Philadelphia Public Art @philart.net

Nearby 39.948300,-75.144185

List View | Map View

United States Custom House
Ritter and Shay (Architects), 1932
* people sitting and kneeling, face, farming, navigation, and artist tools, ship, buildings, rope, ox and bison, staff, food, birds, globe, plants, dolphin border
* Whole building. South side of Chestnut, West of 2nd.
* 39.948300,-75.144185 [map] [nearby]
* On the Penn's Landing tour
* See also:
+philadelphiabuildings.org's page for the building
+philadelphiabuildings.org's Ritter and Shay page

Welcome Park
Venturi, Scott Brown (and Rauch), 1982
* Tribute to William Penn
* big map, standing person wearing a hat, house
* Welcome Park is laid out on a giant map of the original street plan, with miniature representations of two objects related to William Penn - the City Hall statue and his original slate-roof house. The Park itself sits on the site of the house. Two walls around the park contain a biography of Penn, and his farewell address to the city is on the back of the base of the model of the statue. At the time Welcome Park was built, the firm was named Venturi, Rauch and Scott Brown.
* The original City Hall statue: William Penn
* inscription:
house:
This model design was created from available knowledge of the
SLATE ROOF HOUSE
ground:
Of all the many places I have seen in the world, I remember not one better seated: so that it seems to me to have been appointed for a town.
The names of the streets are mostly from the things that grow in the country, as Vine Street, Mulberry Street, Chestnut Street, and the like.
* Plaza. East side of Second Street between Chestnut and Walnut.
* 39.947300,-75.143975 [map] [nearby]
* On the Penn's Landing tour
* Exhibits: Religious
* See also:
+ushistory.org page for this piece
+wikipedia.org's Robert Venturi page
+wikipedia.org's Denise Scott Brown page
+wikipedia.org's William Penn page

Washington Crossing the Delaware
Guangxi Qihe Bronze Studio, Emanuel Leutze, Dr. QiongZhao (Ellen) Schicktanz, 2017 (installed)
* Full figure relief of George Washington
* small people, mostly seated, some standing, hats, weapons, flag, boat with oars, clouds, horses
* inscription: (partial)
This bronze sculpture replicates the famous painting, Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze. It depicts Gen. George Washington leading the Continental Army on a dangerous nighttime crossing of the Delaware River on December 25, 1776 to attack Hessian troops stationed at Trenton. His attack was a final, desperate effort to gain a victory after months of defeats had reduced the Army to a small, exhausted, and demoralized force. Washington's success at Trenton reinvigorated the American cause and kept the Revolution alive.
The painting captures the drama, danger, and desperation of the river crossing, even though a number of details are historically inaccurate, such as the type of boat. The artist, Emanuel Luenze, grew up and was trained in Philadelphia, but created the painting in 1850 after he returned to his native Germany. The painting was a sensation when it was displayed in America the following year.
The sculpture is a donation from Dr. QiongZhao (Ellen) Schicktanz, a naturalized Asian-American artist, in gratitude for her life as an American Citizen.
* North wall. Museum of the American Revolution. South side of Chestnut, East of 3rd.
* 39.948495,-75.145650 [map] [nearby]
* On the Old City tour
* Exhibits: War
* See also:
+amrevmuseum.org's page for this piece and Declaration of Independence
+wikipedia.org's page for the original painting
+wikipedia.org's Emanuel Leutze page
+americangoddessartmuseum.com
+wikipedia.org's George Washington page
+amrevmuseum.org

The Arsenal of Independence
Robert A. M. Stern Architects, 2017
* Reference to Benjamin Flower
* cannon barrels, sign
* inscription: (partial)
Imagine this neighborhood filled with the sights, sounds, and smells of war. Philadelphia's tradesmen and women produced muskets, cannon, ammunition, wagons, ships, uniforms and flags that helped to win American Independence. In 1775, hat maker Benjamin Flower lived just a block from where you are standing. He joined the Revolutionary cause and became Commissary General of Military Stores for the Continental Army.
* in front of the Museum of the American Revolution. Southeast Corner, 3rd and Chestnut.
* 39.948525,-75.145935 [map] [nearby]
* On the Old City tour
* Exhibits: War
* See also:
+ramsa.com
+Orders to Benjamin Flower from George Washington on founders.archives.gov
+amrevmuseum.org

Eagle
Claudius F. Le Grand and Sons, 1797
* eagle, food, shield and arrows, olive branch
* Pediment. First Bank of the United States. West side of 3rd between Chestnut and Walnut.
* 39.948050,-75.146250 [map] [nearby]
* On the Old City tour
* See also:
+philadelphiabuildings.org's First Bank of the United States page

Eagle
James Kiryakakis, Harvey Yellin, 1975 (approximate)
* small eagle, arrows, olive branch
* Gate. South side of the First Bank of the United States. West side of 3rd between Chestnut and Walnut.
* 39.947900,-75.146350 [map] [nearby]
* On the Old City tour
* See also:
+nps.gov page with a picture and brief paragraph about this piece
+denverpost.com obituary for James Kiryadakis
+findagrave.com's Harvey Z. Yellin page
+philadelphiabuildings.org's First Bank of the United States page

Lions
John D. Battin, Jr., Henry Fiorelli, 1838 (reported year of installation)
* lions
* At the top of the two staircases. East side of the Philadelphia Exchange. North side of Walnut, East of 3rd.
* 39.947125,-75.145775 [map] [nearby]
* On the Old City tour
* See also:
+phillyhistory.org 1915 picture with this piece visible
+philadelphiabuildings.org's Philadelphia Exchange page

Ritz Screen
William Daley, 1978
* big abstract form
* East wall. Ritz 5. West side of Dock, South of Walnut between 2nd and 3rd.
* 39.946550,-75.145300 [map] [nearby]
* On the Society Hill tour
* See also:
+williamdaley.net

Mather and Company Medallions
Charles Barton Keen (Architect), 1917 (year of building expansion)
* kneeling people, boats, water, plants
* Wall. South side of Walnut, East of 3rd.
* 39.946975,-75.145850 [map] [nearby]
* On the Society Hill tour
* See also:
+philadelphiabuildings.org entry for the building
+philadelphiabuildings.org's Charles Barton Keen page

Birds in Flight
Joseph J. Greenberg, Jr., 1985
* abstract birds
* Parking lot, North side of Market between Front and 2nd, North of the ramp.
* 39.950175,-75.142850 [map] [nearby]
* On the Penn's Landing tour
* See also:
+nytimes.com Joseph J. Greenberg obituary

Bicentennial Bell
Holzman Iron Studio, Studio Bryan Hanes, Whitechapel Bell Foundry, 2024 (the bell itself is 1976)
* quote from and relief bust of Elizabeth II
* actual bell, ideas, head, crown, fish head fountain
* The bell was originally installed in the tower of the old Visitor Center at 3rd and Chestnut. The bell itself is now in the center of the garden. The names of the 13 colonies are carved into the walk around the bell. The fountain, bust of the queen, and text of her speech are on the North wall.
* inscription:
Bell:
FOR THE
PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FROM THE
PEOPLE OF BRITAIN
4 JULY, 1976
LET FREEDOM RING

Wall:
HERE, ON JULY 6, 1976, HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II
OF GREAT BRITAIN PRESENTED THE BICENTENNIAL BELL
TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES, IN THESE WORDS:

I speak to you as the direct descendant of King George III.
He was the last Crowned Sovereign to rule in this country, and it
is therefore with a particular personal interest that I view those
events which took place 200 years ago.

It seems to me that Independence Day, the Fourth of July, should
be celebrated as much in Britain as IN America. Not in recjoicing
at the separation of the American Colonies from the British
Crown but in sincere gratitude to the Founding Fathers of this
great Republic for having taught Britain a very valuable lesson.

We lost the American Colonies because we lacked that
statesmanship "to know the right time, and the manner of yielding,
what is impossible to keep".

But the lesson was learnt. In the next century and a half we kept
more closely to the principles of Magna Carta which have been
the common heritage of both our countries.

We learnt to respect the right of others to govern themselves in
their own ways. This was the outcome of experience learned the
hard way in 1776. Without that great act in the cause of liberty
performed in Independence Hall two hundred years ago, we
could never have transformed an Empire into a Commonwealth!

Ultimately peace brought a renewal of friendship which has
continued and grown over the years and has played a vital part
in world affairs. Together we have fought in two world wars in
the defence of our common heritage of freedom. Together we
have striven to keep the peace so dearly won. Together, as
friends and allies, we can face the uncertainties of the future,
and this is something for which we in Britain can also celeberate
the Fourth of July.

This morning I saw the famout Liberty Bell. It came here over
200 years ago when Philadelphia, after London, was the largest
English speaking City in the world. It was cast to commemorate
the Pennsylvania Charter of Privileges, but it is better known for
its association with the Declaration of Independence.

Today, to mark the 200th anniversary of that declaration,
it gives me the greatest pleasure, on behalf of the British people,
to present a new bell to the people of the United States of
America. It comes from the same foundry as the Liberty Bell,
but written on the side of this Bicentennial Bell are the wrds
"Let Freedom Ring".

It is a message in which both our people can join and which
I hope will be heard around the world for centuries to come.
* Northwest corner, 3rd and Walnut.
* 39.947350,-75.146575 [map] [nearby]
* On the Old City tour
* Exhibits: New
* See also:
+defector.com blog entry about this piece
+ironstudioltd.com
+studiobryanhanes.com
+wikipedia.org's Whitechapel Bell Foundry page
+wikipedia.org's Elizabeth II page

Eagle
2001
* bird, tree
* Wall. Southeast corner, 3rd and Walnut.
* 39.946950,-75.146290 [map] [nearby]
* On the Society Hill tour
* Exhibits: Unidentified Artists

Tamanend
Raymond Sandoval, 1994 (installed 1995)
* Statue of Tamanend
* big standing person wearing a hat, eagle, turtle
* inscription:
In honor of the contributions of Native American Indians - the ancestors, the elders, this generation and the generations to come - this sculpture commemorates Tamanend, a Sakima, of the Lenni-Lenape Nation who resided in the Delaware Valley when Philadelphia or "Coaquannok" was established.
Tamanend stands on a turtle, which represents Mother Earth. The eagle, a reverend messenger of Great Spirit, has a wampum belt in its grasp. This belt recognizes the friendship treaty under the Sackomaxen elm between William Penn ("Mikwon"), Tamanend ("The Affable One") and other leaders of the Lenni-Lenape Nation. It reads "to live in peace as long as the waters are in the rivers and creeks and as long as the stars and moon endure."
Penn dealt with the Lenni-Lenape people when he came to the land given him by the King of England. He bought the land from the Lenni-Lenape through a number of treaties. Tamanend was one of the Sakimas who played a prominent role as a welcoming delegate on Penn's arrival in 1682 and in the early treaties of 1683 and 1692.
Tamanend was considered the patron saint of America by the colonists prior to American Independence. Tamanend day was celebrated annually on May 1st in Philadelphia and bells were rung in his honor.
* Front and Market.
* 39.949735,-75.142000 [map] [nearby]
* On the Penn's Landing tour
* Exhibits: Favorites, Religious
* See also:
+publicartarchive.org's page for this piece
+associationforpublicart.org's page for this piece
+epgn.com 2021 interview with Raymond Sandoval
+Raymnod Sandoval's page on instagram.com
+wikipedia.org's Tamanend page

Ghost Structures
Venturi, Scott Brown (and Rauch), 1976
* Representation of houses belonging to Benjamin Franklin
* big buildings
* At the time this piece was built the firm was named Venturi and Rauch.
* Franklin Court. Between 3nd and 4th, Market and Chestnut, entrances on Market and Chestnut.
* 39.949650,-75.146525 [map] [nearby]
* On the Old City tour
* See also:
+associationforpublicart.org's page for this piece
+wikipedia.org's Robert Venturi page
+wikipedia.org's Denise Scott Brown page
+wikipedia.org's Benjamin Franklin page
+ushistory.org's Franklin Court tour page

The Triangle Fire
Frank Bramblett, 1983
* fire, clothing manufacturing tools
* Permanently in shadow and not easy to see.
* South wall of the overhang. East side of 4th, North of Chestnut, behind the security grate.
* 39.949475,-75.147250 [map] [nearby]
* On the Independence Mall tour
* Exhibits: Labor
* See also:
+wikipedia.org's Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire page
+frankbramblett.com