PHILADELPHIA. 



509 



number of her own deaf and dumb poor, not exceed- 

 ing twelve at any one time, to be educated at the 

 option of their parents, either in this institution or in 

 the one at New York. These, together with occa- 

 sional private donations and funds, derived from pay- 

 ing-pupils, received from any part of the country, at 

 the rate of 160 dollars per annum, and the life and 

 annual subscriptions of the society which established 

 the institution, are the means by which it has been 

 hitherto sustained and enabled to accomplish much 

 good. The number of its pupils, in May, 1830, was 

 seventy-six. The object of this school is to give a 

 good common education to deaf-mutes, and to train 

 them to industrious habits. The course of instruction 

 varies from four to six years. The system pursued is 

 that of the abbes De 1'Epee and Sicard. A grand 

 lodge of modern masons appears to have existed in 

 Philadelphia as early as 173:2. The masonic lodge 

 (a building more remarkable for its size than archi- 

 tectural beauty) was erected in 1809. The house 

 of refuge, so highly important to public morals, was 

 projected in 1826. Private donations being inade- 

 quate to the undertaking, legislative assistance and a 

 liberal donation from the county of Philadelphia en- 

 abled the managers to complete the buildings. A 

 plot of ground, 400 feet in length from east to west, 

 and 231 feet in breadth from north to south, bounded 

 by streets on all sides, has been enclosed by a stone 

 wall twenty feet in height. The main edifice is 

 ninety-two feet in length, by thirty in depth. The 

 law authorizes the reception of all males under the 

 age of twenty-one, and females not exceeding that of 

 eighteen. Two hundred and seventy-nine persons can 

 be lodged. The present amount of the annual ex- 

 oenses is about 12,000 dollars. 



There are, at present, thirteen banking institutions 

 within the city and the incorporated districts. The 

 banking houses of the United States' bank, and the 

 bank of Pennsylvania, are fine specimens of classical 

 architecture. The walls are composed entirely of 

 white marble. The state-house, on the south side 

 of Chestnut street, between Fifth and Sixth streets, 

 will remain a feature of interest as long as it lasts, as 

 the spot where the declaration of independence was 

 first promulgated. There are three theatres, which 

 do credit to the city and the architects. The city 

 library owes its origin to the public spirit of Franklin. 

 It was commenced as early as 1731, and incorporated 

 in 1742. In 1790, the present neat and ornamental 

 edifice was erected on the east side of Fifth street, 

 opposite to the state-house square, and over the 

 front door is placed a marble statue of its founder, 

 executed in Italy, and presented by William Bingham, 

 Esq. The number of books, at present, is about 

 24,000, exclusive of the Loganian collection, which 

 is about 1 1,000 volumes. Opposite this library is the 

 Athenaeum, a valuable institution, established in 

 1814. The library consists of about 5300 volumes, 

 mostly books of practical utility and the current and 

 popular literature. In the reading-room are regularly 

 received more than seventy newspapers of the United 

 States, besides English and French, and, occasionally, 

 papers from other parts of the world. There are 

 various other public libraries, the most valuable of 

 which is that belonging to the academy of natural 

 sciences, containing about 5000 volumes, and the 

 philosophical society, whose collection is about 6000 

 volumes. Peale's museum, the most extensive col- 

 lection of objects of natural history in America, 

 occupies handsome apartments, built expressly for 

 its accommodation, in the Arcade. The academy of 

 fine arts was founded in the year 1805. It was ori- 

 ginally intended for works of statuary, but the walls 

 are now hung with fine pictures, some of them by 

 masters of the highest celebrity. The university of 



Pennsylvania is distinguished by the celebrity of the 

 medical school attached to it. The new halls were 

 built in 1830 : they are spacious, and in a handsome 

 style of architecture. The medical class varies from 

 400 to 500 annually. The hall of the Jefferson 

 medical college is also a spacious building. There 

 are three prisons, one in Walnut street, a second in 

 Arch street, and the Eastern penitentiary, which 

 occupies about ten acres of ground. This is the only 

 edifice in America calculated to convey an idea 

 of the external appearance of the castles of the mid- 

 die ages, which contribute so eminently to embellish 

 the scenery of Europe. The United States' mint was 

 established in 1791, and, by several successive acts 

 of congress, has been continued at Philadelphia. In 

 1829, a new building for the mint was commenced in 

 Chestnut street, near Broad street : it is a splendid 

 building, faced with marble, and presents a front of 

 1 22 feet, divided into a portico sixty-two feet long, 

 and two wings each of thirty feet. The building is 

 of the Ionic order, taken from the celebrated Gre- 

 cian temple on the river Ilissus, near Athens. The 

 marine asylum stands on the eastern bank of 

 the Schuylkill, a short distance south of the city 

 line. It is 386 feet long, consisting of a portico 

 of ninety feet, supported by eight Ionic columns, and 

 two wings each 148 feet 



The greatest pride of Philadelphia is the magnifi- 

 cent works by which the city is supplied with pure 

 and wholesome water. In 1797, a plan was adopted, 

 which was to form a reservoir on the east bank of 

 the Schuylkill, from which water was to be thrown, 

 by a steam engine, into a tunnel, and thence carried 

 to another engine-house, at the centre of the city, 

 where it was to be again raised, by a second steam 

 engine, into a reservoir, from which it was to be dis- 

 tributed, in pipes, through the city. By this means, 

 in January, 1801, water from the Schuylkill was first 

 thrown into the city. An experience of ten years 

 proved that a sufficient supply could not be obtained 

 by this method. The steam engines were liable to 

 frequent failures from accident, and the derangement 

 of one stopped the whole supply of the city. Ac- 

 cordingly, in 1811, a new reservoir was created, and 

 two large engines constructed, which worked alter- 

 nately, so that one was always ready, in case of 

 accident to the other. It was soon found, however, 

 that a supply of water, adequate to the demand, 

 could not be obtained, although the annual expenses 

 were enormous, and it was evident that some other 

 power besides steam must be used for the purpose. 

 In 1819, the project of damming the Schuylkill, and 

 erecting the works at Fairmount, was commenced, 

 the whole cost of which was, in 1824, 432,512 dol- 

 lars, and the entire amount expended on the succes- 

 sive operations, 1,443,585 dollars. The consump- 

 tion, in the summer months, is about 3,000,000 

 gallons for twenty-four hours, and the reservoirs 

 will contain a supply for ten days, at that rate. The 

 iron pipes, through which the water is conveyed to 

 the city and districts, make, together, an extent of 

 about thirty miles, and the sum annually paid for 

 the use of the water is upwards of 60,000 dollars. 

 The experience of years has shown that the power 

 is sufficient to raise many times as much water as 

 the city can possibly require for its consumption, and, 

 consequently, that there is a surplus power applica- 

 ble to other purposes. The provision against 

 destruction by fire, in Philadelphia, is excellent. 

 There are twenty-eight engine companies, and 

 sixteen hose companies, and the sum of 5000 dol- 

 lars, appropriated by the city councils, is usually 

 distributed among these companies annually. There 

 are two bridges across the Schuylkill, one within 

 the city bounds, and another a few hundred yards 



