Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-03-09
MISS JANE CAMPBELL
On VANISHING Old Philadelphia

VII WV '''eSS'f''N
sTTHOCGH Philadelphia still possesses
i some noteworthy historic buildings.
such as the State House and Carpenters
Hall. and is justly proud Of them, yet as a
general thing there is little interest taken III
old time structures, no matter how replctc
with historic interest they may be, ana thcy
arc torn down with scarcely protest.
This is the statement of Miss Jane Camp
bell. pioneer suffragist, clubwoman ana
author of several papers on historical SUD
jectS. Miss Campbell said:
"Many Of the old houses that have been
demolished would have been well worth pre-
serving as mementocs Of the early life of the
city or as examples of the style of archl-
lecture prevalent in the days OF old, always
n matter Of interest both to the archltect
and the historian.
"A noted instance OF the lndlncrch,'
with which Philadelphia regards its historic
landmarks was the unavailing effort TO save
from destruction the Griffith Jones house.
which. until within year or two S!o"d Oh
II little cmincnCc at the corner of wyoming
avenue and the old Second street PIKE go
"Whcn Griffith Jones built his dwelling
housc on his plantation in the country 1t
wns 50 far away from the city that when
he was elected Mayor of lhlladelphia III
1903 he refused to serve on mat account
aS we'll as for some 'dsinclnation to the at
tirmatiou he should have to make in order
TO ounliry,' For his refusal Council
promptly fined him twenty, pounds. when
elected again in 1904 this fine was RENTED
with the proviso that such remittance was
not to be taken as precedent i"r no
other would be allowed the same prNllcSe'
Public Appeal Failed
ellis house was of stone. well and sub"
stoutinlIy built. and was erected within III"
first decade Of PCnn'S settlement. W Nhcn III
rcrent wears the house and grounds came
into the possession of a builder some few
ncrsOns very few, however, endcaVorcd
through tn" newspapers to create S"ntIlhrml iI,
for its preservation as n historic LANDMARKS
in that section Of the city. suggesting thal
tho house could be used as museum oi
historical objects. giving it an cdurationa
value. and the surrounding ground utlll"cd
AS n playground Tor the chiiuren VI s'o"
ing ncghbOrhOOd.
e,Eothing came Of this admirable suggos-
1ion. The home of the man who had the
uninue distinction of refusing the mayoraIty
of tho city was left to its tate.
"Fortunatcly, the lIetitia house was saved
como ye0rs ago from similar fNtC, for,
mainly through the enterprise of private
citizens, it was removed to Paramount iArk .
"It is feared another fine specimen of
ColOuia architecture IN the southern p0r
zion Of West Philadelphia will soon follow
,hn Griffith JUnrs house. This is Whithy
| JInU N Fifty seventh street and Florence
Eighteenth Century Type
"It is Il beautiful stone building and a
| worry good specimen of the afhltcCtuI" prev
| nlcnt in the eighteenth century. 1t was
| huiIt about the middle of the century by
| Canaan James Coultas, n man of affairs
| and nm nctivc participant in the public life
Of the time Immediately preceding the Rcvo-
| luton,
1T was this same Captain touItas VIII"
was liberal contributor to the bull ding
| Of that we'll known church OF early days,
st James Of Kngsessing, which quaint
| little cdIice is still in existence, though only
used for parish purposes, larger church
| having been built to supply the needs Of
an increasing congregation.
Whitby Hall Landmark
"Whitby Hall has been landmark in
| the old KingSessing neighborhOOd for nearly
a century and three quarters, and when II
seemed probable that it might soon be II
| thing of the past an effort was made through
| thp upwsDanCrS and various public NSsOCia =
lions to have the city purchase it and con
vert it into n community center. No Onr
was sufficiently interested in the matter
who had enough influence to effect its pres
ervation, so the subject was dropped,
"SuCh examples of the Indifference Of
the average Philadclphan and the city Of
fcials to the preservation of the buildings
which are noteworthy for their historic as 2
sociaton, as we'll as for their own cx
cellence, could be multiplied almost iudcf
nitely.
"a walk through some Of our city streets
in the ncighborhoOd Of the Delaware will
show examples of beautiful old time man