The Cecil Whig., 1881-05-28

my. Near by are .hree churches, one e?
pure white marble graceful i'll outline
and neat in decoration: u second uf brown
and green stone. with Il charming. ihough
wholly useless, Gothic arcade on one side
and a tower, sharp and square, and ell
tirefy devoid Of ornamentation, Vet Strik-
inc IN the very contrast it offers To the
rest Of the structure: and Il third church.
orthodox and Purtanical in design, vet
with a certain massive dignity which re-
iieyes y from being commonplace.
= DELIBERATE WORN.
Near bv are the Public buildings, All
enormous structure of white marble, oc-
cupying an entire blOck-or square, as
I they call it hcre-and even i'll its un-
finished state one of the most notable
structures Oh the American continent.
1t is many years since the foundation
stone was laid. Myriads of good phila-
delphians have climbed the golden stair
since that remote event, small boys have
developed into prctentions youths and
baby girls have bloomed into fair damselS,
while the great work has been going on
steadily but slowly. Tie vast scatfoldng
which surrounds the edfce has become
gray and weather-staned, and the lower
stones have lost their early whiteness
and contrast pcrceptibly with the fair
and snowy upper tiers. Years yet must
pass before the structure is completed
and then tie city authorities will proba-
bly, hunt up some hoary octogenarian and
at the opening ceremonies, introduce him
10 the admiring crowd as "our venerable
fellow-citizen who can remember when
the ediiice was first begun.
The interior court nf the public buiid-
ingS is a very remarkable place. 1t is
neither a quadrangle nor Il circle, but is
vast space into which project curious
apseS and towers which have a very sin .
gular and striking effect. In the dark
entry ways inside the building are mas
sive pillars of polished marble with
heavy, carved capitals. Great faces of
stone loom up here and there, and even
now the place is well worthy 4 visit.
TIE MASONIC TEMPLE.
Opposite the Public buildings is the .
splendid Masonic Temple of granite, too
massive and broad for a church and yet
with an uncomfortable ecclesiastical ex-
preston in its high square tower. and in
the deeply-recessed Norman arch which .
forms its portal. and in which the antique
dog-tooth ornament is Il prominent
feature. The interior of the temple fully
responds to the splendor of the exterior.
Nothing more commodious and elegant /
in the way of lodge room conveniences
has ever been devised. The FrcemaSonS
of Philadelphia have certainly left all +
rivalry far behind.
\ RENAISSANCE OF oFFENBACH. ,
In this neighborhood, too. is what was
once known as the Otfenbach Garden. 4
big clumsy building of the - Rink >
order of architecture, built when Often
bach was on his visit to this country. 1t /
was run up in Il wonderful short space of
time at the expense of a wealthy Phila- /
delphia lady who personally superintend- .
ed the work. paid off the workmen every
week with her own hands and managed .
the concern when it was opened with the I
once popular French composer directing
the orchestra. The scheme, however :
was Il failure. The location was insult I
able for place of public amusement,
and today the place is occupied rs a car
riage bazaar.
THE PARIS.
The Philadelphia parks are very charm !
ing just now in their spring verdure, and !
yesterday (Sunday) found them populous
with people on foot and in carriages.
The great elevator at Paramount is large
II patronizcd. and the little steamers on
the Schuylkiil are overcrowded with Sum
day tourists. The various places of re-
sort along the river shore up to Wissa-
hickon have been improved and increased
for this Summers traffic. aud several ,
new wharves have been built. The Fair
mount waterworks. so familiar from old
engravings. are unaltered. and the bust
of tlleir designer and builder, Frederick
Graft, looks out from its little Gothic
mable canopy on pretty scene indeed.
in which there is a pleasant blending of
grass plots and fountains and glimpses
of river scenery, and rockwork, and
trailing vines and distant bridges, and /
the far-off lawns and forests of the great
park itself. Philadelphia may well be .
proud of its noble pleasure grounds. /