St. Philip's Church: 1910

The gas light in front of the kindergarten appears identical to the ones we had in Philadelphia in the 1940's. Every week or so, a man would come with a ladder that attached to the small cross bar below the glass and wind up the clock works that turned on the light at dusk. So many jobs have disappeared.

Below is the same view from May of 2010 (very close to the shot posted by Larc below).

This is the third structure built for this congregation, and the second one on this site. The first church was a wooden structure built in 1682 at the southeast corner of Broad and Meeting Streets, on the present site of St. Michael's Church. The second structure was a brick building built here on Church Street, begun in 1711 and finished in 1722-1723. It was a monumental building with three Tuscan temple fronts at the west end (much like the present arrangement). This building burned in 1835 and was replaced by the present church, built 1835-1838, according to the designs of the architect Joseph Hyde. Other architects may have contributed to the design; Edward Brickell White designed the tower. The present structure follows the 18th-century church in many details, including the unusual siting: the building projects out into the path of Church Street, forcing the street to go around it. This is virtually unique in the annals of American city design, and it forms the very pleasing vista we see here.

It's amazing how little has changed.

It's a lot neater looking now.