Reforming Faith by Design Frank Furness’ Architecture and Spiritual Pluralism among Philadelphia’s Jews and Unitarians

Matthew F. Singer

Philadelphia never saw anything like it. The strange structure took shape between 1868 and 1871 on the southeast corner of North Broad and Mount Vernon streets, in the middle of a developing residential neighborhood for a newly rising upper middle class. With it came a rather alien addition to the city’s skyline: a boldly striped onion dome capping an octagonal Moorish-style minaret that flared outward as it rose skyward. Moorish horseshoe arches crowned three front entrances. The massive central At North Broad and Mount Vernon streets, Rodeph Shalom’s first purpose-built temple—de- doorway was topped with a steep gable signed by Frank Furness—announced the growing presence and aspirations of the newly developed neighborhood’s prospering German Jewish community. beneath a Gothic rose window that, in HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA turn, sat within another Moorish horse- shoe. Composed of alternating bands of phia. In a city of red-brick rowhouses built full Jewish emancipation and equality and yellow and red sandstone, the arches’ halo- primarily in neoclassical styles, Rodeph sparked new spasms of anti-Semitism. like tops appeared to radiate from central Shalom’s new temple mixed Islamic, Pedestrians gazing upon Rodeph disks incised with abstracted floral shapes. Byzantine and Gothic elements. Shalom may have wondered whether their Buttresses shored the sides of the building, Founded in 1795 as the first Ashkenazi wandering minds conjured an appari- which stood tall and vertical like a Gothic (Central and Eastern European) Jewish tion from a faraway time and place. In cathedral. congregation in the Western Hemisphere, fact, Furness’ design was the opposite; it Carved in Hebrew and English above Rodeph Shalom previously occupied represented the progressive vanguard in its the two side entrances, a biblical passage existing buildings, moving from store- own time and place. The artfully arranged proclaimed a universal message from fronts to former churches. Its new North stone, mortar and glass of this dramatic Jewish scripture: “My House Shall Be Broad Street neighborhood was home to a “house of prayer for all people” was a trail- Called a House of Prayer for All People” growing community of Jews with origins blazing manifestation of the era’s most (Isaiah 56:7). This new home—and first in Germany and other German-speak- advanced ideas regarding architecture— purpose-built synagogue—of the city’s ing countries in Central Europe. Some of and religion. venerable Congregation Rodeph Shalom Philadelphia’s German Jews had American was the first major commission of young roots extending back to the 1700s. Most, Faith in Form and Fellowship: architect Frank Furness (1839–1912). however, fled the turmoil and hardship A Forgotten Philadelphia Story What an exotic figure this building that followed Europe’s failed democratic Rodeph Shalom’s new temple gave shape must have cut in staid Quaker Philadel- revolutions of 1848, which dashed hope for to the visions of two men of widely differ-

14 WINTER 2021 | PENNSYLVANIA HERITAGE WWW.PHMC.PA.GOV ing backgrounds. Its architect, Frank cal Culture movement—formed a Furness, was the youngest of four chil- late-19th-century vanguard shaped dren in the family of Massachusetts-born, by advances in science, shifts in reli- Harvard-educated Unitarian minister gious thought, and the growing social William Henry Furness (1802–1896) and ills of the Industrial Era. Reform Jews Annis Pulling Jenks. Rodeph Shalom’s and Unitarians joined in what historian rabbi, Marcus Jastrow (1829–1903), was Benny Kraut termed a “rapprochement,” a native of Prussian Posen who received one focused on forging a “New Civiliza- his final rabbinic ordination 1857. Jastrow tion” united by a universal “Religion of served a tumultuous tenure as the politi- Humanity.” Reform Jewish rabbis and cally outspoken rabbi of Warsaw’s progres- Unitarian ministers exchanged pulpits sive German-Jewish synagogue at a time of and joined in fighting for a politically Polish rebellion against Russian rule. secular America. Jastrow arrived in Philadelphia in And yet, Philadelphia’s story is, in 1866 at the invitation of Rodeph Shalom key ways, wholly unique. The history to serve as its first progressive, reform- of engagement between Unitarians and minded—that is, nonorthodox—rabbi. Jews there began in 1825 with the arrival He was a product of Germany’s vaunted of Reverend Furness, not in the post- university system, having studied at the Civil War era. Unlike other rabbis and Young Frank Furness was captured in this portrait by his brother William Henry Furness University of Berlin and the University of ministers active in the rapprochement, Jr. around 1861, the year he completed his Halle-Wittenberg, where he received his Furness and Jastrow committed themselves architectural training and began three years doctorate in 1855. to building a religiously pluralistic society of decorated service in the Union army. PRIVATE COLLECTION It is likely this education that spurred rather than preaching a universal religion. Jastrow and Rev. William Henry Furness Jastrow and Furness communicated to connect. Many in the West consid- their ideas to the public in sermons deliv- the establishment of Sunday schools for ered German universities the standard- ered from the pulpit and distributed in children. bearers for higher education. American newspapers, magazines and books. But it Rebecca Gratz (1781–1869), described liberal Protestant clergy and those study- was through Frank Furness’ talents that as the “most famous Jewess of the 19th ing for the ministry, including Reverend his reverend father and their family’s rabbi century,” was devoted to her faith and Furness and his lifelong friend and fellow friend found a way to give shape to their active in Mikveh Israel. The large and Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emer- ideals. prosperous Gratz family were stalwart son (1803–1882) were fascinated by the members of the synagogue. Equally German-developed “Higher Criticism,” a Finding Home, Friends and Grounds for active in secular spheres, they founded method of studying Christian and Jewish Change in Philadelphia and contributed to cultural and educa- scripture as works of human literature American Unitarianism—which developed tional institutions such as the Pennsylvania rather than Divine Writ. in New England in the 18th century— Academy of the Fine Arts. Jastrow and Reverend Furness went departed from mainstream Protestantism Gratz’s adulthood was filled with good on to spearhead a union of two groups in three tenets: the belief that man is by works. She established, supported and with vastly disparate experiences: recent nature good rather than “fallen;” faith that worked with Jewish and nonsectarian Jewish immigrants who fled persecution God is a source of love and universal salva- “benevolent” organizations serving the in German-speaking Europe and Unitar- tion; and rejection of the concept of the poor. Not only a leader within the Jewish ians representing the United States’ promi- Trinity. Reverend Furness brought Boston community, she became a celebrated figure nent, privileged and powerful British “Old to Philadelphia when he arrived in 1825 in broader Philadelphia society. Stock.” to serve as the first formally educated In 1838 Gratz established the coedu- An extended but closely knit group of and ordained full-time minister of cational Hebrew Sunday School Soci- friends, families and colleagues formed First Unitarian. ety, the first of its kind in America. In around the Furnesses and Jastrows. Philadelphia’s Jewish community grew running the school and numerous other Resolved to live together in harmony and from some 300 souls in 1776 to roughly matters, Gratz worked closely with Mikveh on equal footing—and help others do the 750 in 1830. During this time, the city Israel’s innovative minister, Isaac Leeser; same—they formed a network that broke became the first in the Western Hemi- however, it was Reverend Furness whom longstanding barriers between faiths, sphere with two Jewish congregations. Gratz described as “our favorite orator.” created a fresh sense of aesthetics, explored Predating the founding in 1795 of the Her correspondence mentions regular new subjects and methods for education, Ashkenazi Rodeph Shalom was Mikveh visits and conversations with the rever- and worked to achieve their vision of a Israel’s establishment by Sephardi Jews end and his wife. She and other members more just, equal and enlightened society. (those with roots in Spain and Portugal) of Philadelphia’s Jewish community regu- This Philadelphia story is not wholly in 1740. larly enjoyed Furness’ oratory by attending unique in post-Civil War America. The In the 1830s Philadelphia’s Jews services at First Unitarian. nation’s most liberal religious groups— “Americanized” their congregations with In 1831 Thomas Sully—considered the Reform Jews, Unitarians and members the introduction of sermons, use of the preeminent American portraitist of his of the religious but nontheistic Ethi- term “minister” for prayer leaders, and day—painted three portraits of Gratz. The ogy and denomination, and public gather- protested Russian oppression of Poland and ing in church for prayer. Nonetheless, in its people. testimony to his high regard for Emerson as The Russian government responded by a friend and guide, Furness was a founding jailing Jastrow for three months in 1862 member of the Transcendentalist group and and then deporting him to Germany. identified with the philosophy throughout Jastrow became a cause célèbre in the his life. Jewish communities of Europe and the Furness’ tolerance, intellectual curios- United States. ity and goodwill extended beyond Unitar- Rodeph Shalom’s congregants ianism and even outside of Christianity. persuaded the acclaimed yet beleaguered He respected Jews as the people of scrip- Jastrow to leave his native Germany. ture and as contemporary individuals with He arrived in Philadelphia and Rodeph whom he socialized and shared intellec- Shalom’s pulpit in 1866. In 1868 work tual and civic pursuits. His 1830 sermon began on his new congregation’s first “An Apology for the Jews,” published in purpose-built temple. During that two- the journal The Liberal Preacher in 1831, year window, he was befriended by William emphasized Christianity’s Jewish roots and Henry Furness, came to know the rever- lauded the Jewish people for maintaining end’s family, and—as indicated by the archi- In 1831 Thomas Sully painted this portrait of Rebecca Gratz, still youthful at age 50 with their faith in the face of unrelenting and tectural commission—grew so impressed flashing eyes showing intelligence and de- often violent persecution. Furness urged his with the young and little tested Frank termination. She was generous in advancing listeners and readers to “cherish toward the Furness that he hired him to build a grand charitable and educational causes. THE ROSENBACH, PHILADELPHIA, 1954.1936 Jews.” As a condemnation of Christian prej- temple for Rodeph Shalom. udice against Jews delivered by a Christian In his 1860 sermon “Israel’s Election,” year before, Sully, a leading member of First minister, Furness’ “Apology” is a sermon Jastrow argued for the integration of Dias- Unitarian, painted a portrait of Reverend without precedent in American history. pora Jews into their “host” societies and Furness. William Strickland (1788–1854), If Furness’ first concern was with the extended that imperative to include the a prominent architect, gained the patron- Man of Nazareth, his second preoccupation emancipation of all peoples, including age of Philadelphia’s Jews and Unitarians, was with the suffering of Africans enslaved enslaved Africans in the Americas. designing a Greek Revival temple for First in the United States. In the 1820s and 1830s Among the earliest addresses by Jastrow Unitarian in 1828 and an Egyptian Revival Philadelphia experienced a series of nativ- to be published in the United States was synagogue for Mikveh Israel in 1829. ist and racist riots. The violence reached Sermon Delivered in the Synagogue Rodef As early as the late 1820s, Gratz and its apex in May 1838 with the torching of Shalom on Thanksgiving Day, delivered in Reverend Furness set the stage for a recently completed Pennsylvania Hall, built rapprochement that took shape between as a meeting place for abolitionist groups. Philadelphia’s Americanizing Jews and Appalled by this destruction, Furness liberal Christians starting in the late 1860s, became a tireless, high-profile advocate of one given shape in forward-looking art and abolitionism in a city with many South- architecture. ern sympathizers. This placed him in a constant state of mortal threat. First Unitar- A Man of God and Abolitionism ian congregants guarded him during his Reverend Furness’ role as through-line in many public appearances. Furness delivered this century-spanning story testifies to his the closing address at the fourth annual long, full life and ministry at First Unitar- convention of the American Institute of ian from 1825 until his death in 1896. Architects in 1870. In it, he declared the With Furness in its pulpit, the church grew vocation of architecture as something akin prominent. Emerson and other eminent to his own calling: “You are, by the ordi- New England-based Unitarian minis- nation of Heaven, street preachers, and ters—along with the Transcendentalists of whether you hold forth sound doctrine or Concord—traveled to the city to preach false, we must listen to you.” Furness spoke there and spend time with Furness’ grow- as a prophet of what was to come in Phila- ing family. delphia: a cityscape imbued with liberal Emerson’s Transcendentalism rejected religious ideals. creed, dogma, canon and a hierarchi- An Advocate for Jewish Equality cal, centralized church. That is, it rejected William Henry Furness was photographed by organized religion. Instead, it emphasized and a Plural Society Frederick Gutekunst, circa 1875, half a century individual intuition, emotion, experience In 1858 Marcus Mordecai Jastrow assumed after his arrival in Philadelphia to assume spiritu- al leadership of the city’s First Unitarian Church. and direct mystical communion. Rever- the pulpit of a progressive Jewish congre- NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION end Furness, in contrast, was committed to gation in Warsaw with a predominantly scripture, Unitarian Christianity as theol- German-Jewish membership. There, he

16 WINTER 2021 | PENNSYLVANIA HERITAGE WWW.PHMC.PA.GOV 1868 in response to Pennsylvania gover- In “Hints to Designers,” Furness recom- nor John W. Geary declaring Thanks- mended the use of natural motifs in giving a Christian holiday, specifically. design: “Take as a model some simple leaf Jastrow implored his fellow Americans or flower—plant-form is the clearest of all to remember that “it was the banner of the numerous volumes that kind Nature freedom and equality to all under which offers to the student of ornamentation.” God gave thee victory and success! Be Furness’ emphasis on nature was Emerso- cautious and never change this universal nian. In “Nature” (1836), Emerson wrote, banner into an exclusive one!” For Jastrow, “Nature is loved by what is best in us. It is achieving equality for non-Christian faiths loved as the city of God.” was a national imperative rather than a Joining Emerson’s outsize imprint on concern limited to Jews. Furness was John Ruskin (1819–1900). In Frank Furness: Architecture and William Henry Furness Jr. purchased the Violent Mind, art historian Michael J. a copy of Ruskin’s The Seven Lamps of Lewis noted that Jastrow and Reverend Architecture for the Furness home upon Furness responded in a groundbreaking the book’s publication in 1849, when way: They brought their congregations Frank was 10 years old. together to give thanks. The Union Ruskin was a passionate proponent of Thanksgiving Service launched by Jastrow the Gothic, which he praised as a historic and Furness in the 1870s continued to be form uniquely appropriate for the design celebrated through 1910. of contemporary structures of all types: Jastrow and Reverend Furness were “Gothic is not only the best, but the only preachers, pastors, scholars, authors, Marcus Jastrow, here in about 1861, was rational architecture, as being that which named rabbi of Warsaw’s progressive syna- social activists, community leaders and gogue in 1858. After his imprisonment for can fit itself most easily to all services, public figures of international reputations. supporting Polish independence from Russia, vulgar or noble.” In championing the he immigrated to Philadelphia to serve as Although fully committed to their respec- rabbi of Rodeph Shalom in 1866. Gothic, Ruskin forged an unlikely para- tive faiths, they championed ideals of reli- MUSEUM OF WARSAW dox; a long-discarded medieval building gious and cultural pluralism. style became the go-to mode for modern It was, as well, the breeding ground 19th-century architecture. Learn from Emerson and Ruskin, for accomplished children. Frank is the Rather than the soaring “pure” and Listen to One’s Self best known today, but his siblings were “high” Gothic of German and French Today, the only thing that distinguishes the acclaimed in their day, perhaps more so. cathedrals, Ruskin praised the hybrid style childhood home of Frank Heyling Furness William Henry Furness Jr. was a painter, of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice. European, from its equally plain, red-brick neigh- primarily of portraits. Annis Lee Furness North African and Middle Eastern forms bors is a blue Pennsylvania State Histori- Wister was a translator of German litera- mixed in St. Mark’s, creating a distinctive cal Marker that stands in front of the ture. Horace Howard Furness became the style that was—compared to Gothic archi- rowhouse. leading Shakespearian scholar of the tecture elsewhere in Europe—low-slung, While occupied by the Furnesses, 19th century. irregular, sprawling, and rich with orna- however, this nondescript dwelling was a While studying painting, William Jr. ment, pattern and color. place of extraordinary activity. In addition befriended the acclaimed Beaux-Arts Emerson spoke to rebirth of each to Emerson, the family welcomed to their trained architect Richard Morris Hunt individual’s vibrant moral soul through home the educator, writer, reformer and (1827–1895). Frank Furness wrote that an spiritual searching, intellectual rigor and Transcendentalist philosopher Amos Bron- 1855 visit by Hunt to the Furness home creative expression. Ruskin urged for reviv- son Alcott who, though most associated inspired “a fascinated admiration, which is ing the individual soul and society by look- with New England, led schools in Philadel- destined to end only with my life.” Furness ing to the past with an eye to the present phia and neighboring Germantown from apprenticed with Philadelphia architect and future. 1830 to 1834. Among the Furness family’s John Fraser (1825–1906) and continued his Frank Furness was shaped by Emerson’s locally based visitors was Lucretia Mott, a training and began his work in Hunt’s New Transcendentalism and Ruskin’s Gothicism, Quaker preacher, abolitionist and advo- York studio. but his vision was his own. He was what his cate for women’s rights. Walt Whitman, Furness served with noted bravery in father called a “street preacher.” The temple who lived in Camden from 1872 until his the Union Army during the American he designed for Rodeph Shalom was his death in 1892, was well-acquainted with the Civil War. Soon after war’s end, he returned first sermon. Furnesses and a likely guest in their home. to Philadelphia and married Fannie The Furness abode was a lively hub for the Fassitt. He also joined in partnership with A Moorish-Gothic-Transcendentalist Synagogue city’s leading artists. Among the reverend’s George Hewitt and together they intro- Frank Furness’ remarkably prolific career— congregants and friends were printmaker duced to Philadelphia a new architectural he completed more than 600 projects— John Sartain and painters Rembrandt Peale approach—the Modern Gothic—as the city began in earnest with the synagogue for and Hugh Bridport. boomed into a major industrial center. the congregation of his new family friend,

WWW.PAHERITAGE.ORG PENNSYLVANIA HERITAGE | WINTER 2021 17 Rabbi Marcus Jastrow. His previous, more Furness’ temple was akin to a Gothic pulpit. Sermons delivered in German—later, modest projects included, fittingly, a church cathedral, which became a preferred English—rather than Hebrew were central to for the Unitarian Society of Germantown in form for large Protestant churches in the changes desired by Reform Jews. 1866–67. 19th-century America. Large “cathedral” Oversized organ pipes crowned the Rodeph Shalom presented an oppor- synagogues signaled Jewish acculturation chancel’s dome-topped canopy. More than tunity that any architect at any stage in with the Protestant mainstream—and the anything else, the inclusion of an organ their career would value, let alone one as emergence of a Jewish “elite” existing paral- distinguished reform from traditional syna- young as Furness. He was invited to design lel to its Protestant counterpart. gogues. Organs heightened aesthetics and Rodeph Shalom in its entirety, outside and The temple’s abstracted floral decoration fostered a new sense of decorum. In tradi- in, including furniture, finishes and fittings. evoked Gothic and Moorish precedents tional Jewish services, congregants proceeded Furness’ Rodeph Shalom is best under- while embodying Transcendentalism’s through liturgy largely at their own rate. The stood in the context of Reform Juda- emphasis on nature. It included no Jewish organ, along with a rabbi, cantor and choir, ism’s development in the 19th century. It symbols or signifiers other than a scrip- ensured worship in unison. began in Germany as an effort to bring tural passage—“This House Shall Be Called Sadly, Furness’ temple was razed in the Jewish theology, ritual and worship into a House of Prayer for All Peoples”—incised mid-1920s to make way for a larger, multi- alignment—in style, not substance— in Hebrew and English above the temple’s functional, and more fashionable (in the with contemporary German Protestant- side entrances and two Stars of David on a Roaring ‘20s) synagogue designed by the ism. Not simple mimicry, this spoke to relatively modest reader’s desk. Philadelphia architects Simon & Simon in German Jewry’s long battle for emancipa- Seating 1,600, Rodeph Shalom’s sanc- 1927–28. tion and equality, its embrace of Enlighten- tuary reflected the congregation’s growth, Today, what remains of Furness’ temple ment ideals, and its high regard for German increasing prosperity, and reform orienta- is a suite of furniture he designed for the culture. Thanks to American separation tion. In traditional synagogues the Holy sanctuary’s bimah. Its brass-plated ner tamid of church and state and the resulting free- Ark that holds the Torah is placed at the (Eternal Light), two thronelike high-back dom of congregations and denominations sanctuary’s eastern end with a bimah, or chairs, and the reader’s desk bearing Stars of to make changes in their practices at will, reading platform, in the middle. Furness David now have pride of place in the current Reform Judaism grew and evolved quickly placed the Holy Ark and the bimah building’s chapel. The massive, architectonic in America in the 1800s, when the over- together on a massive chancel at the sanc- pulpit is showcased in a spacious entry lobby whelming majority of the country’s Jews tuary’s east end, focusing the congregants’ and museum space built during an expansion were of German descent. attention on a single stage in the manner of and renovation by the Philadelphia-based a Protestant church. firm Kieran Timberlake in 2015. In traditional synagogues, women sat The pulpit flares dramatically, exagger- in balconies or behind screens. Rodeph ating the angle of the temple’s minaretlike Shalom’s new temple included a large tower. Like the architecture, it features scal- balcony but men, women and children loped arches and incised, or low-relief, floral sat together. The largest freestanding decoration, including abstracted rosettes element on the chancel is an enormous that recall the temple’s rose window. Across the pulpit’s front, three stout columns echo with simi- lar columns flanking the synagogue’s entrance and supporting the chancel’s canopy. To a degree not seen in the United States until Frank Lloyd Wright arrived at his Prairie style in the early 20th century, the temple and furnishings designed by Furness for Rodeph Shalom were seamlessly of a piece. They were elements of a gesamtkunstwerk, a total work of art. Furness applied this all-encompassing vision The dramatic, stagelike bimah of Rodeph Shalom with its suite of Furness-designed to a string of commissions furniture echoed the temple’s architecture. The Rodeph Shalom congregation presented Frank Furness with for Philadelphia’s broader Oversized, ornamental organ pipes trumpeted his first major commission and a rare opportunity: creating a “to- Jewish community, includ- the congregation’s tradition-breaking reform- tal work of art” with unified exterior, interior and furnishings. This ist use of instrumental music. is the 1,600-seat sanctuary. ing a rather homey chapel CONGREGATION RODEPH SHALOM, PHILADELPHIA CONGREGATION RODEPH SHALOM, PHILADELPHIA for Mount Sinai Cemetery

18 WINTER 2021 | PENNSYLVANIA HERITAGE WWW.PHMC.PA.GOV Rodeph Shalom’s monu- mental Furness-designed pulpit nearly replicates the building’s architecture—with carved details reminiscent of the rose windows and the squat columns—while un- derscoring American Jewish reformers’ introduction of English-language sermons. PULPIT, CONGREGATION RODEPH SHALOM, PHILADELPHIA / PHOTO, PHMC

the museum’s open- coming Centennial Exhibition of 1876—the Most of the sanctuary’s Furness-designed furni- ing, Reverend Furness first world’s fair held in the United States— ture—including a brass-plated ner tamid (Eternal Light), high-back chairs, and reader’s desk—grace invoked the spiritual PAFA planned a new building. the chapel of the larger synagogue built by Ro- by dedicating “this Temple of the Fine Arts . Above the entrance of Furness’ PAFA, deph Shalom in 1927–28. . . with fervent prayers and good wishes.” a massive pointed arch contains an elab- FURNITURE, CONGREGATION RODEPH SHALOM, PHILADELPHIA / PHOTO, PHMC PAFA is the oldest continuously operat- orate rose window. Furness’ design for ing museum and school of art in the United Rodeph Shalom featured rose windows, as States, founded in 1805. Its first home was a did most of Furness’ ecclesiastical commis- (1891–1892) that could be described as a neoclassical building at Tenth and Chestnut sions. Among his secular projects, however, “Moorish bungalow.” streets. Needing additional space and with only two have rose windows: PAFA and the the possibilities promised by Philadelphia’s University of Pennsylvania Library. These A “Temple of the Fine Arts” as “Ideal Church” The great public art museums established in the United States and Europe in the 19th century were conceived in spiritual terms as places of gathering where examples of great art were presented in awe-inspiring buildings, providing uplift and imparting— in beauty of style and content—ethics and morality. In 1880 John Ruskin wrote of the “social improvement” presented by museums as a top-down dynamic: “The first function of a museum . . . is to give example of perfect order and perfect elegance . . . to the disor- derly and rude populace.” As discussed by Mark Orlowski, Ruskin propounded the mutually supporting relationships among art, nature, religion, individual betterment and social reform. His views encouraged thinking of museums as secular churches. In their prospectus for a new building, PAFA’s directors called for a museum as “Ideal Church.” Furness and George Hewitt

answered this call between 1871 and 1876, Frank Furness’ 1871–76 design for the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts features—like immediately following the completion of Rodeph Shalom, completed in 1871—a Gothic rose window and Moorish arches, along with Rodeph Shalom. In remarks given during the eclectic addition of a French mansard roof. COURTESY OF THE PENNSYLVANIA ACADEMY OF THE FINE ARTS, PHILADELPHIA

WWW.PAHERITAGE.ORG PENNSYLVANIA HERITAGE | WINTER 2021 19 PAFA is a school and museum. Furness designed it with classrooms on the first floor. A grand stairway—its ceiling paint- ed celestial blue with gold-leaf stars— imparted a sense of spiritual ascent. COURTESY OF THE PENNSYLVANIA ACADEMY OF THE FINE ARTS, PHILADELPHIA

hold the weight of the ceiling and roof, allowing for unobstructed sightlines. Other than a starburst cross on the pulpit and subtly cross-shaped ends on the trusses’ masonry supports, Furness’ First Unitarian lacks Christian iconography, just as Jewish symbols were all but absent from Rodeph Shalom. In keeping with Tran- scendentalism and Ruskin, the church’s decoration celebrates nature. Its spire holds aloft a flower rather than a cross. First Unitarian’s sanctuary glows with sunlight filtering through stained-glass windows by Tiffany Glass Co., John La Farge, and other masters. Furness’ preferred stained-glass maker, Henry Holi- day (1839–1927), was associated with the two buildings, which stand to this day as distinctive element—a monumental tower Pre-Raphaelite movement. the most prominent of Furness’ master- with an exceedingly tall and steep roof— Six of First Unitarian’s 16 stained- works, were conceived as secular cathe- was barely attached to the rest of the struc- glass windows are Holiday’s work. Char- drals: PAFA, a cathedral of art; the library, a ture. Later church leadership removed it ity (1887) was commissioned by Frank cathedral of knowledge. in 1921. Furness and donated by friends of the With PAFA’s school occupying most This unusual exterior belied the seren- church as a memorial to the architect’s of the building’s first floor, visitors to the ity of the sanctuary inside. Just four steps mother. She is shown distributing food museum galleries had to walk to the second above the floor, its chancel contradicts and clothes to the needy. Tragedies in the story. Making the most of this logistical expectations for churchly grandeur and family of Horace Howard Furness are requirement, Furness created a majestic minimizes the distance and distinction memorialized in Woman Enthroned (1906) stairway that turned walking upstairs into between congregant and clergy. Rather than and Woman Enthroned, with Lilies (1910). a ceremony of spiritual ascent. The massive load-bearing columns, broad arched trusses dome above the stairs is painted a deep, heavenly blue with gilded stars. Visitors to PAFA arise from the workaday streets of Philadelphia through the sublime promise of the celestial to a paradise of art.

A Pre-Raphaelite Meeting House in Stone and Glass In 1882 Frank Furness received the commission for what remains First Unitar- ian’s bustling center for worship and good work. For Furness, this was an opportunity to create a lasting new home for his “home” congregation, one that thrived during his father’s 50-year ministry and represented the denomination that shaped the archi- tect’s values. The church Furness created for First Unitarian was highly individual- istic—even eccentric—on the outside, but invoked modesty, humanism and egalitari- anism within. The exterior of First Unitarian was like Furness’s 1882 design for the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia was Gothic in the modest a spray of building blocks: bold shapes manner of an English country church rather than a soaring cathedral. Its distinctive high-peaked, semidetached tower was removed in 1921. assembled seemingly at random. Its most PHILADELPHIA HISTORICAL COMMISSION

20 WINTER 2021 | PENNSYLVANIA HERITAGE WWW.PHMC.PA.GOV First Unitarian’s arched trusses echo those of Rodeph Shalom and allow unobstructed sightlines in the broad sanctuary, as seen in this view from the front entry, across pews, and toward the chancel. PHOTO, PHMC

Horace Howard commissioned Woman Rodeph Shalom: “My house shall be called Enthroned in memory of his wife, Helen a house of prayer for all people.” The revo- Kate Rogers Furness, his partner in Shake- lutionary humanism of Isaiah’s prophetic speare scholarship. The window quotes voice expressed the ecumenicalism of a King Lear: “Thoult come again never never united group of reform-minded Unitarians never never never.” Woman Enthroned, with and Jews in late-19th-century Philadelphia. Lilies was dedicated to the memory of his only daughter, Caroline Augusta Furness A Circle of Sociable Progressives Jayne. The thrones in both windows recall Morris Jastrow (1861–1921) was raised and the high-backed chairs designed by Frank educated to succeed his father in Rodeph Furness for Rodeph Shalom. Neither Shalom’s pulpit. After graduating from the window has any obvious religious content. University of Pennsylvania, he pursued The rose window on First Unitarian’s advanced secular education at the Univer- front façade is the work of John La Farge. sity of Berlin, earned his doctorate at the Installed in 1891 its subject is the Hebrew University of Leipzig, and was ordained prophet Isaiah as depicted by Michelangelo at the Jewish Seminary of Breslau. He in the Sistine Chapel. The prophet holds resigned from the rabbinate, however, after a book—most likely the Bible, given the just one year’s service at Rodeph Shalom context—while a cherub gestures to light. and went on to become the first Jewish In an 1860 sermon, Reverend Furness faculty member at the University of Penn- recounted a story in the book of Isaiah in sylvania. He cut a wide swath at Penn as a which “the prophet assures his country- professor of Semitics and rabbinic literature men, if they will loose the bands of wick- central to establishing comparative reli- edness and undo the heavy burdens, and gion as an academic discipline. In addition, let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke, that then their light shall break forth Henry Holiday, Frank Furness’ preferred stained-glass artist, was associated with the as the morning.” Pre-Raphaelite movement. Horace Howard Fur- A decade earlier, Isaiah’s words were ness commissioned Holiday to design Woman used to announce the universalist mission Enthroned in 1906 in memory of his wife, Helen Kate Rogers Furness. of the temple designed by Frank Furness for PHOTO, PHMC

WWW.PAHERITAGE.ORG PENNSYLVANIA HERITAGE | WINTER 2021 21 he began work there as a librarian in 1888 heir apparent to his father’s pulpit. His In October 1886 Horace Traubel and and served as curator of Middle Eastern European study caused him to break in a Ethical Society “leader” (the society’s equiv- [02] antiquities in the collections that became manner even more dramatic than Jastrow, alent to “minister”) S. Burns Weston met to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of but one that resonated with the Philadel- discuss the formation of a social and liter- [03] Archaeology and Anthropology. phian. Adler established something of a ary club in Philadelphia. This club was to be Morris and his wife, Helen Bachman, new religion. His Ethical Culture Society egalitarian, open to women and men of any [04] were close friends of Horace Howard and was founded in New York in 1876. Without profession. The Contemporary Club held Helen Kate Rogers Furness and, with them, creed, Ethical Culture held the perfectibility its first meeting at the Philadelphia Ethical [05] were members of the “Furness-Mitchell of human behavior as its highest ideal. Society on November 3, 1886. [06] Coterie.” About 20 individuals—nearly split In 1885 Philadelphia became the third Nearly every member of the Furness- between women and men—formed this city with an Ethical Culture society. Of 42 Mitchell Coterie joined the Contemporary [07] elite group of accomplished leaders in liter- individuals who joined the society in its Club in its first year. Among the members ature, medicine, education, and anthropol- first year, as many as 18 were Jewish (nearly was Walt Whitman, whom the club upheld [08] ogy. Historian Christine Moon Van Ness 43 percent). Horace Traubel, Walt Whit- as its guiding light. Programs presented by notes that by the turn of the 20th century, man’s acolyte and biographer, and the the Contemporary Club in 1890 included [10] the nationally recognized Coterie domi- founding editor and primary writer of The a poetry reading by Whitman; Morris nated the city’s cultural and intellectual life. Conservator—which functioned as Ethi- Jastrow on a panel discussing “Books [11] In addition to his work at Penn, Morris cal Culture’s unofficial organ—described Which Have Helped Me”; and Joseph lectured frequently at Philadelphia’s reli- himself as a “half-breed” of “Jewish stock.” Jastrow—Morris’ brother, a psycholo- [13] gious-but-nontheistic Ethical Society The Conservator was a forum of good- gist—addressing “Recent Phases of Psycho- and was an educator in the broader Ethi- will between different—albeit consistently Physics.” In the 1892–93 season, Whitman cal Culture Movement. He was a found- liberal—faiths. In an 1890 cover story, and Reverend Furness spoke in memory [14] ing member and longtime president of Reverend Furness discussed, again, the of Abraham Lincoln, and Morris Jastrow the Contemporary Club, a fully secular positive qualities of Jews and Judaism. That joined two Protestant ministers in ponder- [15] offshoot of the Ethical Society devoted to same year, Rabbi Jastrow wrote approvingly ing “The Next Step in Christianity.” progressive arts, letters and social reform. in The Conservator of Joseph Krauskopf, The period from 1895 to 1897 at the At the time of Morris’ studies in the rabbi of Keneseth Israel—a congrega- Contemporary Club is especially notewor- Germany, the literary approach to bibli- tion of more “radical” reform orientation thy in Philadelphia and American Jewish [18] cal study known as “Higher Criticism,” so than Rodeph Shalom. In presenting their history. Among newly listed members influential for Rabbi Jastrow and Rever- thoughts in The Conservator, the clergymen are Mayer Sulzberger and Solomon Solis- end Furness, evolved into the “scientific” or acknowledged—and implicitly endorsed Cohen who, with Cyrus Adler, formed “historical method” of scriptural study. To by association—Ethical Culture. This was the core of the “Philadelphia Group” of identify the who, when and where of their most unusual. Established by disaffected, nationally prominent Jewish intellectual development, Jewish and Christian scrip- radical Unitarians and Reform Jews, Ethi- and communal leaders. Their contribu- tures were studied in the context of other cal Culture was seen as competition for tions to American Jewish life included the texts of their eras. the hearts and minds of liberal, assimilated Young Men’s Hebrew Association, Ameri- In applying the scientific method to the Jews, and—in its nontheism—as heretical. can Jewish Historical Society, Jewish Theo- Torah, Morris saw strik- ing parallels between many of its narra- tives and Babylonian mythology. Did this shake his faith? Did he lose belief in Judaism as a singular revolutionary spiritual development? His copious writing does not state that, but his resignation from the rabbinate and subse- quent involvement with Ethical Culture suggest the possibility. Felix Ader (1851– 1933), the son of Rabbi Samuel Adler of New York City’s Temple Emanu-El, was, like Morris Jastrow, the The library Frank Furness designed for the University of Pennsylvania in 1888 was a secular building with a church- like appearance (note the rose window)—“a collision between a cathedral and a railroad station.” UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

22 WINTER 2021 | PENNSYLVANIA HERITAGE WWW.PHMC.PA.GOV Like a Gothic cathedral, Furness’ design for Penn’s Anne and Jerome Fisher Fine Arts Library includes a half-round apse. This soaring, circular shape gives the library’s reading room the appearance of a sanctuary. UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA / PHOTO, SCOTT SPITZER logical Seminary, Philadelphia’s Gratz and first home of the University of Pennsylvania In its architecture and holdings—and Dropsie colleges, and the Philadelphia- Museum of Archaeology and Anthropol- the many familial and collegial relation- based Jewish Publication Society. ogy, where Penn librarian Morris Jastrow ships it represents—the library designed It was at the Contemporary Club that was a curator. Rabbi Jastrow spoke at the by Frank Furness is material testament to a the process begun by William Henry opening of its installation of religious cere- Philadelphia story that began in 1825 with Furness and Marcus Jastrow—and earlier monial objects. the arrival of Rev. William Henry Furness by Furness and Rebecca Gratz—came to Furness’ library was his last major secu- and continued into the 20th century. It fullest fruition. Jews and Christians, free- lar building designed with a churchlike stands, to this day, atop the arc of the thinkers, and sympathetic others came appearance. It was, and remains, a cathedral Jastrow and Furness families’ intertwined together on a common ground of social of knowledge. evolutions and contributions to their era’s equality to share forward-looking thoughts As shared by Furness scholar Michael J. social, spiritual and aesthetic ideals and on art, learning and life. Lewis, the late John McCoubrey, longtime accomplishments—most prominently, the professor of art history at Penn, described “landscape of reform” Frank Furness built A Cathedral or Train Station of Knowledge? Furness’ library as “a collision between in Philadelphia. In 1888 Frank Furness was commissioned a cathedral and a railroad station.” Like to design and build a state-of-the-art library Rodeph Shalom, First Unitarian and PAFA, for the University of Pennsylvania. His its front façade features an imposing tower Matthew F. Singer is a Philadelphia-based brother Horace Howard was chairman of and is crowned by a rose window. writer, curator and educator. This article Penn’s Library Committee and his brother- The library’s most visually distinctive draws from his dissertation at Pennsylva- in-law and fellow Unitarian, Fairman component is a rectangular block that, like nia State University, where he earned a PhD Rogers, chaired the university’s Building the apse of a church, ends in a half-circle. in American studies with concentrations in Committee. The library (now the Anne and Within is the library’s sanctuary-like read- material and visual culture and religious and Jerome Fisher Fine Arts Library) was the ing-room. ethnic studies.

Further Reading Dorrien, Gary. The Making of American Liberal Theology: Imagining Progressive Religion, 1805–1900. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001. / Galas, Michal. Rabbi Marcus Jastrow and His Vision for the Reform of Judaism. Brighton, MA: Academic Studies Press, 2013. / Geffen, Elizabeth M. Philadelphia Unitarianism, 1796–1861. Phila- delphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1961. / Kraut, Benny. From Reform Judaism to Ethical Culture: The Religious Evolution of Felix Adler. Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press, 1979. / Lewis, Michael J. Frank Furness: Architecture and the Violent Mind. New York: W. W. Norton, 2001. / Sarna, Jonathan D. Minority Faiths and the American Protestant Mainstream. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1998. / Sussman, Lance J. Isaac Leeser and the Making of American Judaism. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. 1995. / Uechi, Naomi Tanabe. Evolving Transcendentalism in Literature and Architecture: Frank Furness, Louis Sullivan, and Frank Lloyd Wright. Newcas- tle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2013.

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