Following the Second World War, the American Academy in Rome struggled to regain its relevance to the US’s rapidly changing cultural environment. After a half-century as a stalwart bastion of Beaux-Arts classicism, one central strategy was to align itself with modern architecture, fast becoming the discipline’s new mainstream. From 1946-1956, four Philadelphians–Laurance Roberts, George Howe, Louis Kahn, and Robert Venturi–would play instrumental roles in redefining Rome’s architectural significance, and re-establish the Academy’s importance for American architects in the years to come.

The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, AIA Philadelphia, The Athenaeum of Philadelphia and The Society of Architectural Historians, Philadelphia Chapter cordially invite you to the dedication of an official State Historical Marker commemorating the life and work of architect Thomas Ustick Walter (1804-1887). Often acknowledged as the “dean of American architects” of the Nineteenth Century, Walter designed some of America’s greatest architectural monuments, including Girard College for Orphans (1832-1848), and the Dome and Extension Wings of the United States Capitol (1851-1865). He also served as Consulting Architect for Philadelphia City Hall (1874-1887). A founder of the American Institute of Architects, he was the first elected President of its Philadelphia Chapter. He lived at the Northwest corner of 13th & Arch Streets in a house of his own design from 1837 to 1841.

Co-sponsored with PennDesign’s Historic Preservation Program and AIA Philadelphia, Randall Mason, Director, Historic Preservation Program, Penn Design, will discuss his new book “The Once and Future New York: Historic Preservation and the Modern City” that tracks the roots of America’s historic preservation movement between 1890 and 1920. Focusing on three New York City projects, the restoration of City Hall Park, the ultimately failed attempt to save historic St. John’s Chapel and the construction of the Bronx River Parkway, Mason challenges several myths about historic preservation.

A book signing and reception will follow the event. Books will be available to purchase. Continuing education credits are available for AIA members attending this event.

Free and open to the public.
No advance tickets or reservations required.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Independence Living History Center Archaeology Laboratory
Third Street between Chestnut and Walnut Streets

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE (S OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2009)

MORNING SESSION:

10:00 AM Welcome (Jed Levin)

10:10 AM Archaeology Around Philadelphia — The Year in Review (Doug Mooney)

10:30 AM German Immigrant Potters in Colonial Philadelphia: the Hillegas Redware Pottery, 1735-1742 (George Cress)

10:50 AM Re-Rediscovering the Prehistory of the Upper Perkiomen Valley (Edward Felix, Wes Stigliano, Tam Wolff with Louis Farrell)

11:10 AM “On the Streets of Philadelphia: A Ceramic Analysis of a Privy from the National Constitution Center Site (Katelyn Coughlan)

11:30 AM Archeology In Independence Park — The Year in Review (Jed Levin)

11:50 AM ******* Lunch Break/Lobby Displays and Lab Open House *******

AFTERNOON SESSION:

1:30 PM Welcome (Doug Mooney)

1:40 PM Exploring Northeast Philadelphia’s Buried Past: Archaeological investigations along I-95 through the Kensington, Fishtown, and Port Richmond Neighborhoods (Jennifer Rankin)

2:00 PM Moving Reverend Gloucester: A Story of Presbyterians and Archaeologists Cooperating to Honor a Forgotten African American Community Leader (Doug Mooney)

2:20 PM Update on archaeological work at Timbuktoo (Dave Orr)

2:40 PM TBA

3:00 PM Archaeology at Washington’s Headquarters at Valley Forge (Joe Blondino)

3:20 PM TBA

3:40 PM ******* Lobby Displays and Lab Open House *******

4:30 PM Event Ends

Lockwood de Forest (1850-1932) is best known as an artistic decorator with a flair for designs based on the arts and crafts of the Middle East and India. He drew attention to the work of the mistri of Ahmedabad, India, a sub-caste of highly skilled wood carvers, and House Beautiful described his New York City home as “the most Indian house in America.” De Forest, who began his professional career in partnership with Louis Comfort Tiffany, created Anglo-Indian interior designs that were in demand by some of the most visible figures of the Gilded Age. Dr. Mayer, the author of Lockwood de Forest: Furnishing the Gilded Age with a Passion for India (University of Delaware Press, 2009), will explore the designer’s career within the context of the late-19th-century East Indian Craft Revival.

You are invited to spend an evening with Violet Oakley at Oaks Cloister, formerly the magnificent Tudor and Craftsman style mansion belonging to Joseph Huston, architect for Pennsylvania’s State Capitol.

An ideal setting for the play Violet Oakley, Unveiled written by Cindy Dlugolecki, directed by Stuart Landon, starring Heather Jannetta as Violet Oakley.

Step back in time to meet the shy young Philadelphia artist who made history by being the first woman in Pennsylvania to have a voice in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of state government . . . if only with her paintbrush!

Enter through the RED DOOR and enjoy wine and hors d’oeuvres from 6 PM to 7 PM. Curtain is at 7 PM.

A percentage of the proceeds will benefit the Capitol Preservation Committee.

Tickets are sold per person. After ordering tickets you will receive an e-mail containing tickets with additional instructions. If you do not receive your e-tickets please contact us. Seating is limited to 60 people.

The self-guided East Falls House Tour will include a number of homes – from rowhouses to twins to singles. This year, one of the homes has been completely gutted and now is a model of Green construction and design. In keeping with the Green theme, the Tour will also offer a display and short presentation on how flower boxes and rain barrels can help conserve water and prevent runoff.

The owners of the Green house have created a bright, airy open floor plan, using sustainable, natural, and often recycled materials throughout the 19th century house, which features a 95% efficient HVAC system and amazing new roof deck with Trex and a Green roof. They and some of the other owners will display pictures taken before renovations. The Tour will include the Lace in Translation exhibit at the Design Center at Philadelphia University, plus a visit to another special building on the campus. The program book includes coupons for five East Falls restaurants. Make it an East Falls day with the tour and dinner!

John Kirk Townsend (1809-1851) helped shape American science and history with a pioneering trip across North America in 1834 on behalf of the Academy of Natural Sciences. His many natural history discoveries were greeted with enthusiasm by the members of the Academy and his specimens were used as models by John James Audubon in The Birds of America and The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America. His narrative of that trip, Narrative of a Journey Across The Rocky Mountains to the Columbia River, is considered a classic of American travel literature.

To commemorate the bicentennial of Townsend’s birth, Academy Fellow Robert Peck will present an illustrated talk about Townsend and his remarkable life. Mr. Peck, Senior Fellow and Curator of Art and Artifacts at the Academy of Natural Sciences, is an author, naturalist, historian and world traveler.

Please join us for an exclusive look at the form and construction of Philadelphia and Germantownmade chairs from the collections of Stenton, Wyck, the Germantown Historical Society and Cliveden in this hands-on workshop featuring speaker, Philip D. Zimmerman. Dr. Zimmerman is a museum and decorative arts consultant and author of numerous books and articles on early American furniture.

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania has completed a two-year project to process and preserve the Chew Family Papers, an extensive collection that documents the lives of the Maryland and Pennsylvania branches of the Chew family through seven generations. Highlights of the collection will be on display at a free event at 6 p.m. October 14. Project archivist Cathleen Miller will discuss the collection and share information about this fascinating family.

The history of the Chew family in America goes back to 1622, when John Chew arrived in Jamestown, Virginia, aboard the Charitie. One of the family’s most well known members is Benjamin Chew, who served as chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court from 1775 to 1777. The British occupied Cliveden, Chew’s country house, which became a main stage of the Battle of Germantown in October of 1777.

The Chew family was influential in the early republic, with extensive political connections to prominent judicial and political figures including the Penn family, presidents, members of Congress, diplomats, and others. Nearly every significant national and international event during the 18th and 19th centuries is documented in the Chews’ correspondence with their friends and acquaintances. In addition to the collection’s emphasis on the Chew family and Philadelphia’s elite, the papers provide a perspective on the lives of many of the Chews’ slaves and servants and offer insights into family relationships, the treatment of enslaved people, women’s history, health, religion, legal history, the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, politics, trade, land management and settlement, surveying, the industrialization of western New Jersey, and the growth and development of the city of Philadelphia.

The processing project was funded through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and individual donations. The 650-page finding aid is now available on the Historical Society’s Web site at www.hsp.org/default.aspx?id=35.