Historic Philadelphia

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The Academy of Music as it appears today.
An early description said that “The style of
architecture is a florid renaissance, rich and
effective, without being overloaded with
ornaments.” The cornerstone was laid on
July 26, 1855. There was a shower during
the ceremony, but a rainbow appeared over
Mayor Robert T. Conrad, a well-known
poet, as he made his speech.
COURTESY OF THE AUTHOR.
HISTORIC PHILADELPHIA
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trapped the scoundrel in his carriage on the
ferry to Camden, and shot him dead. The jury
acquitted Mercer.
Lippard wrote a florid novel in 1844,
chock full of sex and violence, exposing
how depraved sons of the upper class preyed
on poor working girls in the city founded
by God-fearing Quakers. It was plain that
the novel was based on the Heberton case,
and lurid subplots exposed other vice behind
the virtuous facade of the city. Young socialites
nervously thought they recognized themselves
in the descriptions of rakes and ne’er-dowells.
A mystical dream sequence near the
end, called “The Last Day of the Quaker
City,” depicted a voice from the sky over
Philadelphia crying, “Wo Unto Sodom.”
The title of the book was The Quaker City,
or The Monks of Monk Hall. It eventually sold
sixty thousand copies, and held the record for
American novel sales until Uncle Tom’s Cabin
was produced. Time has diluted the sarcastic
origin of the nickname, but it was George
Lippard who made Americans think of
Philadelphia as the Quaker City.
The Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Fair was
held in Boston in 1839. A little booklet was
issued at the fair, and editions of it were
printed through the 1840s. It was called
“The Liberty Bell.” The booklet featured a
stylized drawing of the old State House bell
in Philadelphia. Six words from the
inscription were on the bottom rim of the
bell in the drawing: “Proclaim Liberty to ALL
the Inhabitants.” The cracked bell that had
not been worth junking a decade before
suddenly became the Liberty Bell, symbol
of the unachieved ideal of freedom for