Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-12-22
AS ONE WOMAN SEES 1T
Frank Taylor Tells With Pen and
Tongue Some of the Past Glories
Of Philadelphia Literature and the
List of Local Literature Grows
by SARAH d. LOWRIE


TT SEEMS that have not yet heard the
i last of my few remarks while ago in
this column on books that might be written
or that have been written concerning PhiIa.
dclphin.. past and resent. After | mad
gratefully set down ne lists OF books which
two of the librarians Of the town had zen
Kind enough to provide me with, l received
q letter advising me to get In touch with
FRANK Taylor. the artist. who my informant
assured me knew more about the passing
l'hiladelphia than any one else.
Almost simultaneously with the receptitL
Of this piece of advice one of the secretaries
OF the pennsylvania Historical Society urged
upon me the duty Of looking up the files or
letters and historical data that were avail.
nble among their archives AT Thirteenth and
Locust streets. was assured, moreover, that
there was there a great library Of books
claborately catalogued and listed on every
known subject applicable to the history OF
tn" town as we'll as of the state.
And presently. as though to combine all
these opportunities under one head. there
came an invitation to go {, an evening talk
on old philadelphia by no other than MIR.
Tnylor. himself. who was TO illustrate his
memories of historic and otherwise ancient
landmarks of the city by stereopticon views
OF his drawings.
A III. roads pointing th"s to the Historical
"A Society. betook myself there the other
evening. and in the space Of an hour and
than ! might otherwise have got in year.
| suppose the acoustics Of that big GAL
lcricd room in which the talks are generally
given are bad. but the two gentlemen who
diSrnnrScd that evening. Mr.. Carson and Mr..
Taylor did NOT bother TO raise their voices
above Il kind Of conversational chat
They used about as much tone rs ono
would produce in talking over photographs
on center table while casually waiting for
dinner to he announced. AS a result. every
whore frnp Ia a
their murmurS 10 the L!ore or less deaf per-
sons in the audience.
The audience was pretty we'll past middle
age. rs bcfttod the subject. so that there
was Il constant swish Of whispered sounds
from the somewhat younger generation 10
the somewhat oldrr This accompaniment,
together with the mteriectcd "reminiscences
aD"ut tn" localities shown on the screen,
"reminiscences which every one freely m
'lulc"d in Ia his ncighbor. made for n great
!nf"rma!it} Of atmosphere. 1t was like an
evening party at one = Grcnt.aunt's. without
the aftermath Of fruit cake and port wine,
with Il "hur" Of macaroons and lady apples
for those who feared the heavier diet.
SPEAK Of my great -aunt because she was
urp"rmost in my mind all evening. !
could hear her "Suid Is" and "Said he's"
and seemed ono" more To be gazing down
on, approaching and departing pedestrians
reflected in her II spy glass" Where. by
mat used to adurn the second floor front
windows Of all our best houses?
TNHANKS 10 Mr.. Taylor's apprecative
l. sketches Of old street corners and van
i~hcd houses and fast changing alleys, very
much of til" town Of forty and fifty years
ago gently Sid into view on the screen and
slipped off again like Il thing seen in
dream.
| saw III" valUc Of those sketches better
on tho screen than they have had for me as
hIack and white wall sketches I understood
the proportions and the perspective better.
They w"r" NOR" interesting. ] thought. than
photographs could have been. and somehow
more real | fancy a photograph takes in
more than the eye can verify, SO that one
secs too much III an enlargement, whereas
in th"N" enlarged drawings of Mr.. Tayl"r's
it was about what one would see looking
down an alley. or up at a house, or across
roofs and Ch!mucyS.
TTIIl.N. too. there w"r" things VIC have
l. gradually lost ont OF oar viStas without
h"ng quite awar" Of their l"parturc---ccllar
GoorS on the street. hit"ling posts, foot
s'rNpcr" OF claHurate iron work. little
W"dgcd-In two story houses with durmcr
windows on or Just oil TN" larger streets,
h0UScS sICh rs tn" tw" quaint ones belong
ing to III" Philadelphia Library on Juniper
IT Walnut street for an instance. And
th"r" wcr" theatres whose pllarCd fronts
suddenly 'took IL: way hacNn TO our first
shows. "Iinaiorr." Signor Blit2. Mr.. Tom
Thumb. Mrs. Drew and Jefferson in The
Rivals, and til" Jubilee Singers.
Th" pictures that ar" at present occupy
ing Mr.. Taylor Grc of the rapidly Disappear
ing houses md streets and alleys Of the
Sixth Wmr; wher" n" terminus Of the
Camden Fridge is building.
ni course. We have heard much moan
Hhout III" churches that are being raHod; he
has d"nc his best to make them. if not
immortal, u, leust longer lived by hi very
sympHth"tir drawings. One OF them is, or
vu>. surprisingly beautiful Of its kind, but
] sUppo>" il IS as well down as turned into
an !r" cream factory or an express ware.
Lcus". tho anticlimax Of some farther up
toWM.
CENERALI.Y a beautiful old house that
VI has lost its family. lik" tn" Roberts
l"uso. FOR instance, on Ri,tcnhou>" square,
: "br,,rr d"ad." I'll" Joshua Lppncot,
lIoI~;. tI;D, used 10 he at Broad Hr,l Walnut
'r""tS had Ia" good luck TO b" torn down
horor" it bocamc dilapidatcd and uncared
for, and under the careful pencil strokes Of
Mr.. Frank Miller il still lives stately life
e is own, Elurh more real thnn n" tenn
porary shops and the gNudy theatre that
arr planted whore It stood with such gra-
C.0uS tranquil casC under It's elm tro".
GONE Of the old steepl"s that once gracod
- the town mr." back on their former tow
crs, but rot many rs there would have
been II the artist had been able to get nt
lis sEetching earlier in his career. for
troopIe building appears 70 have come 20 m
abrUpt termination in Phi'adelDha about the
year 1879. when II great windsto-m that was
in its way q hurricane seems to have
broken down many ambitious St"eples and
discouraged N" congregations from rebuild
Ing them. The Colonial churches had we'll
bnilt and not too high steeples. \ later
generation built high brt not well, hence
tho breakdown. ! suppose, and hence the
ugly trurcatcd towers that are left
DI'T my evening under the auspices Of the
ID Historical Society was not the only one
OF historical interest which I owe 10 the
readers of this column. Later on IN the
week received from Mr. Charles Nirdnger