History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884, Part 34

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898. cn; Westcott, Thompson, 1820-1888, joint author
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : L. H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 992

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"1. King .- I govern all.

2. General .- I figlit for all.

3. Minister .- I pray for all.

4. Laborer .- And I pay for all."

The sign of the Huntsman and Hounds, kept by Widow Sarah Brown, on Arch Street, west of Sixth, represented a deer hunt. Beneath were these lines,-

"Our hounds are good, and the horses teo ; The buck is near run down ; Call off the hounds, and let them blow, While we regale with Brown."

After a time the "Huntsman and Hounds" was designated by the briefer name of " The Buck." The well-known anecdote of Sir Walter Raleigh's servant finding him surrounded with a cloud of smoke from his pipe, and throwing water over him to put out the fire, formed the subject of the sign of the Sir Walter Raleigh Tavern, on Third Street. Near the entrance to the barracks, on Second Street, near Buttonwood, was a tavern with the figure of Hudibras painted on its sign. An inscription beneath the figure informed the public that-

" Sir Hudibras once rode in state ;

Now seutry he stands at barrack's gate."

A small, one-story house with a high-pitched roof, whose quaint style of architecture and aucient look made it appear to date almost as far back as its neighbor, the old Swedes' Church, used to stand on Christian Street above Swanson. Over the door was a sign representing an old hen with a brood of young chickens, and, hovering over them, as if to protect them, an eagle holding a crown in its beak, with this pithy inscription, " May the wings of Liberty cover the chickens of freedom, and pluck the crown from

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HISTORY OF PHILADELPHIA.

the enemy's head." To represent freedom under the semblance of an ancient domestic fowl was a rare flight of fancy, and the " Hen and Chickens" was doubtless a much-admired sign. The grading of the street in later years had brought the house mueh be- low the surface level, and customers had to descend three steps to get to the bar-room. This apparent sinking of the building made the height of its walls entirely out of proportion with the high roof, and added to the quaintness of its general appearance.

The sign of "The Man making his way through the World" required no inseription, for the ingenious artist had painted on it a terrestrial globe from which the head and shoulders of a man protruded, not un- like a young chick forcing its way out of its egg-shell. The old tavern of the Bird-in-Hand was a blue frame house, on Fourth Street below Callowhill. On one side of the sign a sportsman was represented, holding a dead bird in his hand, on the other side were painted two birds in the bush, with the motto, " A bird in hand is worth two in a bush."

The Heart, on Frankford road, had a large heart painted in natural colors on its sign. It gave its name to Heart Lane, called Hart Lane, through euphonic corruption of the word, after the old sign had disap- peared.

About fifty years ago there was a tavern called the Bee-Hive, which was kept by Edward Kelly, at the northwest corner of Sixth Street and Middle Alley. Its sign, a bee-hive with the busy bees going in and out, had for its motto, " By Industry we Thrive," a senti- ment applicable perhaps to the industrions tavern- keeper, but certainly not to the thirsty "bees" who left their money on his counter. Another Bee Hive, kept in Frankford some years later by Patrick Kee- gan, was more practically frank in this inviting in- seription :

" Here in thie hive we're all alive, Good liquor makes us funny ; If you are dry, step in and try The flavor of our honey."

A sign which stood in Franklin place, below Market Street, was very suggestive. It was oval in shape, and set on top of a fifteen-feet post, so as to be seen from afar. On one side was painted a smartly-dressed man mounted on a handsome steed, with the legend, "Going to Law." On the other side, the same per- sonage, much dilapidated in person and garments, was seen on his horse, now jaded and worn out, and the legend read, "Coming from Law."

On John Upton's tavern sign, on Dock Street, above Second, the artist had represented fish, game, meats, etc., painted with such fidelity to nature that, the story has it, a dog passing by was so tempted by these delicacies that he made a bold spring to purloin some of them, and bumped his head against the sign- board, which so discomfited him that he ran off with his tail between his legs. An imitation, probably, of the story of the birds pecking at the grapes painted

by Zeuxis. If true, Woodside the industrious sign- painter must rank with the famous Athenian artist.

A tavern on Third Street, above Shippen, had on its sign, " X 10 U 8." The riddle excited some curiosity, until some one read it,-" The Extenuate House." The learned, if they smiled at this ingenious puzzle and passed on, stopped complacently to read the in- scription painted on the wall over the door leading to Prosser's cellar in Market Street, above Eighth. It said, very appropriately, Facilis descensus averni, sed revocare gradum-hoc opus, hic labor est." McClain, who kept a cellar in Third Street, below Vine, was not familiar with the language of Cicero, so he told his customers, in plain English, on his door-sign,-

"Oysters opened or in the shell, Of the best I keep to sell ; Walk down and try them for yourself, That D. McClain may gain some pelf."

Such direet invitations to public patronage were not uncommon. They were sometimes in prose, but much oftener in verse.

In 1816, James Carson, of the Washington Inn, Holmesburg, issued the following address to the public :

" Ye good and virtuous Americans, come !- whether business or pleas- ure be your object-call and he refreshed at the sign of Washington. Here money and merit will secure you respect and honor, and a hearty welcome to choice liquors and to sumptuous fare. Is it cold? Yon shall find a comfortable fire. Is it warm ? Sweet repose under a cool and grassy shade. In short, every exertion shall be made to grace the sign of the hero and statesman who was ' first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.'''

Who could resist such an appeal ?

In 1819, George Parkinson, who had formerly kept the Burns' Tavern, became the lessee of the Pennsyl- vania Arms, in Chestnut Street. Although the old sign remained, the house, in consequence of its front having been painted green, was thereafter called " The Green House." Mr. Parkinson announced bis new undertaking in the following advertisement :

"GREEN HOUSE, " No. 161 CHESTNUT STREET.

" A generous public's patronage and favor Call me once more to make my hest endeavor

At one low bow of thanks, unfeigned, though rude-

Not framed by courtesy, but gratitude. And here I take the liberty to mention A few things not unworthy of attention : And first ye gentlemen, officers and volunteers, Whom duty calls to drill, lend me your ears : Now that the summer, with its cloud of dust And parching sunbeams, hastens nigh, you must Seek shelter somewhere while you march aud drill. Now, I've a place where, snug as monse in mill, You may manœuvre coolly in the shade, And, when yon tire, sit down to lemonade,

Or wine, or whiskey,-what, in short, you please To drink,-or eat, from pies to bread and cheese. I should be tedious if I tried to tell The names of all the liquors that I sell. A few may serve to make the mind elastic:

I've whiskey, rye and apple,-all domestic,- And genuine Irish, too, and Holland fine, And the best of Europe's gen'rous wine.

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INNS, TAVERNS, ORDINARIES, COFFEE-HOUSES, AND HOTELS.

Then, just adjoining, Mrs. P. has atore Of pies and creams, and cakes and fruits, and more Of all such things than I can mention,-all As good and cheap as e'er in store or stall Havs been exposed to sale; she likewise sells Nice jellies and richly-flavored cordiala. Snug parties are accommodated hers With dinnera, auppers, and all kind cheer. Of all my patrons' wishes most obedient, I am their faithful, most obedient servant, "G. PARKINSON."

The baking and confectionery establishment of Mrs. Parkinson, alluded to in the latter part of these lines, subsequently dominated in interest and profit; so that Mr. Parkinson gave up the tavern and became a con- fectioner. In after-years his establishment was the best known and the most fashionable in the city.

But the best thing of this kind was the advertisement in which George Helmbold, publisher of The Tickler and Independent Balance, announced his intention of forsaking the press for the bar (room). It appeared in October, 1815, and was as follows :

"G. Helmhold, hitherto battled in all his exertiona to attain a decent competence, owiog to the freaks and vagaries of 'outrageous fortune, has at last resolved to court her smiles in the humble vocation of a tavern-keeper. To make his approaches in a regular and scientific manner, he has rented and obtained license for that compactly commo- dious honse, No. 1 George Street (which leads from Sixth to Seventh, between Chestnut and Walnut Streets), where he will open oo Wedoes- day, the lat of November, the Minerva Tavern, or Legitimate Owla' Neat. The moment the sun is over the fore-yard, Gen. - (who has kindly consented to do duty as officer of the day) will give the signal for firing a salute at the bar. 'Mine host' of the Minerva will furnish visitors with the best liquors that can be procured in the city, from imperial Tokay to genuine ' Holland tape' and bumming beer. His larder shall always afford the choicest bill-of-fare that can be furnished in our mar- kets.

"G. Helmbold will feel grateful for the visits of his late fellow-officers and companions in arms, be they sans or deranged.

""Drink just enough ; 'twill raise your merits To prims and not to charge your spirita; For he that drinks not but a prime Will live to drink another time ; But he that drinks till life shall atop Will never drink another drop.' 'JunY BRASS.'

"Southern and Western Pennsylvania bank-notes taken at-bar. The highest premium for specie or treasury notes paid in liquid stimulants.

"P.S .- To facilitate tha equitable liquidation of the demands of his old and pationt creditors, G. Helmhold earnestly solicite such distant subscribera to his quondam paper, The Tickler, as are indebted to him, either to call personally, whenever they visit Philadelphia, or else to forward him the amount of their respective dues as speedily as possible, ao that he shortly may be enabled to pay hia debts to ' the uttermost farthing.' "

In August, 1820, the following advertisement ap- peared in the Independent Balance : " UNION HOTEL. -Samuel E. Warwick respectfully informs his friends and the public generally that he has opened a house of entertainment at the northeast corner of Seventh and Cedar Streets (or South Street), and has copied for his sign Mr. Binn's beautiful copper-plate engraving of the Declaration of Independence by that justly- celebrated artist, Mr. Woodside.

"' Whate'er may tend to soothe the soul bslow, To dry the tear and blunt the shaft of woe, To drown the ille that discompose tho mind- All those who seek at Warwick'e Ino shall find.'"

The sign of Rolla carrying the child, which was attributed to Woodside, was at the corner of Front and Catharine Streets. The figure of Rolla is generally believed to be a portrait of George Frederick Cooke. A correspondent of the Dispatch, however, protests earnestly against this belief, as Cooke was "too in- tensely British to perform an American hero, and he was insulting at all times to Americans;" he says in support of his opinion that Dunlap, in his "Life of Cooke," does not mention Cooke performing Rolla. He asserts confidently, moreover, that "the sign repre- sented Mr. Forrest, and the tavern was kept by Capt. Koehler, father of the late Edwin Forrest Koehler, of the Philadelphia bar." As the Rolla sign on Catha- rine Street was there in 1817, that is, before Mr. Forrest appeared on the stage, it is possible there was another tavern of the same name with Forrest's likeness. .

The Phoenix Tavern, at the intersection of German- town road and Sixth Street, was a favorite place of resort for persons who could come in their own car- riages and wagons. The grounds were pleasant, and Cohocksink Creek, then a bright and attractive stream, ran through them. Ont of compliment to the tavern the street on its south side, when first opened, was called Phoenix Street, a name which it bore until within a few years. The house was built abont 1810, by Samuel Hymas, who also kept a grocery-store at that place. He was an Englishman. The Phoenix Tavern was afterward kept by Joseph Knox. When he gave up the Phoenix he went to the Lamb Tavern, on Fifth Street, below Arch.

On the west side of Sixth Street, a few doors above "The Four Alls," already described, there was a small tavern called "The Ram's Head Headquarters." Its sign was a huge ram's head, with crooked horns, which was nailed to the wall. A correspondent tells the following anecdote in connection with this place :

"This was about the year 1840. One Sunday evening in the Metho- dist Church (Catharine Street, above Sixth Street), the pastor, Rev. ' Billy' Baroes, the Shakespearian pulpit orator, was gren to walk slowly up the eastern aisle and go into the pulpit. When there he turned around and gazed at the congregation for a few seconds, and then spoke thus : ' While walking to this house of worship, I was paiusd to see meu going in " The Ram's Head Headquarters,"-a rum-shop,-hsad- quarters for rams! Oh, brethren ; what a contrast,-the lambs of heaven and the rams of hell.' This caused some little merriment among the curious, which was increased by Barnes, upon his doubling up his fiets with a pugilistic attitude, stampiog upon the floor, and daring the devil tu come right out and fight him, -. here! here ! in this pulpit !'"

A curious conceit was the sign of William Newton's Tavern, at the corner of Eighth and Buttonwood Streets, erected in the fall of the year in which David R. Porter was elected Governor of Pennsylvania. The tavern was diagonally opposite the old school- house, where at that time the elections were held, and the sign in question was a large log of wood cut into the shape of a bottle and swung on a hickory pole. This was called the "Porter-Bottle." The " Adam and Eveses' Garden" (so the sign rcad) had a picture of Adam and Eve in Eden. This tavern was on Sixth Street, above Berks.

990

HISTORY OF PHILADELPHIA.

The Cock and Lion-emblematically France and England-was the sign of a famous old tavern at the corner of Coates and Second Streets, which was fre- quently used for political meetings. It was kept for several years by Davis Kerlin, and after the death of the latter by his widow. She retired from business some years later. and the sign of the Cock and Lion was transferred to a tavern on Fourth Street, north of George Street, kept by - Grundlock.

The sign of the Woodman Tavern on Germantown road, near Fifth Street, represented a woodman with an axe. Beneath the picture were the following lines :

"In Freedom's happy land, My task of duty done, In Mirth's light-hearted band Why not the lowly woodman one ?"

At the corner of Sixth and South Streets was the tavern of the Patriot Brothers. The sign represented the Temple of Liberty, with various implements of war. On the steps of the temple a soldier and a sailor grasped each other's hand. Over this group was the motto, " Where Liberty dwells there is my country."

A curious anecdote is told about the Rotterdam Tavern. This famous old house was kept by John Hay, at No. 118 North Third Street. In 1801 he removed to Fourth Street, between Race and Vine, and took the sign of the Rotterdam with him. He sold out in 1815, and in 1817 Buel Rowley set up the same old sign at 118 North Third Street,-the identical place where it was originally kept by John Hay. It often happened that a tavern-keeper, upon changing his place of business, took his sign with him and set it up at his new house. This was particularly the case where the old house had enjoyed much popularity. The sign was identified with its owner and the success he had achieved, and not with the locality. Hence an uncertainty in locating many old taverns, and the disputes between old gentlemen whose recollections of those old places conflict. Each equally sure of the description of a sign and the name, perhaps, of its owner, they disagree totally as regards the street and the house. If dates could always be remembered, the tavern-keeper might be followed in his migrations and all contradictions would cease to exist.

On the other hand there were sometimes changes in the signs. Much importance was attached to these symbols, and if one was found not to " draw," the landlord sought by some new device to attract cus- tomers. Then, the tavern might change hands and the new proprietor would substitute a new name and new sign more to his taste and fancy. Thus, the Washington Tavern, before mentioned, was changed to the New Theatre Hotel, and finally became the Falstaff Inn ; the name of the Bull's Head, in Sixth Street, was changed to the Oley Wagon before 1822; in that year the tavern changed hands, and the new landlord, Bartholomew Graves, restored the old name

and sign of the Bull's Head ; some years later, another man bought the place and called it The Mont- gomery House.

The great variety of tavern signs in Philadelphia could not fail to attract the attention of travelers, and the Englishmau Palmer, who visited the city in 1818, noticed it. He says, ---

" We observed several curious tavern signs in Philadelphia, and on the roadside, among others, Noah's Ark ; a variety of Apostles; Bun- yan's Pilgrim ; a cock on a lion's back, crowing, with the word 'lib- erty' issuing from his beak ; naval engagements, in which the British chips are ia a desperate situation, etc. The most common sigos are eagles, heads of public characters, Indian kiugs, etc."

Yet, with the large number of houses of entertain- ment existing at that early period, we hear nothing of the drinking habits so often complained of in ante- Revolution times. The testimony of travelers would tend to show an almost total disappearance of those habits.

Lieut. Francis Hall, who traveled in 1817, says,-

"The innkeepers of America are, in most villages, what we call, vol- garly, 'topping-men,'-field-officere of militia with good farms attached to their taverne, so that they are apt to think, what, perlinps, in a newly-settled country is not very wide of the truth, that travelers rather receive than confer n favor by being accommodated at their houses. They always give us pleatifal fare, particularly at breakfast, when veal-cutlets, sweetments, cheese, eggs, and ham, were most lib- erally set before as. Diuner is a little more than a repetition of break- fast, with spirits instead of coffee. I never heard wice called for. The common drink is a small cider. Rum, whiskey, and brandy are placed upon the table, and the use of them left to the discretion of the com- pany, who seem rarely to abuse them. Tea is n meal of the same solid construction as breakfast, answering also for supper. The daughters of the host officiate at tea and breakfast, and generally wait at dinner."

Several of the inns and taverns of some consequence in the early part of this century were opened in houses of historical interest, old mansions, once the homes of some of the founders of Philadelphia, or within whose walls some of the great men of the Revolution were temporary dwellers or casual visitors. In 1800, John Francis, who had kept the Indian Queen on Fourth Street, opened the Union Hotel in the house built by Mrs. Mary Masters, about 1762, on Market Street, between Fifth and Sixth Streets. This elegant mau- sion had had many illustrious tenants ; the residence of Lieutenant-Governor Richard Penn previous to the war, it became the headquarters of Gen. Howe during the occupation of Philadelphia by the British ; scarcely had it been vacated by Gen. Howe, when Maj .- Gen. Benedict Arnold took possession of it; later it was occupied by John Holker, consul-general of France, became the home of Robert Morris, the financier, who gave it up to President Washington. President John Adams afterward occupied it. Whether the memories attached to this noble mansion awed the guests of the Union, or they felt too keenly their smallness in those rooms where the giants of the Revolution lived, thought, and acted, or for the more prosaic reason that such a fine house could not be made to pay, the landlord gave it up after a two years' trial, and returned to the Indian Queen.

Benjamin Franklin's house, in Franklin Court,

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INNS, TAVERNS, ORDINARIES, COFFEE-HOUSES. AND HOTELS.

also became a hotel. It was opened in 1802 by John Cordner, who does not seem to have been luckier than John Francis, for he did not keep it very long; and in 1805, Daniel Dunn gave notice that he had leased this house for a number of years, and would keep in it a tavern, beefsteak, and oyster- house. In the first year of John Cordner's tenancy a dinner was given to Thomas Paine, in the room which had been Dr. Franklin's library.

The Bingham mansion, on Third Street, where that leader of society, the charming Mrs. Bingham, was wont to collect around her the beauty and wit of Philadelphia, became a publie-house after the death of its owners. William Renshaw leased it in 1806. He proposed to make a place of resort for merchants and business men generally. He was to keep a marine diary and a register of vessels for sale, to receive and forward ships' letter-bags, and to have accommodations for the holding of auctions. He even published proposals for keeping the Exchange Coffee-House, and solicited subscriptions for its sup- port, but finding that he could not compete success- fully against another establishment of the same kind, the Merchants' Coffee-House, kept by James Kitchen, he gave up the exchange plan and opened the Man- sion House Hotel in 1807. In 1812 he left it to open the "New Mansion House Hotel," in Market Street, but came back to it in 1814, and kept it until it was destroyed by fire, March 17, 1823.

A traveler who published " An Excursion through the United States and Canada during the Years 1822- 23, by an English Gentleman," bore testimony to Ren- shaw's good management, and to the very moderate prices charged by such a first-class hotel as the Man- sion House. The cost of keeping a hotel must have terribly increased since 1823, judging from the rates of the present day. This traveler said,-

"Philndelphin, for so large a town, is very ill provided with hotels, or, to use tho American word, taveros. The only good one in the city is that one at which I put up, the Mansion House, kept by a Mr. Renshaw. At this, as at all taverns in the United States, the stranger is boarded at so much a week or day. Indeed, the tavern-keepers will not receive you on any other terms; and you cannot have your meals by yourself, or at your own hours. This custom of . hoarding,' as it is termed, I disliked very much, ne it deprived me of many a meal when I was desiroue of going to see sights. If n traveler stay at a hotel only one day, and, from having friends in the place, neither dines nor sups, he is charged, never- theless, with n whole day's board. The terms of boarding are, however, very moderate at the Mansion House, only ten dollars per week. The table is always spread with the greatest profusion and variety, even nt breakfast, lea, and supper; all of which meale, indeed, were it not for the absence of wine and sonp, might be called so many dinnere."

Joseph Head, who some years later became the landlord of the Mansion House (it had been repaired after the fire and opened by Chester Bailey), had been a gentleman of leisure and means, moving in the first circles of society. Having been so unfortunate as to become suddenly impoverished, he decided to turn to account his epicurean tastes and experience, and opened a " Private Gentlemen's Restaurant and Club- House" at the corner of Columbia Avenue [now Seventh Street] and Walnut, in what had been the

McClellan and afterward the Randall family mansion. During the visit of Gen. Lafayette, in 1824, the First City Troop gave him a splendid entertainment in this house. Mr. Head was very successful in his under- taking, and after remaining some years in the McClel- lan mansion, he took the Mansion House, as better adapted to his largely-increased business. This estab- lishment commanded the public favor until it was badly injured by fire in 1847, when it ceased to be used as a hotel. Among its guests were Mr. and Miss Kemble during their sojourn in Philadelphia in 1832 and 1833, and Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kean, who were staying there at the time of the fire, in 1847.

The old family mansion of the MeCalls, at the north- west corner of Second and Union Streets, was turned into a hotel in 1809. Joseph B. Barry opened it under the name of the City Hotel. On the occasion of this opening, on the 11th of June, he gave a grand dinner in honor of the revival of commercial intercourse with Great Britain. The Philadelphia Gazette, speaking of the affair, said,-

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History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884, Part 34

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898. cn; Westcott, Thompson, 1820-1888, joint author Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : L. H. Everts & Co. Number of Pages: 992

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898. cn; Westcott, Thompson, 1820-1888, joint author
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : L. H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 992