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34-553: The Blockley Almshouse had its roots in the Philadelphia Almshouse, a facility first located in the block between Third, fifth, Spruce and Pine Streets. Constructed in 1731–32, this institution provided the first government-sponsored care of the poor in America, as it offered an infirmary and hospital for the sick and insane, besides housing and feeding the impoverished. In 1767, it moved to larger quarters occupying

68-571: A rural cemetery . John McArthur Jr. designed the entrance architecture, which was demolished in 1936. As with its rival to the north, Laurel Hill Cemetery , trustees of the Woodlands spurred the cemetery's early growth by interring the remains of a celebrity: Commodore David Porter . His remains, originally buried at the Philadelphia Naval Asylum cemetery, were reburied at Woodlands in 1845. By mid-century, The Woodlands

102-472: A 300-acre (1.2 km ) estate to his own son, William Hamilton (1745–1813), who acquired it at the age of twenty-one. William built a Georgian-style mansion with a grand, two-storied portico overlooking the river above Gray's Ferry . Following a trip to England after the American Revolution, Hamilton doubled the size of the dwelling, creating a 16-room manor with kitchens and service rooms in

136-502: A fashionable suburb. In order to save the core of Hamilton's estate, in 1840, The Woodlands Cemetery Company of Philadelphia purchased the last 92 acres (37 ha), which included the mansion, carriage house, greenhouse and hot houses, as well as extensive plantings. The founders concluded that The Woodlands' isolated location, its array of exotic trees and its commanding view of the Schuylkill River provided an ideal site for

170-742: A non-profit corporation, dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the cemetery, mansion, and arboretum as a cultural landscape between the University of Pennsylvania and the Saint Joseph's University - West Campus (formerly the University of the Sciences) in Philadelphia. The pathways and avenues of the cemetery and mansion make up the Woodlands Heritage National Recreation Trail , part of

204-428: A quadrangle of four sizable buildings including a poorhouse, a hospital, an orphanage, and an insane asylum. Construction of the first building had begun in 1830, with its cornerstone laid on May 26. William Strickland was the architect and Samuel Sloan , later to be a well-known architect, worked as journeyman carpenter on the project. The institution was later renamed the Philadelphia Almshouse and Hospital, but it

238-702: A system of skilled nursing. In 1903, operations of the hospital were turned over to the newly created Bureau of Hospitals in the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. In 1906, the insane were moved to the Byberry Mental Hospital , later known as the Philadelphia State Hospital. "Old Blockley" was renamed Philadelphia General Hospital (PGH) in 1919. In the next few decades, the original almshouse buildings were gradually replaced with modern facilities. By

272-434: A windowed ground floor. The rebuilt Woodlands mansion became one of the greatest domestic American architectural achievements of the 18th century, recognized as a leading example of English taste and presaging architectural trends in the following century. Hamilton was an active botanist , and his estate and greenhouses grew to contain more than 10,000 species of plants, including the first specimens introduced into America of

306-462: Is a National Historic Landmark District on the west bank of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia . It includes a Federal-style mansion, a matching carriage house and stable, and a garden landscape that in 1840 was transformed into a Victorian rural cemetery with an arboretum of over 1,000 trees. More than 30,000 people are buried at the cemetery. Among the tombstones at Woodlands cemetery

340-481: Is based on the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates — but is a unique building styled to fit the site. It was to be located on a triangular plot at the intersection of two major thoroughfares between the waterfront and the business district . The elegant, curved east façade faces the waterfront, and reflects the carriage and foot traffic that would have been circulating in front of the building. This elevation

374-792: Is the tombstone of Dr Thomas W. Evans , which at 150 feet (46 m), is both the tallest gravestone in the United States and the tallest obelisk gravestone in the world. The land that would become The Woodlands was originally a 250-acre (1.0 km ) tract in Blockley Township on the west bank of the Schuylkill River. It was purchased in 1735 by the famous Philadelphia lawyer Andrew Hamilton . When Hamilton died in 1741, he willed his lands to his son, also named Andrew. The son survived his father by only six years, but in that time built up his landholdings enough to leave

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408-521: Is unique — Greek Revival, but modern — while a more staid and formal elevation can be found on the west side, facing Third Street. In the same year he designed the Merchants' Exchange, 1832, Strickland entered a project in the competition for Philadelphia's Girard College, which won the second prize. Strickland's 1836 National Mechanic Bank at 22 South 3rd Street, set on a narrow plot between two taller neighbors, has strong, square pilasters to support

442-1059: The Delaware and Maryland Railroad . Strickland designed and built the Delaware Breakwater , the first breakwater in the Americas and the third in the world. Strickland died in Nashville and is buried within the walls of his final, and arguably greatest work, the Tennessee State Capitol . A cenotaph for him exists in the family plot in Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia. Several architects and engineers of note began or developed their careers in Strickland's employ, including Thomas Ustick Walter , Gideon Shryock and John Trautwine . The Woodlands Cemetery The Woodlands

476-588: The Ginkgo biloba , Paper mulberry , Sycamore maple , Ailanthus , Caucasian zelkova , and Lombardy poplar as well as plants grown from seeds harvested during Lewis and Clark ’s expeditions, especially the Osage Orange ( Maclura pomifera ). Hamilton also collected and exchanged numerous native plants with his friends and neighbors, the Bartram family of botanists from nearby Bartram's Garden . At one time,

510-490: The National Recreation Trail program. The cemetery includes a looped road system emanating from a central paved circle with infrequent motor vehicle traffic, making the grounds a safe and quiet place for biking, running and walking. There is also an unpaved path that encircles the perimeter of the grounds that is a popular circuit for University City dog-walkers and runners. Leashed dogs are permitted on

544-719: The SEPTA Airport and Media commuter lines. The Woodlands was a part of the United States National Cemetery System during the American Civil War with a leased lot within the cemetery for soldiers that died in nearby hospitals. The soldiers' remains were reinterred to the Philadelphia National Cemetery in 1885. The Woodlands estate was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1967. In 2006,

578-520: The University of Pennsylvania , with its medical school, moved to a site just north of the Almshouse grounds in 1871. As the latter 19th century saw advancements in both medicine and psychiatry, Blockley's mission gradually embraced that of a more conventional public hospital. A nursing school was opened at the site in 1885 under the direction of Alice Fisher , replacing ad hoc patient nurses with

612-509: The 1950s the site contained the city's public hospital, as well as a nursing home and a home for the indigent. In 1952, the new City Home Rule Charter placed the control of Philadelphia General Hospital with a board of trustees. Under contracts signed in 1959, care at PGH was carried out by the medical schools of Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania, who subcontracted work to Jefferson Medical College , Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania , and Hahnemann Medical School . By

646-654: The First Presbyterian Church (now the Downtown Presbyterian Church ) was controversial but today is widely recognized as a masterpiece and an important evocation of the Egyptian Revival style. Strickland was also a civil engineer and one of the first to advocate the use of steam locomotives on railways. Some argue that Strickland's observations made during visits to England in the 1820s were highly influential in

680-701: The Western Hemisphere. He was elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1820. Strickland was born in the Navesink, New Jersey to John and Elizabeth Strickland. While William was still a child, the family moved to Philadelphia (c. 1790), where his father -- a master carpenter -- became, in 1811, a charter member of the Practical House Carpenters' Society In his youth, Strickland

714-552: The block between Tenth, Eleventh, Spruce and Pine Streets. This site was officially called the Philadelphia Bettering House . In 1835, the overcrowded Philadelphia Almshouse moved to Blockley Township in West Philadelphia, an area once known as "Blockley Farm" now between 34th Street and University Avenue. Built to house a variety of Philadelphia's indigent population, the facility consisted of

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748-465: The cemetery and other structures on the site were added to form a National Historic Landmark District . Today, The Woodlands Cemetery Company of Philadelphia exists as a non-profit cemetery corporation that promotes both traditional and current burial practices on its 54 acres (22 ha) of land in University City. The company is supported by The Woodlands Trust for Historic Preservation,

782-531: The church as a “neat and elegant edifice” whose “design was given by Mr. William Strickland, of this city,” and whose “execution has done justice to the taste of the Architect.” (Jeffrey. A. Cohen, 1983). Strickland's evolving talent and confidence is seen in the later Merchants' Exchange (1832–34). Also in Philadelphia, the Merchant Exchange is built on classical example — for example, the cupola

816-613: The early 1970s, public support including Medicaid allowed private hospitals to expand treatment for the poor. Facing both financial difficulties as well as a stock of aging buildings, the board of PGH closed the hospital entirely in 1977. The Almshouse was built by the city in what was then known as Blockley Township , on land purchased from the Andrew Hamilton estate. This parcel of land stretched from what are now known as Civic Center Boulevard to Guardian Drive and from University Avenue to 34th Street. A blue historical marker

850-471: The estate covered 600 acres (2.4 km ) and stretched from the Schuylkill River to what is now Market Street on the north and 42nd Street on the west and incorporated Hamilton Village . After Hamilton died in 1813, his heirs sold off much of the Woodlands estate for institutional and residential development. By the first quarter of the 19th century, the West Philadelphia district was becoming

884-727: The iconic Parthenon of Athens . Proud of the building, Strickland had it included in the background of his 1829 portrait by Philadelphia society painter John Neagle . The oldest building designed by W. Strickland, which is preserved to this day, is the Holy Trinity Romanian Orthodox Church, located at 222-230 Brown Street Philadelphia (Northern Liberties Area), formerly known as St. John's Episcopalian Church . An anonymous report from its consecration, published on September 21, 1816, in Relf’s Philadelphia Gazette and Daily Advertiser , describes

918-697: The portico and ornate stone carving at their tops to defend the building against its taller and bulkier neighbors. One of Strickland's last Philadelphia designs and among his smallest, the building is now occupied by National Mechanics Bar and Restaurant . Strickland also executed works in other styles, including very early American work in the Gothic Revival style, including his Masonic Hall (1808–11, burned 1819) and his Saint Stephen's Church (1823), both in Philadelphia. He also made use of Egyptian, Saracenic and Italianate styles. He later moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where his Egyptian -influenced design of

952-417: The southern and western boundaries of the site. In 2001, more than 1,000 bodies associated with the Almshouse were recovered from an adjacent construction site and reburied in nearby Woodlands Cemetery . 39°56′39″N 75°11′46″W  /  39.94406°N 75.19618°W  / 39.94406; -75.19618 William Strickland (architect) William Strickland (November 1788 – April 6, 1854)

986-539: The transfer of railway technology to the United States: "William Strickland's Reports are the starting point of American railway engineering, and represent the state of knowledge as the first railways were planned in that country." In 1835, the Wilmington and Susquehanna Railroad hired him to survey a route from Wilmington, Delaware , to Charlestown, Maryland . Later that year, he was named chief engineer of

1020-547: Was a landscape painter, illustrator for periodicals, theatrical scene painter, engraver, and pioneer aquatintist . His Greek Revival designs drew much inspiration from the plates of The Antiquities of Athens . Strickland and Latrobe competed to design the Second Bank of the United States in Philadelphia (1819–1824), a competition that called for "chaste" Greek style. Strickland, who was still copying classical prototypes at this point, won with an ambitious design modeled on

1054-538: Was a noted architect and civil engineer in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , and Nashville, Tennessee . A student of Benjamin Latrobe and mentor to Thomas Ustick Walter , Strickland helped establish the Greek Revival movement in the United States. A pioneering engineer, he wrote a seminal book on railroad construction, helped build several early American railroads , and designed the first ocean breakwater in

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1088-520: Was commonly called " Old Blockley " for decades after. Operated by a city committee known as the Guardians of the Poor , Blockley's early reputation for care was dismal. In 1864, the "Female Lunatic Asylum" building was accidentally destroyed by workers installing heaters, killing 18 women and injuring another 20. Blockley's geographical isolation from city medical institutions limited clinical care until

1122-562: Was erected on Curie Boulevard commemorating the significance of the site. Today the site is occupied by parts of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia , University of Pennsylvania Health System , and the Veterans Health Administration and represents a major center of medical research and care in Philadelphia. The Penn Museum also stands on former Almshouse grounds. A long brick wall topped by an ornately decorated iron fence that dates back to PGH still forms part of

1156-597: Was thriving and attracted many of Philadelphia's renowned industrialists, medical professionals, artists, writers, and veterans. In 1853, the land along the river was sold to the West Chester and Philadelphia Railroad , which built a rail line along it. Over the next century, other railroads, particularly the Pennsylvania Railroad , added tracks. Today, eight tracks run along former Woodlands land, serving Amtrak passenger trains, Conrail freight, and

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