Philadelphia Historical Commission Submit All Attached Materials on Paper and in Electronic Form on Cd (Ms Word Format)

NOMINATION OF HISTORIC BUILDING, STRUCTURE, SITE, OR OBJECT PHILADELPHIA REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES PHILADELPHIA HISTORICAL COMMISSION SUBMIT ALL ATTACHED MATERIALS ON PAPER AND IN ELECTRONIC FORM ON CD (MS WORD FORMAT)

1. ADDRESS OF HISTORIC RESOURCE (must comply with an Office of Property Assessment address) Street address:______3500-10 Lancaster Avenue ______Postal code:______19104 Councilmanic District:______3 ______

2. NAME OF HISTORIC RESOURCE Historic Name:______West Philadelphia Friends Meeting-House (Hicksite) and Friends School______Common Name:______Community Education Center ______

3. TYPE OF HISTORIC RESOURCE X Building Structure Site Object

4. PROPERTY INFORMATION Condition: X excellent good fair poor ruins Occupancy: X occupied vacant under construction unknown Current use:______Community Center ______

5. BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION Please attach a plot plan and written description of the boundary.

6. DESCRIPTION Please attach a description of the historic resource and supplement with current photographs.

7. SIGNIFICANCE Please attach the Statement of Significance. Period of Significance (from year to year): from ______1901 to ______present Date(s) of construction and/or alteration:______Constructed______1901 Architect, engineer, and/or designer:______Bunting and Shrigley ______Builder, contractor, and/or artisan:______Original owner:______Central Philadelphia Monthly______Meeting of Friends Other significant persons:______CRITERIA FOR DESIGNATION: The historic resource satisfies the following criteria for designation (check all that apply): X (a) Has significant character, interest or value as part of the development, heritage or cultural characteristics of the City, Commonwealth or Nation or is associated with the life of a person significant in the past; or, (b) Is associated with an event of importance to the history of the City, Commonwealth or Nation; or, X (c) Reflects the environment in an era characterized by a distinctive architectural style; or, (d) Embodies distinguishing characteristics of an architectural style or engineering specimen; or, (e) Is the work of a designer, architect, landscape architect or designer, or engineer whose work has significantly influenced the historical, architectural, economic, social, or cultural development of the City, Commonwealth or Nation; or, (f) Contains elements of design, detail, materials or craftsmanship which represent a significant innovation; or, (g) Is part of or related to a square, park or other distinctive area which should be preserved according to an historic, cultural or architectural motif; or, X (h) Owing to its unique location or singular physical characteristic, represents an established and familiar visual feature of the neighborhood, community or City; or, (i) Has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in pre-history or history; or X (j) Exemplifies the cultural, political, economic, social or historical heritage of the community.

8. MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES Please attach a bibliography.

9. NOMINATOR

Name with Title______George Poulin, Amy Lambert [email protected] ______Organization______University City Historical Society Date______December______12, 2016 Street Address______Telephone______P.O. Box 31927 (215) 387-3019 ______City, State, and Postal Code______Philadelphia, PA 19104 Nominator is X is not the property owner.

PHC USE ONLY Date of Receipt:______12/12/2016 ______x Correct-Complete Incorrect-Incomplete Date:______1/11/2017 ______Date of Notice Issuance:______1/12/2017 Property Owner at Time of Notice Name:______Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority Address:______1234 Market Street, 16th Floor ______City:______Philadelphia State:____PA Postal Code:______19107 Date(s) Reviewed by the Committee on Historic Designation:______Date(s) Reviewed by the Historical Commission:______Date of Final Action:______Designated Rejected 4/11/13

5. Boundary Description

3500-10 Lancaster Avenue, West Philadelphia

Beginning at a point on the southwesterly side of Lancaster Avenue (80’ wide) at the distance of 329’-6 ¾" northwesterly from the northwesterly side of North Thirty-fourth Street (60’ wide); thence extending in a southwesterly direction 190’-0” to a point on the northeasterly side of Warren Street (50’ wide); thence extending in a northwesterly direction along the said northeasterly side of Warren Street 135’-0” to a point; thence extending in a northeasterly direction 190’-0” to a point on the southwesterly side of Lancaster Avenue; thence extending in a southeasterly side of Lancaster Avenue; thence extending in a southeasterly direction along the said southwesterly side of Lancaster Avenue 135’-0” to the first-mentioned point and place of beginning.

Aerial view of 3500 Lancaster Avenue, looking south.

Aerial view of 3500 Lancaster Avenue facing north.

6. Building Description

3500 Lancaster Avenue is a two-story structure constructed in 1901 in a style that mixes Beaux-Arts order with Colonial Revival features. Constructed in Flemish bond with glazed headers, the building retains many of its original exterior details. The single-hung windows appear to be original. Limestone jack arches top all of the rectangular windows, some with a raised keystone, others straight across. The façade has three distinct sections articulating three pavilions. The façade’s symmetrical west pavilion features a pedimented roof with a centered semi-circular fanlight with interlaced muntins in a lancet tracery pattern. Stone steps lead to double doors set beneath a wood portico with Tuscan columns. Terra cotta date stones for the meeting’s original building and this building are situated over the second-floor windows on the far left and right of the section. The row of five windows at the second level are three-over-one; historic photographs indicate they once had shutters. The first-floor windows to either side of the portico are six-over-one. The cornice features egg-and-dart and dentil moldings. The middle section appears as a hyphen between the larger sections to the east and west because of its slight setback from their façades. Three bays wide, with a double door entry on the right bay, topped by a fanlight with interlaced muntins. A semi- circular brick arch with limestone keystone frames the fanlight and door. Above the first floor windows on the left side of this section, a terra cotta panel reads “FRIENDS’ SCHOOL.” A limestone belt course delineates the first and second stories. Basement windows are visible in this section, with a fenced light well on the left two-thirds of the section. The cornice molding in this section is different, perhaps reflecting a replacement. The east section of the façade extends the furthest toward the street, and features a flat parapet above a pressed metal cornice. This section has four windows on the first floor and three on the second, separated by a stone belt course. The egg and dart and dentil moldings highlight the cornice on this portion of the building. Above the cornice line is a short, brick parapet. The east elevation of the building is the classroom wing of the School and is six bays wide. The cornice continues from the façade across this elevation and above it is a short, brick parapet. The first story windows are six-over-four, with a flat limestone arch and elongated keystone. The second story windows are six-over-four with a flat limestone arch. The cornice features egg-and-dart and dentil moldings. The rear elevation is in one plane, but like the façade, this elevation also contains three sections, articulated by different rooflines that imitate those on the façade. The west section features a pediment roof with a centered semi-circular window in the gable end. Two wide-set second story windows feature flat arches with elongated keystones,

with a nine-over-one window-pane arrangement. Four first story windows have flat arches and a three-over-one pane arrangement. The middle section of the rear elevation is four bays wide, with a set of double doors to the left of the segment, topped with a semi-circular window. Two windows sit to the right, with a six-over-six pane arrangement, topped with flat arches and elongated keystones. The right most window of this section features a four-over-four window with a semi-circular fanlight atop. Both this window and the semi-circular window to the left side of this section are framed in a semi-circular brick arch with a limestone keystone. A stone belt course delineates the first and second stories of this section. Four windows on the second story feature flat limestone arches and six-over-six pane arrangements.

Façade of 3500 Lancaster Avenue.

HABS PA-664, photograph of the Community Education Center building, 1999, by Joseph E.B. Elliott.

The gable end of the façade on Lancaster Avenue with wood portico.

The east section of the south elevation features a flat parapet roof above a continuous cornice line. The roof beyond is a low-pitched roof with a chimney barely visible from the ground. The wall is divided at midpoint by a limestone belt course. Above it, at the second level, there are no window openings. Below at the first level, two windows on the left side feature a six-over-six arrangement of window panes, topped by flat arches with elongated keystones. The right side features three rectangular windows set into a squared, metal bay projection. The single-hung windows within it are in a six- over-one arrangement, and feature three-lights across the top of each. The west elevation has four large windows indicating an open volume at the interior. The Flemish bond wall of this pavilion sits upon a base of coursed rubble foundation masonry. The left side of the elevation features a stacked pair of six-over- one windows, the lower window featuring an elongated keystone in its flat limestone arch and the upper window having just a flat arch. The four remaining bays feature tall rectangular windows in a 9/4 arrangement, topped with a flat limestone arch with elongated keystones. Windows set into the ashlar base allow light to enter into the basement level.

Entry to former Friends School. North elevation of Friends School wing.

East elevation of the building, showing the Friends School classroom wing. Photo: Amy Lambert.

South elevation of the building, showing three distinct sections in one plane. Photo: Amy Lambert.

South, or rear, elevation of the building. Closeup of window bay in classroom wing.

West elevation showing stone foundation walls and pedimented roofline. Photo: Amy Lambert.

Photograph of the south or rear elevation of the Meeting-House and School. Source: T. Chalkley Matlack Scrapbook, Friends Historical Library, Swarthmore College.

Photographic postcard of the West Philadelphia Meeting-House and School, undated. Source: T. Chalkley Matlack Scrapbook, Friends Historical Library, Swarthmore College.

7. Statement of Significance

The building at 3500-10 Lancaster Avenue is a significant historic resource that merits designation by the Philadelphia Historical Commission and inclusion on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places. The building satisfies Criteria for Designation a, c, h, and j as enumerated in Section 14-1004 of the Philadelphia Code:

(a) Has significant character, interest, or value as part of the development, heritage, or cultural characteristics of the City, Commonwealth, or nation or is associated with the life of a person significant in the past; (c) Reflects the environment in an era characterized by a distinctive architectural style; (h) Owing to its unique location or singular physical characteristic, represents an established and familiar visual feature of the neighborhood, community, or City; and, (j) Exemplifies the cultural, political, economic, social, or historical heritage of the community.

Criterion (a): Has significant character, interest, or value as part of the development, heritage, or cultural characteristics of the City, Commonwealth, or nation or is associated with the life of a person significant in the past; AND Criterion (j): Exemplifies the cultural, political, economic, social, or historical heritage of the community.

The Community Education Center at 3500-10 Lancaster Avenue was originally constructed in 1901 for the West Philadelphia Indulged Meeting, a group from the Hicksite branch of the Society of Friends. The building replaced an earlier construction from 1851 - and expanded in 1873 for a School - also owned by the Friends. The growth of West Philadelphia in the latter half of the nineteenth century ensured adequate membership for Quaker meeting houses to become established in the area. This Hicksite meeting was classified as an Indulged Meeting, under the guidance of the Philadelphia Monthly Meeting at Race Street. Indulged Meetings gather for worship, but their business matters are managed under the auspices of the Monthly Meeting in which they are recorded as members. (Preparative Meetings are those that are large and strong enough to stand on their own as Meetings, an achievement the West Philadelphia Meeting never met.) The importance of Quakerism to the development of both Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, including its schism resulting in membership division, is a significant feature of the region’s built environment and cultural heritage. The meeting and its expansion mirrors the development and growth of West Philadelphia’s built and social landscape, including the laying down of the meeting in the 1940s amid drastic social, economic, and cultural changes taking place in Philadelphia.

Criterion (c): Reflects the environment in an era characterized by a distinctive architectural style.

The Colonial Revival style of the building located at 3500-10 Lancaster Avenue is representative of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century interest in America’s colonial roots. The Colonial Revival movement gained popularity with the 1876 Centennial Exhibition, which took place in West Fairmount Park, only a few miles from the property of interest, and continued into the early twentieth century. The Colonial Revival style was popular for buildings that wished to convey messages of democracy and dignity. One scholar writes that the style is “a physical and psychological manifestation of an ongoing relationship between past and present.”1 The building also reflects the Beaux-arts inspired architectural education of Arthur Shrigley, one of the Quaker partners in the firm of Bunting and Shrigley, the architects of record. There is a regularity and order to the building’s architectural elements, especially the fenestration. These are characteristics that offer a certain formality to the playful mix of American architectural tropes that comprise the design. Detailing includes regimented fenestrations; neoclassical, Georgian fanlights and portico; gabled rooflines and denticulated cornices; jack arches; and Flemish bond brick walls. The building is essentially a rectangular volume with slight deviation in the projections of the street façade. Visually, this configuration, as well as variation in the rooflines, seems to convey three distinct volumes. At the rear elevation, which is a singular plane, the three volumes are differentiated by variety in the fenestration.

Criterion (h) Owing to its unique location or singular physical characteristic, represents an established and familiar visual feature of the neighborhood, community, or City. The building at 3500-10 Lancaster Avenue serves as a notable neighborhood landmark, one that sets to tone for the feeling of Powelton Village as historic and human- scale. With its prominent Lancaster Avenue location, the building is viewed daily by neighborhood residents, commuters, and pedestrians. It serves as a visual marker of the entry to Powelton Village, contrasted with the massive Drexel University buildings nearby. Just like attendees of the meeting and Friends’ School were passionately engaged in the meeting and its affiliated committees, the continuation of the space as a center for a passionately engaged arts community highlights the enduring nature of the building. Constructed as a gathering place for old and new friends alike, its use today as a community center is only fitting. The space is actively used by a wide variety of groups engaging in learning, fellowship, and community building. Due to the building’s multi-faceted historical and architectural significance, it warrants listing on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places and the protections due hereunder.

1 Dale Allen Gyure, “The Colonial Revival: A Review of the Literature,” 2003. http://colonialrevival.lib.virginia.edu/

History of West Philadelphia

The community center standing today at 3500-10 Lancaster Avenue began as a Quaker meetinghouse and school built in the Powelton Village neighborhood of Philadelphia. The area was first settled by Europeans with William Penn’s designation of acreage adjacent to what was then the city of Philadelphia as “liberty lands.” This encompassed about 16,000 acres west and north of the city, offered as a bonus to purchasers of city lots. The land concerned was part of the Blockley Township, west of the Schuylkill River. This land was part of the estate of William Warner, a gentleman from the Blockley parish in England. The name Blockley Township was used as early as June 1705, according to records of the Quarter Sessions Court’s Road Dockets.2 Few people lived in the area at the time. John Bartram and Andrew Hamilton established estates down river, west of the Schuylkill, in 1728 and 1735, respectively. The property now occupied by the Community Education Center was part of land owned by one of the early settlers of Blockley Township, William Powell. Powell was influential in the growth of population west of the Schuylkill River. He is listed in the 1693 tax rolls as one of the 17 people owning property west of the Schuylkill. This tax was assessed that year, during the administration of Governor Fletcher. It was entitled “An Act for granting to King William and Mary the rate of one penny per pound upon the clear value of all real and personal estates, and six shillings per head upon such as are not otherwise rated by this Act, to be employed by the Governor of this province of Pennsylvania and territories thereof for the time being, towards the support of this government.”3 In 1692 Powell began a ferry service across the Schuylkill River, competing with the service offered by Samuel England. England’s service was, for some time, the only way to cross the river. Powell’s crossing was near the site of the present day Spring Garden Bridge. Legal battles ensued and Powell’s service was shut down for several years before he could re-open it in 1700. After reopening, Powell built a house and tavern on the river’s west bank, offering accommodations to travellers. The route that would later become the Lancaster Turnpike, serving travelers to and from points west of the city. Powell retired from the business in 1750 but the tavern and service continued under different ownership. The land later ended up in the hands of Samuel Powel, who lends his name (and its spelling variant) to the area now known as Powelton Village. Samuel Powel (1738-1793) was a merchant and Philadelphia’s mayor for two non-consecutive terms. He also served in the Pennsylvania State Senate for four years. In 1769, Samuel Powel married Elizabeth Willing, daughter of Charles Willing and Anne Shippen. Elizabeth’s brother, father, and great-grandfather all served terms as Philadelphia’s mayor. Edward Shippen, Elizabeth’s great-grandfather, was appointed mayor by William Penn and is considered Philadelphia’s first mayor under Penn’s charter. Charles Willing,

2 City of Philadelphia Archives, Chronology of the Subdivisions of the County of Philadelphia, http://www.phila.gov/phils/Docs/Inventor/textonly/wards/ward1txt.htm 3 “West Philadelphia: The Basic History,” West Philadelphia Community History Project, University of Pennsylvania Archives, http://www.archives.upenn.edu/histy/features/wphila/history/history_tc.html

Elizabeth’s father, was a two-time mayor of the City. Elizabeth’s brother, Thomas Willing, served as mayor of the city from 1763 to 1764 and later became the first president of the First Bank of the United States, a position he held for 16 years. Samuel Powel was the mayor of Philadelphia during the Revolution, serving from 1775 to 1776 and 1789 to 1790. In November 1775, he purchased 96 acres of land west of the Schuylkill River from his brother-in-law, Thomas Willing. This land was adjacent to the land where the community center stands today.4 Upon Powel’s death in 1793 from Yellow Fever, the land was willed to his wife Elizabeth, who later willed it to her adopted son, John Hare Powel. Hare Powel, as he preferred to be called, built a home in the area now identified as west of 32nd Street from Powelton Avenue to Race Street. The lawns were said to extend down to the banks of the river.5 Thomas Willing and Tench Francis owned the land south of the now named Lancaster Avenue.6

Map of 1777 west Philadelphia land owners, prepared by Jim Duffin, University of Pennsylvania Archives.

In 1791, the Philadelphia & Lancaster Turnpike Company was incorporated. In 1795, the company opened the first turnpike in the country. This 62-mile-long road connected Philadelphia with Lancaster, allowing easier access for goods to travel into the city.

4 Mapping West Philadelphia, Landowners in 1777, University of Pennsylvania Archives, updated September 1, 2016. http://www.archives.upenn.edu/WestPhila1777/map.php 5 Lawrence J. Biond, “West Philadelphia and Powelton Historic District Development Timeline,” Powelton Village Civic Association, September 1996. http://poweltonvillage.org/powelton2.html 6 Tench Francis (1730 – 1800) was married to Ann Willing, Thomas Willing’s sister. Francis was a lawyer for the Penn family, and served as the first cashier at the Bank of North America.

In 1805, the first permanent bridge was constructed over the Schuylkill River at Market Street. In 1813, a permanent bridge was constructed at Bridge (now Spring Garden) Street. Easy access to the Spring Garden area was important for the many cattle drovers bringing herds to the slaughterhouses in this part of town. The location of these slaughterhouses in Spring Garden was an important factor in the growth of this part of West Philadelphia. Cattle drovers would stop for a night or two before crossing the river into Spring Garden. The Lancaster Pike was a dusty route, and the journey was known to dehydrate the cattle. Allowing them to rest, rehydrate and eat restored their weight and ensured top dollar for the seller. The drovers patronized the taverns that sprung up around along Lancaster Pike and Bridge Street. The area developed a reputation for “cheap housing, warm hospitality and gay nights.”7 A history of Greenville, a small town that overlapped Mantua and Hamilton Village, notes “Drivers and teamsters were a rough, racy crowd who saw no point in spending spare hours in a quiet sanctimonious city which prohibited the worldly pleasures” offered in this part of town. Steady traffic to, and through, the Powelton area and nearby towns and villages was encouraged by the growth and outward expansion from Philadelphia. The Lancaster Avenue area developed more housing, shops, and auction houses. The taverns gradually were replaced by family-run establishments. Transportation by horse-drawn carriage and railroad continued to influence the growth of West Philadelphia. The 1854 Act of Consolidation expanded the boundaries of the City of Philadelphia to the county lines. As part of this consolidation, all previously existing townships were dissolved. Starting around 1860, development of speculative twins was taking place along Hamilton and Baring Streets. The 1876 Centennial Exposition brought millions of visitors through West Philadelphia, surely increasing its popularity even more.8 The name Powelton Village wasn’t used until the 1930s, when a Max Pfeiffer gave the name to a group of houses he owned on 32nd Street. The name continued into the 1940s, employees of the Health and Welfare Council calling it the “Powelton area.” The neighborhood had changed drastically, from a genteel community of upper-class families to a “degenerated … social and economic low.” In the 1950s, a revitalization effort was underway to preserve and restore the neighborhood’s Victorian architecture. Leon Rosenthol writes, in 1963, “In order to dramatize their community and garb it with the cloak of historical dignity they called it Powelton Village, terming their company The Powelton Village Development Associates.”9 Today it is a vibrant neighborhood with a mix of single-family, twin, and row homes. The area faces development pressure from the outward expansion of the nearby Drexel University and University of Pennsylvania.

7 “Greenville: A gay old town that disappeared,” University City Historical Society, 1963. http://uchs.net/Rosenthal/grnvil.html 8 “Powelton Village: Neighborhood History,” Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, http://www.preservationalliance.com/explore-philadelphia/philadelphia-neighborhoods/poweltonvillage/ 9 “Powelton Village: The town that never was,” University City Historical Society, 1963. http://uchs.net/Rosenthal/powvil.html

1878 J. B. Scott Atlas of the 24th & 27th Wards, West Philadelphia. The map depicts the original 1851 Meeting-House. Source: Greater Philadelphia GeoHistory Network.

1910 G. W. Bromley Atlas of the City of Philadelphia. This map reflects the footprint of the 1901 Meeting-House. Source: Greater Philadelphia GeoHistory Network.

History of the Society of Friends and the West Philadelphia Indulged Meeting

Development of the nominated property owes much to Quakerism. Indeed, the larger story of Philadelphia cannot be told without considering the influence of the Religious Society of Friends. William Penn arrived in 1682 as the world’s largest non-royal landowner having been given a charter of 45,000 square miles by King Charles II, and sought to implement his ideas on creating an ethical society or “Holy Experiment.” Quakers found refuge from religious persecution in the new world, and with other religious minorities, adopted the freedoms allowed to them. Quakers are known to be socially active, pacifist, and egalitarian. An example of this is the 1688 Germantown Quaker Petition Against Slavery, a protest against the enslavement of African-Americans. In 1827, a split occurred within the Friends of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Some Quakers — more urban and wealthy than others — wanted to transform the image of the Friends into something more aligned with mainstream Protestant churches. Another faction, poorer and more rural, sought further simplicity and spirituality. The former of these camps became known as Orthodox, the latter group, Hicksite.10 The Arch Street Meeting House was home to the Orthodox Friends, and the Hicksite group was headquartered at the Race Street Meeting House. Both places claimed to be the home of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting.

There occurred what Friends call the ‘Great Separation.’ Thereafter some Friends were known as ‘Archers’ and some as ‘Racers.’ It was shortly after the ‘Great Separation’ that our Race Street Friends looked across to the green fields [to the west] side of the Schuylkill and set up a Meeting over [t]here. It was, no doubt, with the ‘Separation’ freshly in mind that they decided there should be no further division and that the group over here should not be known as ‘West Racers’ but should remain a part of the one undivided Meeting.11

In 1837, meetings began for a group of Hicksite Friends west of the Schuylkill. These meetings took place in a structure at the corner of 32nd and Ludlow Streets.12 Oral history notes recall the discussion of the first meeting to be held in West Philadelphia. A member of the West Philadelphia Meeting, Ira Bowne, offered an in-depth history of the founding of the meeting: The first mention of a meeting in West Philadelphia is found in the minutes of the Men's Monthly Meeting held 3rd. month 22nd, 1837. Men's monthly Meeting appointed a committee to unite with Women Friends in a careful consideration of the desirability of an Indulged Meeting in West Phila.

10 “A Brief History of the Branches of Friends,” Quaker Information Center, 2011, http://www.quakerinfo.org/quakerism/branches/history 11 Substance of remarks made by Lewis H. Kirk, clerk of Race Street Monthly Meeting, at centenary exercises of West Philadelphia Fourth Month 25th, 1937. 12 “West Philadelphia Friends Meeting House,3500 Lancaster Avenue at Thirty-fifth Street, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA.” Historic American Buildings Survey, PA-6664, 1941.

On this committee were George Truman, James Martin, Joseph Parrish, James Mott, Joseph Ridgway and Samuel Haydock. On the Women Friends committee were Susanna Haydock, Rachel Bennett, Elizabeth Widdifield, Deborah Coates, Letitia W. Allen and Mary Biddle. At the next Monthly Meeting 4th mo. 19, 1837 these committees recommended that an Indulged Meeting for Worship be opened in West Phila. to commence the last First Day of the present month and continue until the last First Day of 10th mo. next inclusive at 10 o'clock in the morning. The next record found was of the Men's Meeting 9th mo. 21, 1837 in which the committee were united in concluding that it would be right to continue the Meeting until the close of 10th mo. next. At a Woman's Meeting 10th mo. substantially the same report was made. Exactly where these meetings were held is not mentioned in the records other than the fact that they were held in ‘a room,’ continued inquiry disclosed that fact that this room was probably in a building on the NW corner of 32nd and Ludlow Sts.13

1851 Meeting-House for the Hicksite West Philadelphia Monthly Meeting at 3500 Lancaster Avenue. Source: Friends Historical Library, Swarthmore College.

In 1851, a building was constructed at Lancaster Avenue at 35th Street, with the first meeting occurring 9th month 1851. In 1870, a school was organized at the Lancaster Avenue Meeting House with weekday classes and First Day School taking place in the basement of the meetinghouse. School superintendent Jacob S. Henszey wrote in 1937:

13 Historical Record by Ira Ervin Bowne, a 34-year-old man who joined Race Street Meeting by Convincement, c. 1933.

A preliminary school meeting was held on 5th month 29th, 1870. Theodosia Henszey was elected superintendent. There were twenty-three pupils present at the first session. A recess of two months (7th and 8th) was allowed to pupils as few were able to attend during those months. After the recess the school reconvened on 9th month 4th 1870. They had six classes numbered from 1 to 6. Each class having a teacher and an assistant teacher.14

The basement was ill-suited to classroom space, and in 1873 a proposal was made to construct an adjacent building specifically for the school. Meeting minutes say:

Fourth day 6th Mo. 25th 1873. […] The property Committee was, authorized to confer with the School Committee adopt a plan and expend not exceeding one thousand dollars on a/c of this Meeting … The School Committee find the accommodations for the school at West Philadelphia are inadequate to the proper advancement of the pupils (there being no class rooms) and it is proposed, with the consent of the Monthly Meeting, to have erected a one story school room adjoining the Meeting house on the East. The Cost of which, including the necessary new apparatus and furniture, we estimate will be about two thousand dollars ($2000.) The addition will enable the committee to use the present rooms, for classrooms, end it will increase the value of the property. We propose that the expense shall be equally borne by the Monthly Meeting and the School Committee with the understanding that the Monthly Meeting shall not be expected to contribute more than One Thousand dollars ($1000.) The new building will enable the committee to raise the standard of the school to the wants of the neighborhood, and with an additional Teacher render proper attention to those placed under our care.

On behalf of the Com. Clement M. Biddle, Clerk15

Near the end of the nineteenth century, Monthly Meeting notes show that discussions about a building expansion are taking place with additional space for both the school and meeting. In 1901, a replacement building is constructed, designed by architects Bunting and Shrigley. The first meeting in the new building was held in October 1901. This building, standing today, included a wing for the Friends School. The building was given an extensive profile in the November 1901 issue of the Friends Intelligencer, the journal of the Society of Friends.

14 First Day School, or Quaker Sunday School, started 33 years after the meeting was established. 15 T. Chalkley Matlack, Brief Historical Sketches concerning Friends’ Meetings with special reference to Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, Moorestown, NJ, 1938.

Description of the new Meeting House and School at 3500 Lancaster, West Philadelphia, Nov. 1901, Friends Intelligencer.

Sketch to accompany the article on the new Meeting House, Nov. 1901, Friends Intelligencer.

Undated photo of the West Philadelphia Meeting-House and School. Source: T. Chalkley Matlack Scrapbook, 1938, Friends’ Historical Library, Swarthmore College.

A summary of the building costs was given in at the February 19, 1902 Monthly Meeting:

35th & Lancaster Avenue The following report was received from the committee having charge of the erection of the new building at 35th St. and Lancaster Ave. for school and meeting purposes. To consider what steps shall be taken to complete the payment for the meeting house the following were appointed: Charles Major George W. Hancock J. Robinson William Wright Cyrus Chambers Jr. J. Robert Fowke

Thirty-fifth Street & Lancaster Avenue Report as to the building of new meetinghouse at 35th & Lancaster Ave. To the Monthly Meeting at Race Street.

Entire cost of construction (including charges of architects for professional services of $1557.76) $25213.06 Proportion for Meeting house as per the architect’s estimate $7515.58 Receipts from various sources as follows: From Monthly Meeting $1000.00 From Bunting & Shrigley architects, rebate of charges $182.76 From various subscriptions for school & meeting house, all of which had been applied for acct of meeting house $4919 Making a net deficit on this acct of $1413.82

What does the meeting recommend should be done with this deficit?

George D. Miller On behalf of Property Committee Treasurer of the Building Committee On behalf of the Building Committee – David Masters George L. Mitchell16

16 Minutes of the Trustees of the Race Street Monthly Meeting, 1902.

Bunting and Shrigley Architects

Advertisement for Bunting and Shrigley in the Friends Intelligencer, Volume 71, First month 24, 1914, p. 62.

Bunting and Shrigley, a firm composed of partners Morgan Bunting and Arthur Shrigley, got their start designing buildings for acquaintances made through the Friends meetings, as both were members of the Darby Meeting. The firm also designed the Bucks Hill Inn in Barrett Township, a wide variety of buildings for Swarthmore College, and a great number of private residences including the Chestnut Hill residence of Mrs. L.F. Austin. After some time, the firm expanded its reach beyond the Friends network. They designed the Logan Trust Company at 1431-33 Chestnut Street (demolished), the Farm Journal building at 230-234 W. Washington Square (extant), among others.17 Morgan Bunting (1863-1929) was descended from a long line of Quakers in Darby, Delaware County, PA. The son of Joseph Bunting and Emma Cadwallader, he received his primary education at the Friends School in Darby and Philadelphia’s Friends Central School. He enrolled in the Franklin Institute Drawing School and worked at the firm of Furness, Evans & Co for ten years, where he advanced to Junior Partner. Bunting spent five months of 1893 on the Grand Tour, visiting European cities in Italy, Spain and France. He returned to Philadelphia and established a sole-proprietorship firm, through which he worked on several projects that he would have gained through his Quaker ties.18 Arthur Shrigley (1875-1938) was from the Philadelphia area and received his Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania in 1896. During his tenure at the University of Pennsylvania, Shrigley was awarded a First Mention in a competition sponsored by the Society of Beaux-Arts Architects in New York. Post-graduation, Shrigley spent two years in the firm of Frank Miles Day & Bro.19 The Beaux-Arts influence of Shrigley’s early architectural education persisted throughout his career and is well expressed in the West Philadelphia Meeting-House and School as well as the Farm Journal Building on Washington Square.

17 Sandra L. Tatman, Firm biography of Bunting and Shrigley, American Architects and Buildings Database. https://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/app/ar_display.cfm/22858 18 Biography of Morgan L. Bunting, American Architects and Buildings Database. https://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/app/ar_display.cfm/22857 19 Sandra L. Tatman, Biography of Arthur Shrigley, American Architects and Buildings Database. https://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/app/ar_display.cfm/24168

L.F. Austin Residence, 8700-02 Seminole Avenue, Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia. Bunting and Shrigley Architects, 1909. Source: The Athenaeum of Philadelphia.

Farm Journal Building, Washington Square, Philadelphia. Bunting and Shrigley Architects. Source: Philadelphia Architects and Buildings.

In 1898, the two men formed a professional partnership. Bunting & Shrigley endured until Bunting’s 1929 death. The firm took on many clients from the principals’ Society of Friends connections, basing “a good part of its work on service to the Quaker community.”20 However, as their practice grew, they were able to expand their client base, taking on more commissions in the banking and commercial sectors.

20 Sandra L. Tatman, Firm Biography of Bunting and Shrigley, American Architects and Buildings Database. https://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/app/ar_display.cfm/22858

In April 1937 the West Philadelphia Friends celebrated their 100th Anniversary. The celebratory meeting included oral history, music, poetry, and a look to the future of the meeting. Sadly, the meeting didn’t endure much past its 100th Anniversary. It was laid down just four years later, in 1941. In 1946, Drexel Institute purchased the complex from the Friends group for $31,500 and continued to use the building into the 1960s. The site was included in the 1963 University City Core Redevelopment Area plan, and purchased by the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority in 1967. Under the ownership of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, the building was used by a variety of groups, one of which was the Community Education Center. In 1989, the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority granted the Community Education Center a long-term lease for the entire property. A 25-year-lease was granted, with two 10-year renewal options. The organization is now in its first ten-year renewal. The Community Education Center keeps the building in active use as a performing arts center, artist incubator, class and workshop space, as well as rental space for community events. Members of the nearby neighborhoods view the brick structure as an important part of the built and social fabric. Ensuring the preservation and continued vitality of this building is a critical need for the Powelton Village community.

Conclusion

The Community Education Center, originally the Hicksite West Philadelphia Meeting, is a local landmark prominently sited at the eastern terminus of Lancaster Avenue. It is a physical reminder of the religious and cultural importance and influence of Quakers in the region during the nineteenth century, and specifically in the growing suburb of West Philadelphia. The design of the 1901 building as an expression of both Beaux-Arts and Colonial Revival architecture is noteworthy, as is the Quaker portfolio of its architects Bunting and Shrigley. The Beaux-Arts regularity and formality conveyed order and regulation in an otherwise asymmetrical building. The Colonial Revival style had regained popularity after the 1876 Centennial in nearby Fairmount Park and was tied to the idea of the roots of the American story. The building continues its mission of engaging with the community through the activities of its occupants, the Community Education Center.

8. MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES

Bromley, George W. Atlas of the City of Philadelphia. Philadelphia: Geo. W. Bromley & Co., 1910.

Friends Intelligencer.

Library of Congress, Historic American Buildings Survey, PA collection.

Philadelphia architectural records from www.philadelphiabuildings.org

Philadelphia Inquirer.

Scott, J.B. Atlas of the 24th & 27th Wards, West Philadelphia. Philadelphia: J.B. Scott, 1878.

Tatman, Sandra and Roger W. Moss. Biographical Dictionary of Philadelphia Architects, 1700-1930. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1985.

Vieira, M. Laffitte. West Philadelphia Illustrated: Early History of West Philadelphia and Its Environs, Its People and Its Historical Points. Philadelphia: Avil Printing Co., 1903.

Archives Visited

Athenaeum of Philadelphia

Friends’ Historical Library, Swarthmore College

Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Archives of the University of Pennsylvania