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Since 1814, the Athenæum has provided Philadelphians with the best in new and classic literature, books on art and architecture, magazines and journals. We also offer eBooks, DVDs and audiobooks.
The Athenæum’s special collections include more than 360k architectural drawings, 300k photographic images and 60k volumes housed onsite and at two off-site storage facilities.
In November 2023, The Athenæum staff and community bid a fond farewell to Bruce Laverty who served for forty years on the Athenæum’s staff and as the first Gladys Brooks curator of architecture. Bruce built up our renowned architectural collections from their infancy, and led the creation of the Philadelphia Architects and Buildings and the Geohistory Network websites. Over the years he assisted countless researchers and curated many exhibitions that shed light on Philadelphia’s built environment.
We welcomed Kristina Wilson as the new Gladys Brooks Curator of Architecture in February 2024. Kristina has quickly made an impact. With the help of volunteers and interns, she has increased the number of in-person research visits, provided many tours of the archives and dived into a survey of the architectural collections stored in our vault. This effort is crucial to gain intellectual and physical control of a collection in order to facilitate access. Drexel intern Erin White has been vital to this effort, surveying nearly 9,000 items, including 325 flat file drawers of architectural drawings and 167 boxes of photographs and manuscripts.
In June 2024, The Athenæum promoted Assistant Librarian Brice Peterson, who had been staffing the Reading Room during our extended hours, as Associate Archivist Librarian. While he shares his time between the Reading Room and the archives, Brice is focused on bringing materials from our Delaware storage location, processing them onsite and sending them to LIBRA, the University of Pennsylvania’s storage facility in New Jersey.
During the year, staff and the Collections Committee, ably led by Board Director Jeff Cohen, considered numerous potential acquisitions and ultimately approved 19 accessions.
The Athenæum actively collects drawings, photographs and other materials that document the built environment of the Philadelphia region from colonization to the middle of the twentieth century. In accessioning, the staff and committee prioritize materials that add to an established collection or fill a hole in a collection, have visual appeal and/or support new fields of research. Examples of items accessioned in FY2024 include:
Since The Athenæum’s Accession Budget is limited, we are grateful that most of the items we consider for acquisition are donations. We especially appreciate donations of collections that include funds for the care of those items.
• Architectural drawings of various Philadelphia buildings collected by real estate agent/landlord George Gay between the 1920s and the 1970s.
• Research notes compiled by Sandra Tatman and Jean Farnsworth for their unpublished work on Nicola D’Ascenzo (to complement the D’Ascenzo Collection).
• A gift from recently deceased Athenæum Shareholder George Pearson that includes an 18th c. bracket clock now on display on the mantle in the Member Lounge and the 18th c. diary of Revolutionary War hero George Pearson (to complete the extant Pearson collection).
• Rolls of 1936 blueprints for the Highland Homes, said to have been the first public housing project built by the Public Works Administration in the U.S. and drawn by Register & Krimmel, architects.
• Terra-Cotta Manufacturing Co. account book, 1867-76; business records of Union Clay Works of Phila. & NJ, mainly drain pipes and chimneys.
A student competition of measured drawings, the Charles E. Peterson Prize is presented jointly by the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) of the National Park Service, The Athenæum of Philadelphia and the American Institute of Architects.
The annual competition honors Charles E. Peterson (1906-2004), founder of the HABS program, and is intended to heighten awareness about historic buildings in the United States and to augment the HABS/HAER/HALS collection of measured drawings at the Library of Congress. It represents a long-standing and meaningful partnership for The Athenæum.
The Fellowship was endowed by Athenæum Shareholder Charles E. Peterson, FAIA (1906-2004), his colleagues and his friends.
The largest named fund administered by The Athenæum, it supports research and publications in areas which reflect Mr. Peterson’s life-long dedication to the study, recording and preservation of early American architecture and building technology (pre-1860). It also supports an internship program at The Athenæum that provides students with hands-on experience with historic building documents.
Chris MacNeal, for his research on early 19th century log bank barns in Penns Valley, located in Centre County, Pennsylvania. His goal is to document vernacular barns, to share appreciation of these structures and build advocacy for their preservation. He will create a project-specific website, which will also establish links to the digital resources of organizations with related interests.
He will focus on connecting to four different online communities: local history groups, such as township and county historical societies and libraries; barn preservation foundations like the National Barn Alliance and Historic Barn and Farm Foundation of PA; historic preservation organizations, such as the PA State Historic Preservation Office; and architectural history organizations, which could include The Athenæum of Philadelphia.
Unlike most other institutions for research in Philadelphia, The Athenæum possesses primary source archival materials on almost every old Philadelphia architect and designer, and we are so fortunate to study these records in the organization's original, magnificent building.
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All content ©Athenæum of Philadelphia 2024. Photography by Joseph Elliot. Website design by Garlic Agency.
