For a 2-week series, we will look at the development of Philadelphia as an industrial center in relationship to its showcase as an urban center for the Philadelphia Centennial. This marks a time where the infrastructure shifts, where the balance tips away from agriculture and to industry and where many of the key businesses emerge that will become synonymous with Philadelphia. We also consider how architects like Frank Furness make their mark in Philadelphia and what types of changes in lifestyle accompanied the city. Finally, we will move to the plans for a new, more elegant and healthier city put forward by the City Beautiful Movement.
Places you might want to visit—Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion, in Germantown, opens March 1. The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, which offers tours of the landmark building and permanent collection Thursday, Friday and Saturday, at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. In 2019, Thomas Eakins’s Gross Clinic is on view in PAFA’s Landmark building. Take a walk into the Curtis Publishing building and spend some time admiring the joint work of Maxfield Parrish (illustrator) and Louis Comfort Tiffany (mosaics) and the Dream Garden.