Arch Street: from Sixth to Second

When the large meeting house at Fourth and Arch was built, many Quakers moved their houses to the area. At that time, "North of Market" implied the Quaker region of town.

The new Constitution Center is an imposing anchor to the north end of Independence Mall, almost as large as an airplane hanger. Unlike the other main components of the Mall, it is neither an antiquity itself nor mainly devoted to displaying relics, and it lacks the National Park Service image of relentless scholarly custodianship. Rather, it seems to strive for public diversity and involvement, and probably would not mind an occasional wiff of controversy. Somewhere there lurks a trace of that ancient controversy between Jefferson and John Adams, the controversy between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, ultimately reflecting the distinction between spontaneous town-meeting democracy and reflective republican governance.

Some even worried that the Supreme Court might be uneasy about a citizen center telling the world what the Constitution is, because the Justices see Constitutional interpretation as their own unique function. The sensitive point is the emphasis on the words "We, the People", which could be seen as urging easy modification of the document by shouting demands or repetition of certitudes without demonstrating any particular "standing" to justify consideration. The second floor of this enormous new building is devoted to some very skillful exhibits relating to the history and significance of certain features of Constitutional history. The many auditoriums are the site of public lectures and programs, and there is a very interesting set of life-sized bronze figures of every member of the original Constitutional Convention. A striking feature of the display is to show how short and inconsequential Hamilton and Madison seemed to be in person, while Ben Franklin and Gouverneur Morris appear imposing and formidable in the flesh. These things matter in politics.

Cross Arch Street to the Free Quaker Meeting House, and if you have called the Park Service in advance, perhaps you can visit, noting how visually dramatic a design of drastic simplicity can be. Just across Fifth Street is Ben Franklin's gravesite, in Christ Church cemetery, extended to this location when the gravesites became full around the church itself.

Going down Arch Street from Fifth to Fourth, you can visit the orthodox pacifist Meeting House, its interior largely unpainted and grimly plain -- quite different from the effect of pristine simplicity of the Free Quakers. In passing, glance at the warehouses on the left, covering the site of what was a major factory for shoes and uniforms for Union soldiers in the Civil War. Behind those buildings on the North side of the steet, as the ground slopes sharply toward the river, you can sense the rough, tough waterfront of the Eighteenth Century. Charles Dickens might have felt entirely at home in the Nineteenth Century. Looking three blocks further North up Fifth Street, you can see St. George's Church, the oldest Methodist Church in the world, its view unfortunately obscured by the approaches to Ben Franklin Bridge.

Continue down Arch Street, past the building once said to have been the house of Betsy Ross, turning a half-block to the left on Second Street to the head of Elfreth's Alley. Continue down the alley to the end, overlooking the waterfront. Note Admiral Dewey's flagship Olympia ("You may fire when ready, Gridley") on the Philadelphia side of the river, and across the Delaware River on the Jersey side, the Battleship New Jersey, that last and largest of American battleships. Going down Elfreth's Alley, observe how crowded-together the Colonial buildings are. That's a reminder that placing taxes disproportionately on land will result in small residential plots, even though a whole continent of vacant land stretches to the Pacific. At Front Street, walk South to Market, and then right to Second and Market. In passing the corner of Front and Market, do not neglect to notice the Southwest corner. It's been demolished, but here was the site of the London Coffeehouse, where it could be fairly argued the American Revolution began. The owner, John Bradford, first learned of the Tea Act from a sailor at the Arch Street Wharf and fiercely resolved to stir up trouble about it. In retrospect, while the Revolution might seem justified, the Tea Act itself was intended by the British to be conciliatory, actually lowering the price of tea. For this reason, John Dickinson found himself out of step with the rebels he had incited to rebellion; he refused to sign the Declaration. In the Stamp Act, the British were actually trying to reconcile with the colonies, and he urged restraint. Although he was much respected, he was brushed aside.

Now, go to the corner of 2nd and Market, where Christ Church displays Colonial architecture at its most breath-taking. If your feet hurt, you could rest by sitting in the pew once reserved for George Washington.

• Free Quaker Meetinghouse It's only open a few days each year, but the red brick building at 5th and Arch was the meeting house for those few Quakers, including Betsy Ross, who fought for the Revolution. The Park Service has made a beautiful restoration, which deserves to be seen by more people.
• North of Market This old local expression originally pointed to where the Quakers live on Arch Street, but over the centuries has taken on a lot of less flattering associations.
• Betsy Ross on Hard Times The famous Revolutionary seamstress lived long into the 19th Century, apparently outliving her savings. A useful tale, perhaps, for Social Security reform.
• The Revolutionary Origins of The Methodist Church The Wesley brothers converted so many Americans to the Anglican church, they couldn't ordain enough ministers. Reluctantly, Americans were allowed to ordain their own ministers. When the Revolution was over, they had drifted into a new Protestant denomination.
• Christ Church and Elfreths Alley Two of our oldest and most charming tourist attractions are just across the street from each other.
• Two Hotheads May Have Destroyed an Empire Charles Townshend and William Bradford were separated by an ocean, and surely never met. But if any two people can be said to have deliberately provoked the American Revolution, these two must be considered.
• John Head, His Book of Account, 1718-1753 The equivalent of the rosetta stone for colonial commerce had been sitting on George Vaux's shelf for six generations.
• Grand Union Thirteen stars and stripes became the National Flag in 1777, but a rather similar flag was the National flag from 1775-1777. It was also designed by a Philadelphia milliner, Margaret Manny.
• Foot of Arch Street The foot of Arch was once the center of town, and Arch Street from the Delaware to the Schuylkill was the center of Quaker life for two centuries.
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