111 Fifth Avenue

Built in 1895

Photographed in 2010

The Constable Building at 109-111 Fifth Avenue at the corner of East 18th Street in the Flatiron District neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City was built in 1894-95 and was designed by William Schickel in the Neo-Renaissance style. It was originally planned to be a manufacturing an workshop building, but the use was changed to an office building before construction began. The site, which was purchased in 1893, was originally the Belmost Mansion, an the new builing was erected by the estate of Henrietta Constable, daughter of Aaron Arnold an the wife of James M. Constable. Arnold and Constable were partners in the Arnold Constable & Company Dry Goods Emporium on East 19th Street between Fifth and Broadway, to which this building was connected internally. The Constable Builing is located within the Ladies' Mile Historic District. (Source: "NYCLPC Ladies' Mile Historic District Designation Report, volume 1") 

Union League of Philadelphia

140 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19102
Architecture by John Fraser
Built in 1864, Photographed in 2009

A Union League is one of a number of organizations established in 1863 and 1864 during the American
Civil War to promote loyalty to the Union side and the policies of Abraham Lincoln. They were also
known as Loyal Leagues. They comprised upper middle class men who supported the United States
Sanitary Commission, which helped treat wounded soldiers after battle. The Clubs supported the
Republican Party, with funding, organizational support, and political activism.

Today, the most prominent of the remaining union leagues is the oldest and first: The Union League of
Philadelphia. Founded in 1862 as a patriotic society to support the Union and the policies of President
Abraham Lincoln, it laid the philosophical foundation of other Union Leagues across a nation torn by
Civil War. The Union League has hosted U.S. presidents, heads of state, industrialists, entertainers and
visiting dignitaries from around the globe. It has also given loyal support to the American military in each
conflict since the Civil War, and continues to be driven by its founding motto, "Love of Country Leads."
Although no longer exclusively Republican or male in membership, the Union League has maintained its
identity as distinctly traditional and politically conservative.

The classic French Renaissance-styled League building, with its brick and brownstone façade and
dramatic twin circular staircases leading to the main entrance on Broad Street, was designed by John
Fraser and completed in 1865. Additions to the building in the Beaux Arts style, by Philadelphia
architect Horace Trumbauer and his chief designer Julian Abele and completed in 1910 and 1911,
expanded the building to occupy an entire city block. The building was listed on the National Register of
Historic Places in 1979. Adorning the walls and hallways is the League’s distinguished collection of art
and artifacts. The collection is a rich, historical chronicle of Philadelphia’s unique imprint upon the
American landscape from the 19th century to today and is recognized by historians and art experts as
valuable components of our shared American history.

Resource: Wikipedia

The Christ Memorial Church, Philadelphia

4233 Chestnut St. (43rd and Chestnut Sts), Spruce Hill, West Philadelphia
Build in 1887, Photographed in 2009
Designer: Isaac Purcell (1853-1910)

This is an impressive church with wonderful gothic architecture. It was considered as one of the best
features of the West Philly skyline about a century back. The church (and neighborhood around it) have
seen better days. Now the church is under a threat of eventual demolition, due to many decades of neglect.
The property, in fact, is on market for sale for $96,000 (May, 2010).

Further reading:
Church needs millions to fix collapsed tower

Divine Lorraine Hotel, Philadelphia, PA

699 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Built in 1892, Photographed in 2009

The Divine Lorraine Hotel, also known as the Lorraine Apartments, stands at the corner of Broad and
Fairmount Streets in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Designed by architect Willis G. Hale and built
between 1892 and 1894, the building originally functioned as apartments, housing some of
Philadelphia's wealthy residents. Lorraine Apartments is one of the most luxurious and best preserved
late 19th century apartment houses in Philadelphia. In 1900 the building became the Lorraine Hotel
when the Metropolitan Hotel Company purchased the apartments. Later it would become the first hotel
in Philadelphia to be racially integrated under Father Divine.

Divine's followers ran the hotel after his death until its sale in 2000. The Universal Peace Mission
Movement still exists in the form of a network of independent churches, businesses, and religious orders.
Its followers also run another hotel, the Divine Tracy in West Philadelphia. The Divine Lorraine
received a historical marker from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1994 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002 as a site significant in terms of both
architectural and civil rights history. After its most recent purchase in 2006, future plans for the hotel
included converting it into condominiums.

Further readings:
-The Philly History Blog
-Philly Provenance