the Sesquicentennial, to hold the match at the Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia on September 23.^[1]

The decision to move the match to Philadelphia was warmly welcomed by residents of the city. Boxing was hugely popular in the 1920s. As Tunney prepared for his match with Dempsey, a crowd of 2,000 people came just to watch him spar twelve rounds with two workout partners on August 15, 1926.^[2] On that same day, more than 1,000 people paid $1 each plus tax to watch Dempsey during his workout at Saratoga Springs, New York.^[3] The New York Times published 75 articles on the fight preparations in August and September alone and ran a three-tiered front page headline as well as nine full pages of coverage the day after the fight.^[4] While tickets to the fight sold quickly, not everyone approved of the bout being held at the Sesquicentennial. One letter to the New York Times argued that the fight was being held to “bolster up deficient receipts” at the Sesquicentennial and that it was “disgraceful and humiliating (or should be) to the American people.”^[5]

Plenty of Americans did not find the fight disgraceful or humiliating at all. The match was attended by both the mayor of Philadelphia and the mayor of New York City as well as Pennsylvania Governor Pinchot, several other governors from across the country, Secretary of the Navy Curtis D. Wilbur, and many millionaires and members of well-known families.^[6] Extra trains brought crowds from New York, New Jersey, Chicago, and dozens of other places. People around the world eagerly listened for radio and telegraph reports regarding the outcome of the match.

After ten rounds fought in the pouring rain, Tunney defeated Dempsey to claim the title of world’s heavy-weight champion. Although the match did not end in a knockout, Tunney is said to have been “a complete master, from first bell to last. He out-boxed and he out-fought Dempsey at every turn.”^[7] In meticulous detail, the New York Times summarizes the fight and notes Tunney’s strategic and calculated responses to the more rushed and ineffectual charges by Dempsey. One year later on September 22, 1927, Tunney would successfully defend his title and defeat Dempsey again at Soldier Field in Chicago in a fight that came to be known as The Long Count.

The Dempsey-Tunney boxing match drew incredible crowds to the Sesquicentennial and demonstrates the extreme popularity of boxing during the 1920s. The Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce estimated that the crowds likely brought an additional $3,000,000 in revenue to city businesses through purchases of meals, hotel rooms, train and taxi rides, and other items.^[8] The match helped boost Sesquicentennial attendance numbers while also showing that many members of the public now favored public sporting events to world’s fairs as a way to spend their leisure time and money.

[1] New York Times, “Dempsey Title Bout Suddenly Shifted to Philadelphia.” August 19, 1926.

[2] New York Times, “Tunney Boxes Twelve Rounds; 2,000 Attend the Workout.” August 16, 1926.

[3] New York Times, “1,000 Pay $1 Each to Watch Dempsey.” August 16, 1926.

[4] Pope, Steven W. “Negotiating the ‘Folk Highway’ of the Nation: Sport, Public Culture and American Identity, 1870-1940.” Journal of Social History Vol 27 No 2. (Winter, 1993): p. 327-340.

[5] French, Joseph Lewis. “Disapproval of Sesqui Fight.” New York Times. September 12, 1926.

[6] Davis, Elmer. “Victory is Popular One.” New York Times. September 24, 1926.

[7] Dawson, James P. “Tunney Always Master.” New York Times. September 24, 1926.

[8] New York Times. “Philadelphia Sees Bout a Great Boon.” September 25, 1926.

Cowgirls and Calf Roping at the Sesquicentennial

PhillyHistoryTeam — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:41:07 GMT

By Deborah Boyer

Not all of the entertainment that took place at the Municipal Stadium during the Sesquicentennial Exposition of 1926 focused on pageantry, theater, and music. The Stadium, located near the intersection of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, was built to serve both as a gathering and performing area during the Sesquicentennial and as a venue for outdoor and athletic events in Philadelphia after the Sesquicentennial was finished. 710 feet wide and 721 feet long, the Stadium had a seating capacity of 100,000 with 73,830 of those seats being permanent and the remainder being movable as necessary.[1] During the Sesquicentennial, the Stadium hosted parades, concerts, speeches, athletic events, and races and continued to serve as a sporting venue for decades after the Exposition closed.

One of the events hosted at the Municipal Stadium during the Sesquicentennial was a rodeo. The photos of the rodeo feature calf roping, bull riding, cowgirls, and rodeo hands and show a crowd enjoying the festivities. Unfortunately, there is little further documentation regarding the event.

Although rodeo competitions had existed since the late 1800s, the 1920s saw a huge rise in the popularity of rodeos. As the economy boomed and radio, automobiles, and motion pictures became more readily available, Americans had extra money and the desire to spend that money on various forms of entertainment. Rodeos became more accessible when annual indoor rodeos began to be staged in cities such as Chicago, St. Louis, Philadelphia, and New York.^[2] Although rodeo promoters feared that urban audiences would not pay to see such contests, the Madison Square Garden rodeo became so popular it quickly became an annual event and additional rodeos were scheduled throughout the East Coast.^[3] Fred Beebe, a rodeo promoter and producer, is featured in several photographs taken at the Sesquicentennial rodeo. Beebe staged the 1926 and 1927 rodeos at Madison Square Garden and additional contests in Philadelphia, Kansas City, and St. Louis during the 1920s and 1930s.^[4]

The 1910s and 1920s also presented more opportunities for cowgirls as rodeos began to feature more events and prizes for women. One well-known cowgirl of the 1920s and 1930s was Ruth Roach of Fort Worth, Texas. Roach’s portrait was taken by a photographer at the Sesquicentennial, indicating that she may have participated in the rodeo. In 1926, Roach finished second in the all-round cowgirls competition at Madison Square Garden. Seven years later, Roach would be trampled by her house and suffer a broken leg after an 8 second ride on a bucking bronco as part of the 1933 World Series Rodeo in Madison Square Garden.^[5] She premiered as a rodeo cowgirl at the 1917 Fort Worth Roundup and became known for competing while wearing giant hair bows. Born in 1896, Roach passed away in 1986 and was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in 1989.^[6]

Although there are few details regarding the rodeo held at the Sesquicentennial in 1926, the event provides an illustration of the change from rodeo competitions held only outdoors in the West to those held in stadiums and arenas around the United States and the world. Some groups resisted the spread of rodeos; the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals protested the rodeo held in Madison Square Garden from November 4-13, 1926.^[7] Despite these protests, rodeo competitions would continue to draw crowds of spectators throughout the 1920s.

[1] Austin, E.L. and Odell Hauser, Editors. The Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition: A Record Based on Official Data and Departmental Reports. Philadelphia: Current Publications, Inc., 1929, p. 419-423.

[2] LeCompte, Mary Lou. Cowgirls of the Rodeo: Pioneer Professional Athletes. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1993, p. 70.

[3] Ibid., p. 83-86.

[4] Ibid., p. 86.

[5] New York Times. “Cowgirl is Hurt in Rodeo Mishap.” October 13, 1933, p. 24.

[6] “Ruth Roach Salmon.” National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame. http://www.cowgirl.net/honorees/Ruth_Roach_Salmon.aspx

[7] New York Times. “Champion Cowboys Arrive for Rodeo.” October 24, 1926.

Pageantry at the Sesquicentennial

PhillyHistoryTeam — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 18:49:18 GMT

By Deborah Sting

In an attempt to attract large numbers of visitors, the Sesquicentennial Exposition offered a variety of activities and events. Visitors could tour nearly a million square feet of exhibit space and dozens of different amusements and see everything from a military camp to monkeys to a house displaying nothing but different types of wallpaper.

Along with these other attractions, Sesquicentennial officials staged various pageants, choruses, and performances. Perhaps two of the largest performances were the “Freedom” pageant and the “America” pageant, both held at the Municipal Stadium located near the intersection of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue. Performed at different times during the six months of the Sesquicentennial, the pageants were intended to draw additional visitors to the Exposition grounds.

“Freedom” and “America” differed in focus but both included tableaux (small dramatic scenes) and thousands of participants. With 10,000 actors in the tableau, a 5,000 member chorus, a 1,500 piece band, and a 200 member symphony orchestra, “America” was a large production that traced the history of America from the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the present events of the Sesquicentennial.^[1] Although the pageant was initially scheduled for June 23, heavy rain caused the performance to be rescheduled for Thursday, June 24. On Thursday, it began raining just as the performers took their positions although the program proceeded when the rain stopped later that evening. “America” was finally presented uninterrupted on the following Sunday evening. Reserved seats were given to those who had purchased tickets for the Wednesday or Thursday performances while the rest of the stadium was opened to the public at no charge.^[2]

While “America” was intended to be performed only once, the Sesquicentennial administrators wanted the “Freedom” pageant to be staged a few times a week for several months. The Exposition officials hired R.H. Burnside, a producer from New York, to direct “Freedom.” He calculated that for a cost of $650,000 (the amount allocated by the Sesquicentennial administrators) the pageant could be first performed on Saturday, July 3, and then held three nights each week for the following twelve weeks.^[3] Divided into three parts, the pageant focused on historical events and concepts connected to freedom from the Stone Age to the twentieth century, with specific emphasis placed on the Revolutionary War and founding of the United States.

On opening night, July 3, the performance of “Freedom” was canceled due to heavy rains. Rain also caused the second scheduled performance on July 5 to be canceled. The weather continued to be problematic and roughly half of the remaining performances were canceled. The final performance of “Freedom” was given on Saturday, September 11, although administrators had planned for the pageant to be staged through October 2.^[4] The Sesquicentennial continued to be plagued by inclement weather throughout the summer and fall. When questioned about the poor financial state of the Exposition, Erastus Austin, the general director, would blame some of the difficulties on the extreme amount of wind and rain.^[5]

While “Freedom” and “America” were two of the larger pageants at the Sesquicentennial, there were dozens of smaller choruses, musicals, dramas, and parades. Many of these events were held in conjunction with specific days such as Italian Day, German Day, New Jersey Day, and Labor Day. By providing changing entertainment and specific events, the administrators of the Sesquicentennial hoped to encourage the public to repeatedly visit the Exposition.

[1] The Washington Post. “WIP to Broadcast Pageant at Sesqui.” June 20, 1926.

[2] Austin, E.L. and Odell Hauser, Editors. The Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition: A Record Based on Official Data and Departmental Reports. Philadelphia: Current Publications, Inc., 1929, p. 216-218

[3] Ibid., 239-240.

[4] Ibid., 244.

[5] The New York Times. “Philadelphia Loss on Fair is $206,987.” June 20, 1927.

Soft Pretzels: A Philadelphia "Culinary" Tradition

PhillyHistoryTeam — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 12:00:00 GMT

By Kimberly Burton

Just like other major cities and tourist hot spots, Philadelphia has its own unique set of delectable edibles. New York is known for bagels, Chicago for its buttery crusted deep dish pizza, and Savannah for its heavenly pralines. Philadelphia has made its way into similar culinary fame, not only for cheese steaks and water ice (characteristically known as "wudder ice" by the locals), but also for the delicious, chewy, salty, "get-em just about everywhere in Philly," soft twisted pretzels. Philly's soft-pretzels are breakfast for many a commuter on the run, dependable snacks for the late-night munchy crowd, and at around fifty cents a pop if you buy them individually, the big salty twists topped with yellow mustard (or not) even stand in as "hearty" lunch or dinner for the hungry college student strapped for cash. Soft pretzels are so desirable in this city that some report Philadelphia consumes up to twelve times the national average in pretzels each year.

So, how exactly did the pretzel come to take its place as one of the city's top tidbits? According to legend, pretzels got their start as far back as 610 AD when Italian monks used the pretiolas, or "little rewards" to encourage children to be diligent in their prayer studies. While the pretiolas soon became popular in Austria and Germany where they were known as "bretzels," it was not until some ten-plus centuries later that they made their way to the United States in the hands of those immigrants eventually identified as the Pennsylvania Dutch.

While accounts vary, one source claims the first American pretzel was baked in 1861, about 75 miles west of Philadelphia in Lititz, Pennsylvania. As the story goes, sometime around 1850, bread baker Ambrose Roth obtained the recipe from a hobo as a thank-you for a hot meal and some hospitality. Roth then passed the recipe on to his apprentice, Julius Sturgis who subsequently established the country's first commercial pretzel bakery. Because of the tight trading ties between Philadelphia and the areas in and around Pennsylvania Dutch Country, it was only natural that pretzels would trickle into the city's cuisine. Once cart vendors picked up on the potential of the salty treat, pretzels became a run away favorite of Philadelphians who, by the way, prefer them soft, chewy, and often topped off with a simple yellow mustard.

Today, most of Philadelphia's soft pretzels are made, not in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, but right here in the city. Some of the better-known factories are the Federal Pretzel Baking Company at 638 Federal Street, the Philadelphia Soft Pretzel Factory at various locations around the city, and the Center City Pretzel at 816 Washington Avenue. Vendors sell the popular treat at the local fresh markets, out of plain brown paper bags in the streets during rush hour, and - most visibly - out of the once-shiny metal lunch carts that line the city streets. With pretzel merchants on every corner, one thing is certain: In Philadelphia, you never have to go far for a tasty treat.

References:

"The History of Pretzels." http://tracybrant.com/pretzel.html. (accessed August 9 2007).

"The History of Pretzels." http://www.kitchenproject.com/history/Pretzel.htm. (accessed August 9 2007).

Goldstein, Elaine Dann. "Fare of the Country; Philadelphia's Twist on the Pretzel." New York Times Online Edition. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res= 940DEEDA1230F930A25752C1A96E948260&sec=travel. (accessed August 9 2007).

I Remember Arch Street

PhillyHistoryTeam — Wed, 02 May 2007 12:00:00 GMT

By Ron Kushnier

Picture, if you will, walking down a street in Center City Philadelphia; and lining both sides, as far as you can see, are nothing but stores packed full of electronics goodies. A mere fantasy you say? Not really. Because such was Arch Street in the late Nineteen Fifties and early Sixties, as I remember it.

"Radio Row", as it was called, started around 12th Street with Herbach & Rademan, or H&R as it was fondly known. The company still exists today on Erie Ave (actually Moorestown NJ, now), and features as it did then, an enormous variety of gadgets and scientific devices for the hobbyist and industry.

Across the street from H&R was the Radio Electronics Institute. This was a technical school which taught Radio and TV technology.

Down at 11th and Arch was The Philadelphia Outlet Store. In this Emporium featured, what seemed to be hundreds of little bins, each stacked high with some kind of unusual tool or gizmo, all at unbelievably low prices.

From 10th to 6th and Arch, store after store tantalized the electronics buff, offering a vast variety of goods and services. To mention just a few establishments, there was: Soundtronics, Almo Radio, Lectronics Distributors, Captain Joe's, Radio Electric Service, Foremost Electronics, Barrett Brothers, Consolidated Radio.

There were also a number of electronics surplus stores, whose names escape me. These stores, bursting with equipment, placed much of their wares out on the sidewalk for everyone to examine.

An ARMY-NAVY store like Captain Joe's was not a place to buy designer jeans as "I. Goldberg" is today. They actually sold Army and Navy surplus equipment from the Second World War, and the Korean Conflict. A large amount of useful electronics, as well as parachutes and uniforms were available for purchase.

The "Big Daddy" of all the stores in the area had to be Radio Electric. This was a giant place which stocked just about everything. I remember many times walking in, with my Popular Electronics Magazine under my arm and running down a list of parts I needed for my latest project. With a great deal of patience, the counter man would run around getting me my one resistor, two capacitors, and a 12AX7 (a vacuum tube).

Today it is all gone.

There Used to Be a Ballpark Here

PhillyHistoryTeam — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 15:00:00 GMT

By Jay Wyatt

It is hard to envision the corner of Broad and Lehigh in North Philadelphia as the site of the first 'modern' baseball stadium in America. Yet, before there was Citizens Bank Park, or the Vet, or Connie Mack Stadium, which was originally know as Shibe Park, National League Park was the destination of choice for Philadelphia's baseball fanatics.

The park was erected in 1887. After a fire destroyed most of the stadium in 1894, team ownership rebuilt the stadium using steel, brick and concrete. The choice of building materials was intended to prevent future fires, but they also allowed architects to push the boundaries of stadium construction. Then, as today, sports stadiums were places where cities could show progress and modernity. The rebuilt park cost more than $80,000, seated 18,000 people and became the first to include an upper deck supported by cantilevers. The cantilevers made headlines because they removed the need for the unsightly support columns that obstructed the views of fans sitting in the stadium's lower level. Small field dimensions also distinguished the stadium and garnered it the nicknames "The Cigar Box" and "The Band Box". In right field a 40 foot wall stretched skyward and helped turn sure home runs into singles or doubles. The wall eventually climbed to 60 feet and became prime advertising space. A hump in center field covering a partially submerged railroad tunnel led many to give the stadium another nickname, "The Hump". After William F. Baker purchased the Phillies, the stadium acquired its most endearing moniker, "The Baker Bowl".

Unfortunately for Phillies fans, the new ownership did not help the perennially poor performance of the team. In the 51 years that the team called the Baker Bowl home (1887-1938) it won only one pennant (1915) and consistently finished at or near the bottom of the league standings. Even the presence of future baseball hall-of-famers Chuck Klein and Grover Cleveland Alexander could not raise the team above mediocrity. Putting a poor product on the field resulted in poor attendance and diminished profits. To compensate, ownership began using the stadium for purposes other than baseball. A cycling ring was installed in an attempt to capitalize on the cycling craze of the early twentieth century. During the 1910s and 1920s local police and fireman's organizations rented the ballpark for large events. They held rodeos and parades there. The accompanying photos depict a few of the Philadelphia Police Department's annual reviews, which featured marching bands and military-style processions.

Despite the performance of the hometown team, the Baker Bowl left Philadelphians with many lasting memories. In 1915 Woodrow Wilson sat in the stands of the park, becoming the first president to attend a World Series game. In 1935 Babe Ruth made his last professional appearance there when he withdrew from a game at the stadium. And, Negro League World Series games were played at the park from 1924-1926. Even the fledgling Philadelphia Eagles franchise played there for time during the 1930s.

The Phillies left the Baker Bowl for nearby Shibe Park in the middle of the 1938 season. Years of low attendance and flagging profits had taken their toll on the park and left it in disrepair. Between 1938 and 1950 the stadium, for the most part, remained vacant. Long gone were the days when reporters from across the nation marveled at stadium's grand design elements and fans jammed the grandstands. During the 1940s a fire gutted much of the park and ensured that it would never be renovated. In 1950, a wrecking bowl tore down the last remnants of the Baker Bowl. Today, a historical sign is the only marker that a ballpark once stood at Broad and Vine.

References:

Wescott, Rich, Philadelphia's Old Ballparks, Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1996.
Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society http://www.philadelphiaathletics.org/history/baker.html, (accessed August 1, 2006)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker_Bowl , (accessed August 1, 2006).

The Snow Piled Six Feet High

PhillyHistoryTeam — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 15:00:00 GMT

By Heather Newlin

This year, local meteorologists are predicting a very snowy winter for Philadelphia. With such a forecast looming in the future, snow is probably the last thing that residents of this city want to think about. It is likely that Philadelphians did not want to think about the prospect of snow in 1914 either, especially as spring was nearing.

However, March 2 and into the early morning of March 3, 1914, the snow was practically all people were talking about. On that night, a storm blew in from the Atlantic Coast, causing great troubles in New York and Camden. It did not spare Philadelphia from the problems of frozen precipitation either.

In New York, winds of up to 72 miles per hour were reported to accompany the storm as it made its way through the region. By the end, it dropped only 7 inches of snow in the Philadelphia area, however combined with the wind and the snow remaining from a snowstorm the previous week, drifts of 6 to 10 feet in some areas occurred. These conditions shut down the city, cutting off communications with neighboring areas as well as the influx of food from nearby farms. The blizzard was particularly destructive across the river in Camden, where it was reported that:

'fierce winds from the northwest whipped through the street, tearing off roofs, blowing down chimneys, sending signs clattering away into the darkness, and punishing pedestrians with cutting, stinging, particles of ice-laden snow. Electric lights were torn from their fastenings in all sections of the city. Poles gave way under the best of the winds and collapsed, falling into the street or upon the roofs and sides of houses. Twisted masses of live wires emitted sparks which set the poles blazing and the snake-like shattering imperiled the people struggling through the blinding storm.' ("Winds Tear Off Roofs", p. 1).

The snow also caused problems for travelers. Several trains stalled on the way to Philadelphia from New York, not being able to plow through the snow drifts. The Philadelphia Inquirer told stories of people who had become stranded on the trains overnight, some not making it to Broad Street Station until 20 hours after they were expected. Travelers told of being hungry, cold, and tired while imprisoned on the train by snow and ice. One traveler in particular spoke of sending out an expedition to ask for food at a nearby farmhouse he and fellow train riders spotted through the windows of their car. He was quoted in the Inquirer:

'We fought our way to it [the farmhouse], at times through drifts above our waist. I obtained the name of the kindly lady who opened the door for us, when we had finally swept her deeply-covered porch free.She had little enough in the house, but what she had she gave freely. She supplied us with bread, butter, bacon and a great steaming pot of tea. We carried these things back to the train, and mighty welcome they were. Many of the day coach passengers had not had a thing to eat since noon of the day before and they were half starved.' ("Passengers Tell Stories of Snow-Bound Trains," p.2)

Philadelphia spent the next few days digging out from the storm. A 600 man team worked to clear the streets in the central business district by the morning of March 3. Life in the city was beginning to get back to normal at that point, with many of the trolley lines clear and running on schedule and churches and schools reopening.

References:

"600 Men and 300 Teams Clearing City Streets." The Philadelphia Inquirer. 3 March 1914. 3.

"Deserting City Storm Travels Off Into Ocean." The Philadelphia Inquirer. 3 March 1914. 1.

"New York Isolated by New and Severe Blizzard." The Philadelphia Inquirer. 2 March 1914. 1.

"Passengers Tell Stories of Snow-Bound Trains." The Philadelphia Inquirer. 3 March 1914. 2.

"Traffic Tied Up Under Seven Inches of Snow-Houses Unroofed by Forty-three-Mile Gale-Worst Storm Since 1909." The Philadelphia Inquirer. 3 March 1914. 1.

"Trains Arrive After 24-Hour Fight With Snow." The Philadelphia Inquirer. 3 March 1914. 1.

"Winds Tear Off Roofs, Sections in Darkness, Trains Tied Up." The Philadelphia Inquirer. 2 March 1914. 1.

Nearly Everybody Read the Bulletin

PhillyHistoryTeam — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 12:00:00 GMT

By Jay Wyatt

"Nearly Everybody Reads the Bulletin." Or, so claimed one of Philadelphia's oldest and most revered newspapers, The Evening Bulletin. Factory workers and businessmen streamed down the streets of Center City during the hustle-bustle madness of Philadelphia's evening rush hour. Hurrying to catch the next train or trolley, they often found the time to stop at a sidewalk newsstand and pick up the latest edition of the "The Bulletin." Indeed, by the 1960s, the paper stood as America's largest evening daily with a circulation over 750,000.

The Bulletin occupies a special place in the history of Philadelphia newspapers. Founded by Alexander Cummings in 1847 under the moniker Cummings' Evening Telegraphic Bulletin, the newspaper gained notoriety for its balanced and thorough coverage of the Civil War. After an extended downturn, the Bulletin again hit its stride during the industrial period. Under the guidance of new owner William L. McLean, the Bulletin became popular with the city's working-class residents and by 1915 the paper ranked first in circulation among Philadelphia's 13 dailies. The Bulletin was the evening news source for thousands of workers. Through its coverage of World Wars and World Series, stock market booms and stock market crashes, the Bulletin linked Philadelphians to the world beyond the city's borders.

Despite its popularity during the 1960s, the Bulletin encountered numerous obstacles in its drive to remain an integral part of Philadelphia's news community. Television began siphoning customers away from newspapers in large quantities during this period. And, though all newspapers felt the crunch from the new medium, evening dailies like the Bulletin took the brunt of the blow. The televised local and national evening news programs removed the need to pick up a paper on the way home. And, as workers left the city in droves for the greener pastures of the suburbs, fewer commuters took public transportation. Rather than read the paper as they had on the train ride home, automobile commuters instead tuned their radios to one of Philadelphia's numerous radio stations to fill up on local and national events.

The consolidation of media outlets was another hurdle for the Bulletin to overcome. The Bulletin remained a family-run paper in the 1960s and 1970s. This bucked both local and national trends. Most of Philadelphia's independently owned newspapers had folded or been bought out and incorporated into larger corporate bodies. Despite the odds, the McLean family held out, a fact that no doubt further endeared the paper to Philadelphians. In the end, however, the challenge proved too great. In the face of increased competition from the revamped and corporately backed Philadelphia Inquirer, the Bulletin folded on January 29, 1982.

Yet, the demise of the Bulletin was not to be permanent. On Monday, November 22, 2004, The Evening Bulletin reappeared on newsstands throughout Philadelphia. A local entrepreneur bought the rights to the name from the MacLean family and gave the defunct paper a second life. Spurned on by the renewed interest in locally owned and independent news sources, The Evening Bulletin is once again bringing the news to those commuting in and out of Philadelphia.

References:

Binzen, Peter, ed. Nearly Everybody Read It: Snapshots of the Philadelphia Bulletin. Philadelphia: Camino Books, 1997.
"In Philadelphia, A New Paper with an Old Name," in Editor & Publisher, November 22, 2004. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?
vnu_content_id=1000724678
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_Bulletin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Philadelphia_Inquirer