81 
PHILADELPHIA. 
and here the largeft (hips that are in the port may lie in 
fafety, both to receive and difcharge their cargoes ; and 
they are defended from the ice, in winter, by piers firmly 
fixed. Another ftreet, called Dock-ftreet, was formerly 
a fwamp; but is now, by a plantation of a row of Lombar¬ 
dy poplars on each fide, rendered one of the pleafanteft 
ftreets in the city. Lamps, to the amount in number of 
662, difpofed at convenient diltances, give light to all parts 
of the city in the night. 
The houfes in the city and fuburbs are generally con- 
ftru&ed of brick, three ftories high, plain and neat, with¬ 
out much ornament. The general height of the ground, 
on which the city Hands, is nearly 40 feet above the Dela¬ 
ware ; but fome of the ftreets are confiderably lower, and 
have on this account been fubjeft to damage from the 
overflow of the river, by flood-tides, and a Itrong fouth- 
eaft wind. 
The city contains 27 places for public worfiiip, viz. five 
for Friends or Quakers, fix for Prelbyterians and Seceders, 
three for Epifcopalians, three for Roman Catholics, two 
for German Lutherans, two for Methodifts, one for Ger¬ 
man Calvinifts, one for Swedifh Lutherans, one for the 
Moravians, one for Baptifts, one for Africans, and a Jew- 
ifh fynagogue. The other public buildings are a Itate- 
lioufe and offices, two city court-houfes, a county court- 
houfe, an univerfity, the philofophical fociety’s hall, a 
public library,an hofpital,difpenfary, an alms-houfe, a gaol, 
three incorporated banks, two dramatic theatres, (one of 
which was burnt down April 4, 1821,) a medical theatre, 
a laboratory, an amphitheatres four brick market-houfes, 
a fifh-market, a houfe of correction, and a powder-maga¬ 
zine. Two fleam-engine houfes have not long ago been 
erefted, for fupplying the city with who!efome water 
from the Schuylkill. The roof of the firft Prefbyterian 
church is fupported in front by fix pillars of the Corin¬ 
thian order; and the whole building would do honour, 
by the elegance of its ftruCture, to any part of Europe. 
The German Lutheran church, ereCted to fupply the 
place of that which was burnt in 1795, is one of the hand- 
fomeft churches in the United States. Each of the epif- 
copal churches is furnifhed with an organ 5 fo are the 
German and two of the Roman-catholic churches. 
The ftate-houfe was erected about the year 1753, and 
its architecture is admired. Adjoining to it is a garden, 
which occupies a whole fquare, and is ornamented with 
feveral rows of trees and gravel-walks: that which was 
formerly a burying-place, is now converted into a public 
walk, and planted with rows of trees fo as to form a plea- 
fa nt promenade. The Philadelphia library originated 
with Dr. Franklin, and was incorporated in 1742, and has 
been gradually gaining an increafe in books, &c. At pre- 
fent it contains upwards of 12,000 volumes, befides a mu- 
feum, and a valuable philofophical apparatus. It is open 
every day in the week, except Sunday, to any perfon who 
has an inclination for reading. Books may alfo be bor¬ 
rowed out of the library, by leaving a depofit- to infure 
their fafe return, and paying a fmall fum for the ufe of 
them. The fubfcribers amount to feveral hundred, and 
each fubfcriber pays ten fhillings annually. The build¬ 
ing belonging to the library-company is an elegant ftruc- 
ture; and in front of the edifice is a ftatue of Dr, Frank¬ 
lin of white marble, executed in Italy at the expenfe, it 
is faid, of 500I. and given to the company by William 
Bingham, efq. The apartments of the public gaol are 
arched with ftone, as a fecurity again ft fire 5 and the whole 
building is the largeft, ftrongeft, and neateft, of the kind, 
in the United States. Adjoining to it is a work-houfe, 
in which the fexes are kept apart, and the criminals are 
feparated from the debtors, which undoubtedly is a cir- 
cumftance of great importance. ■ Here are alfo apart¬ 
ments for the 1 'olitary confinement for criminals. The 
market-houfe is amply fupplied with various provifions, 
which are expofed for fale every Wednefday and Satur¬ 
day, This is an extenfive building, and is fupported by 
30o / pillars. 
Vol. XX. No. 1352, 
The new bank of Pennfylvania, erefted under the fu- 
perintendance of Mr. Latrobe, is a large and remarkably- 
elegant edifice of marble, of the Ionic order, con- 
ftrufled after the model of the ancient temple of 
Minerva in Greece. The eaftern and weftern fronts are 
adorned with two lofty colonnades of folid marble. The 
new theatre near the ftate-houfe, finiffied in 1793, is fpa- 
cious and convenient. The large building, intended for 
the accommodation of the prefident of the United States, 
has been purchafed by the Univerfity of Pennfylvania, 
which confilts of two literary inftitutions, that had for 
fome time been eftabliflied in Philadelphia, one defigna- 
ted by the above name, the other by that of the College, 
Academy, and Charitable Schools, of Philadelphia. They 
now conftitute a refpeftable feminary, incorporated in 
1791. The philofophical apparatus has lately been very 
much enlarged at a confiderable expenfe, and is very com¬ 
plete of its kind. The funds of the univerfity produce 
annually a revenue of about 2365I. The aggregate num¬ 
ber of ftudents in the feveral fchools is, on an average, 
about 510 ; and thofe ufually admitted to degrees every 
year are about 25. 
The chief literary and humane focieties are the Ameri¬ 
can Philofophical-Society, formed in 1769; the College 
of Phyficians, inftituted in 1737, and incorporated in 
1739; the Society for promoting Political Inquiries, in¬ 
ftituted in 1787 5 the Pennfylvania Hofpital, eftabliflied in 
17515 the Philadelphia Difpenfary, in 1786; the Penn¬ 
fylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery, begun in 
1774, and enlarged in 1787; the Society for alleviating 
the miferies of Prifons ; the Pennfylvania Society for the 
Encouragement of Manufactures and ufeful Arts, inftitu¬ 
ted in 1787 ; the Philadelphia Society for the information 
and affiftance of Immigrants, inftituted in 1794; and two 
other focieties of the fame kind; and an humane fociety, 
inftituted in 1790, an agricultural, marine, and various 
charitable, focieties. Here are alfo a grand lodge of free 
mafons, and eight fubordinate lodges. Few cities in the 
world, of the fame population and wealth as Philadelphia, 
are more liberally provided with ufeful inftitutions, both 
public and private. Here are alfo numerous academies 
for the inftruddion of both fexes. Almoft every religious 
fociety has one or more fchools under its immediate di- 
reftion, in which children belonging to the fociety are 
taught to read and write, and are furniftied with books. 
In the city and fuburbs are ten rope-walks, which ma¬ 
nufacture about 800 tons of hemp annually; thirteen 
breweries, which are faid to confume 50,000 bufhels of 
barley yearly ; fix fugar-houfes; feven hair-powder ma¬ 
nufactories in and about town; two rum-diftilleries, and 
one rectifying diftillery ; and three card-manufactories. 
The other manufactories are, fifteen for earthen-ware, fix 
for chocolate, four for mu Hard, three for cut nails, and 
one for patent nails, one for fteel, one for aquafortis, one 
for fal ammoniac and Glauber (aits, one for oil-colours, 
twelve for bruffies, two for buttons, one for Morocco lea¬ 
ther, and one for parchment; befides gun-makers, cop¬ 
per-fmiths, hatters, tin-plate workers, coach-makers, ca¬ 
binet-makers, and a variety of others. In this city is 
the public mint, in which the national money is coined. 
The great number of paper-mills in the Hate enable the 
printers to carry on their bufinefs more extenfively than 
is done in any other place in America. There are thirty- 
one printing-offices in this city ; five of which publiili each 
a daiiy gazette j two others publiili gazettes twice a-week, 
one of which is in the French language; befides four 
weekly papers, one being in the German language. The 
other offices are employed in printing books, pamphlets, 
See. The catalogue of books for fale in this city con- 
tains upwards of 300 fets of Philadelphia editions, toge¬ 
ther with a great variety ofmaps and charts. The pleafure- 
carriages are, according to enumeration, 553 two-wheeled 
carriages, 80 light waggons, 137 coaches, 22 phaetons, 35 
chariots, and 33 coachees. The coachee is a carriage 
thought to be peculiar to America : the body of it is rather 
Y longer 
