New-York tribune., 1867-06-18
IpcgJrEcrURE IN PHILADELPHIA.
p,.. Our sp,,i.i Correspondent

,rro,y little island like ant on foating lear cut
N from al freedom Of motion by water that meets
linn on every side grows up accustomed to an econ
a,a, of room that becomes q second nature. lie
measures everything by lots. His house, hs garden
bi,p,rk his church. his theateT, his shop, occupies
iust 40 many OF these odiOus paralleogans; sndthe
,iebest man cannot persuade himself TO be liberal IN
tha use of land but builds house to the skies an
marble and iron, with masonry like that OF Mho' D
Ledge Light House. and with just as little beauty
5sdeed with less beauty Of line, and with haiuiy
more appearance of being meantfor adWellhg house
for human beings. The Phladelphian' hapPiiS'
knows nothing Of this restriction lie never uoupicS
bimseIf about how much land his house is 10 cover;
II anybody asks him how many lQtS ne oCC9pI ~ p %
ewers briefly LOtsp This II not because thS La i
delphian is more liberal man than the New-1OIk
~ Ca 90 land s concerned stingy TO us. You remeIn-
Der the Dutch historian who began hls WOik Dy uo uo
sage reflection that II Is TeIla haUle @ U" - Iorge roe
towns just so am struck by the way ln Wnlcni Wit
kind Providence has surrounded PhlaGelphm win WIN
an intermnable stretch of broad, hat iand sNacuy
suited for building, and has also established me-
haIstibe brickyaIds close at hand l0r the sppl VI
"a perfect building material Inc result VI @ Hnis I I
ti;lity on the part Of Providence is olty .u". @ n
no limits; where everybody can have as much room
s he wants where the pTettiest public squares meet
yOu at every turn, and where the luxury OF Guy
sarden ia rs common to-day 1t used TO he IN New
York q hundred years ago EXacliy now iti Iue Wy
stretches in any given drecLlOh nave h3t Iesou S
~ Toada Sort6ward to Judge by its war-recOrd,
il docs not 20 far Eastward, III time, VIII CYiie ne
tBe Atlantic: and Westward, does It eXten9 TO
the MssissppiG Perhaps not but IT WILL II u Keep
on at ts present rate of growth. am amazed at ls
expansion TOthe North, IT seems to nave 70 0eli,
MI. limit. Rroad-st 1 am told. is 40 ml0a tong;
The Schuylkin has been reached ana crossed; anu
Wes Philadelphia. which is on the opposite shore,
promises TO he delightful suburban 1 nave Deen
ihsre to-day advised by friend, who told me that
All the handsome houses are beng but there, IL
I"p@ the chosen retreat of the rich Philadelpans,
IL, ,l,- f he
st. cars therefore, and by yrtue OF dlsobeylng the
rules and standing the platform was able to see
Walnut-st.-the Phiadephian ttth-aVe.-1rOm enQ
20 end ii oar parvenu paradise is mOnOtOnQus, what
shAl say OF Walnut-stf But, now chFacteIlstlc
of each city IS its own special way Oh oeg LUVGH, t
ousi The New-York street hauntS 1t boldly WIN
"a cheap and tawdry magnihcence; the fmia-
delphian cTeeps on, mile after mile, win q
never the least change of cOuntenance In all the
Tifth-aye. there isn't probably single Olt OF gOOd
architecture: not amOding non a cornice, nor cap
nor an ornament, that isn't o needle stuck INTO
sensitive eve. IT'S the carnival of atrOclOuS dGSgp
clumsily carried out sort OF architectural hlgn
inks" where the struggle seems TO he LOT e2ch man
10 build more Enthusiastically than his nelghbor; Gil
STYLES iumbled together and all distorted misrepre.
tented, misused. We New,,YOrkers are SO proHd o3
the street and so fond OF Dragging about III, tnat
anu afraid this description of mine VIII hardly be
thought do it Justice and indeed do find 1t hard
10 describe il as 1T Is looked upon by those Mlio
have seen some majesty and should know This
,Iwill admit that if the houses were away, twould
DO az fine street as could be desiIcd-bTOad, Well
Nav. Wanut-st. ia, as have said the absolute re
verse Of all this. 1t IL narrow, and; though well
enough paved is injured by the railroad; then lt
runs east and west, aud so can never be oil bright
ness and sunshine like our Avenue therefore the
1nere expedient of taking away the houses would
never make handsome street of IT. Bnt IN their
own way,'the houses are as bad as ours. IoWn can
hardly contain my indignation s0inotlmes az the way
IN which our pretty girls tand how pretty American
gIrs ITO he sure zig themselves out IN these latter
days with cew-gaws and tinsel tinery; but. then
should hardly like it better if they to appear in
hair MIR f. N
gaws and fnery; Philadelphia buildngis architecture
in her night Gradgrnd made all the designs FOR
the houses or rather he made the one design after
which all the houses are built, and II you would
know where he is buried-stranger IN Philade
1nonument as st. Pauls is Christopher Wrens
Gradqinds theory Of architecture Is this. "A house
is a shelter against the elements nothing more.
have therefore, Philadephians designed your house
jn a way to shelter you efectually and at the same
time to allow you TO get in aud out, and to ENJOY
certain number of holes in the wall to serve these
purposes and have put pieces of stone at the top
and bottom TO prevent the bricks from tumbhng in
defy the most calculating Friend in your fleterntV
10 show where penny could be saved in this struct-
lire have as you viii see. guarded sterny against
Nhe intrusion OF ANYTHING that even appears to have
been added for show. Every matter OF 1act person
must approve the des gn which now submit to your
W Judgment The only ornaments which GTadgrnd
would allow were two, and those only after good
deal of persuasion from some OF the younger
the iron escutcheOns of the Fire Insurance
companies which are affixed to the fronts Of insured
they arc TO squirt water IN case of fire, and which to
leave-all the fremen being members of the insur-
anco companies, and so, having interest III saving
insured houses AT nrst, GradgIlnd had on the front
Of his design, IN large plain letters, easily read
Squirt here" but tho young people thiisted for
ornament Of some kind, 80 he Yielded and gave them
the escutcheOns. The other concession was the
matter of the black weepeTs at the windows of which
spoke in former letter. Gyadgrnd agreed that it
would be well to keep always before the people the
fact That in such and such houses the occupants
the proud poessOTs of dead relatives, but he of
opinion that it would be instructive. and have
better moral effect, if each house treated
ns a tombstone and the death of every mem
Der of recorded legbly the front with the
sary dates But IT was IL vain for HIM to try to stem
the tide of the love Of ornament and he was obliged
TO ALLOW the Phladephians the huttering grace of
these bits Of black dTapery which give such festive
air to the rectangular city
Such was GradgTind's system, and never perhaps
did an individual mind leave such marked impress
Sion all over great metropolis. But change is
taking place The oldfashioned style is giving way,
that prevalent in NewYOrk is still extremely plain
and unOTnamented, but which has a very gay look
wheR compared with what has thus far been in vogue
in Philadelphia itself As leave the center of the
city and go west the Wanut-st houses begin to thaw
and show signs Of animation. Here and there see
the hntes OF doors projecting little enough at all
events TO justify their being supported with bTack
cts and little further on, these brackets swell
Into eIlTyes and motdings and now leaf appears un
rolling ltset and spreading over the surface, OF
little bit of tendultwine OF foliage, having very
Greekish and bOOksh air It is true but still with its
root in nature even if it had TO under seas to
find her creeps mOdestly along the Intel itself And
here the marble posts have actually taken caps and
stuck bit of acanthus or bOneysackle into them,
aud. at last, we find that lnsensibly have left
the old plain way quite behind. Let say IN pass
ing. that scant this ornament is, 1t is all of il
carefally carved and copied from good models: it
has quaint neat prettiness entirely unassuming,
and would be treated with sovereign contempt, no
doubt, by anybody who knew anything But am
blssfuy green and these little bits of ornament on
these plain walls are as pleasant to me as a rosebud
iu n or