Carpenters Hall, Philadelphia, for Weathervane Wednesday

 This weathervane was photographed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

A view of Carpenters Court, in front
of Carpenters' Hall

Carpenters' Hall is a historic landmark in Philadelphia, about a block away from Independence Hall.  It was the site of the First Continental Congress in 1774, and also it was where Franklin installed his Library Company. It is open to the public and FREE since 1857 when it was the first private US building open as a historic monument.  Carpenters' Hall was built in 1770 by a Scots architect, Robert Smith, with advice from Benjamin Franklin on fireproofing the building, which would become a library. 

The Continental Congress of the Thirteen Colonies used Carpenters Hall as their first meeting house in 1774.  The hall served as a hospital for British and American soldiers during the Revolutionary War.  Many organizations have used this building including Franklin's Library Company, the American Philosophical Society, and the First and Second Banks of the United States. 

This building was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970. 

The weathervane is a simple gilded banner style vane, with a Masonic symbol as a finial on top of a cupola. The Carpenters Company was made up of many master craftsmen members who were part of the Masonic fraternity, as well as many members of the Continental Congress. It is possible that the Masons met inside this hall, too, at some point in history. 

According to the official website of the Carpenters Company, the building was originally very plain, with unfinished brickwork, but the cupola, ball and weathervane were original to 1774.  The brickwork was not finished until 17 years later, after the war.  [ https://www.carpentershall.org/architectural-history ]

For the Truly Curious:

Carpenters Hall Company:    https://www.carpentershall.org/  

Carpenters Hall at Wikipedia:    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpenters%27_Hall#:~:text=The%20First%20Continental%20Congress%20of,moderate%20Provincial%20Assembly%20of%20Pennsylvania  

Click here to see almost 550 more Weathervane Wednesday posts:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday    

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Carpenters Hall, Philadelphia, for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 25, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/09/carpenters-hall-philadelphia-for.html: [accessed] access date.) 

The Merchant Exchange Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for Weathervane Wednesday

 This weathervane was photographed from our hotel room window in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

This was our view from our hotel window, the Marriott Renaissance, located between Independence Hall and the Museum of the American Revolution.  It was a beautiful, gilded weathervane, and it took a long time on Google Maps and the internet to figure out which historic building had this weathervane.  Finally we discovered it was atop the Merchant Exchange Building.  

Merchants' Exchange Building - photo from NPS 

This impressive building was built in 1834 in the Greek Revival style.  It looks like a temple with the round walls and columns.  This building was used as a stock exchange, post office, and housed insurance companies over the years.  Now it is the National Park headquarters, and there is a small exhibit on the first floor entrance open 8:30 to 4:30 Monday to Friday. It is located at 143 South 3rd Street in Philadelphia. 

The Merchants' Exchange was remodeled and restored in 2014.  The copper cupola was restored, and weathervane was cleaned and gilded "in-situ". [ Kreilick Conservation, LLC, "Merchants' Exchange Building 2014", https://www.kreilickconservation.com/merchants-exchange-building-2014  accessed September 17, 2024]  The bright golden weathervane caught our eye from our hotel room.  It was not visible at street level.  

For the truly curious:

Merchants' Exchange Building, Philadelphia, at Wikipedia:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchants%27_Exchange_Building_(Philadelphia)  

Click here to see almost 550 other Weathervane Wednesday posts!

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday   

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "The Merchant Exchange Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 18, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/09/the-merchant-exchange-building.html: accessed [access date]). 

A Fire Engine in New London, New Hampshire for Weathervane Wednesday

 This weathervane was photographed at the Ice House Museum in New London, New Hampshire. 

The Ice House Museum in New London, New Hampshire specializes in transportation and has amazing collections of Model Ts, automobiles, bicycles, and fire engines.  Over the building housing the fire engines is this very detailed, three dimensional weathervane of an old fire engine - possibly an old Amoskeag steamer built in Manchester, New Hampshire.

This weathervane contains lots of great small details, including the reins on the horses, spokes on the wheels, and the helmets on the firefighters' heads.  You can appreciate the details without using binoculars or the zoom function on your phone or camera because it is on a very low building.  Getting up close is more fun when you spot a great weather vane! 

For the truly curious:

Ice House Museum, New London, New Hampshire:  https://www.wfkicehouse.org/  

Facebook page for the Ice House Museum:    https://www.facebook.com/theicehousemuseum/  

Last month I wrote a Weathervane Wednesday post about another weather vane from this museum.  Click here to read all about this Model T automobile weather vane!   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/08/a-modified-model-t-weathervane-new.html  

Click here to see over 500 Weathervane Wednesday posts from this blog!   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday    

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To cite/link: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "A Fire Engine in New London, New Hampshire for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 11, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/09/a-fire-engine-in-new-london-new.html: accessed [access date]). 

A Penny Farthing Bicycle in New London, New Hampshire for Weathervane Wednesday

This weathervane was photographed at the Ice House museum in New London, New Hampshire

 Last month I posted a Weathervane Wednesday post about a Model T automobile weather vane from the Ice House museum.  Today I'm posting about this "Penny Farthing" weathervane I photographed also at the Ice House museum in New London.  I almost missed this one, and saw it as I was leaving the museum! 

The Ice House museum displays lots of old automobiles, fire engines, bicycles and riding toys from history.  This three dimensional weathervane of a "Penny Farthing" is very appropriate!  This type of bicycle was popular in the 1870s and 1880s.  It was also known as a high wheel or high wheeler. It became obsolete when chain-driven gears were used in bicycles. 

The funny name for this type of bicycle came from the British coins known as "penny" (one cent) and "farthing" (one quarter of a cent). Farthings were worth less, but were much bigger than pennies. They were very dangerous due to falls and the lack of shock absorption.  The new chain driven bicycles were known as "safety bicycles". 

For the truly curious:

Ice House Museum, New London, New Hampshire:  https://www.wfkicehouse.org/  

Facebook page for the Ice House Museum:    https://www.facebook.com/theicehousemuseum/  

Last month I wrote a Weathervane Wednesday post about another weather vane from this museum.  Click here to read all about this Model T automobile weather vane!   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/08/a-modified-model-t-weathervane-new.html  

Click here to see over 500 Weathervane Wednesday posts from this blog!   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday    

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "A Penny Farthing Bicycle in New London, New Hampshire for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 4, 2024, (  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/09/a-penny-farthing-bicycle-in-new-london.html