Pennsylvania Horticultural Society - Philadelphia Flower Show

From the mid 1920s to 1964, the Flower Show was held at the Commercial Museum in West Philadelphia. To manage this show, a group of florists and growers created a separate entity called the Philadelphia Flower Show, Incorporated. The "Incorporators" handled the show design, operations, and commercial entries. PHS organized the show's amateur and garden club classes, educational exhibits, and lectures.

This 1930 exhibit by Pennock Brothers Florists attracted attention with its festively arranged vases, flower baskets, and bouquets set up for an afternoon lawn party. The small house, numbered 1514, was a nod to the florist's address, 1514 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. In the 1930s, owner J. Liddon Pennock Sr. and his son J. Liddon Jr. exhibited together. Later, J. Liddon Pennock Jr. exhibited under the name of his business, Meadowbrook Farm.

The Settlements Garden Clubs often exhibited in the shows of the 1920s and 1930s. These clubs were formed in 1917 "to stimulate love of flowers among children attending settlement houses." Settlement houses were located in poor urban neighborhoods to offer services to newly arrived immigrants. The houses provided social, cultural, and educational programs to young mothers and children. These exhibits were created entirely by children. Exhibition signage: Settlements Garden Clubs. Established 1917 to Stimulate love of flowers among children attending Settlement Houses. Now operating at College Settlement. 433 Christian Street. Friends Neighborhood Guild, 4th and Green Streets. House of Industry, 716 Catharine Street. Jewish Neighborhood House, 1901 South 6th Street. Jewish Foster Home, 700 Church Lane. Neighborhood Centre, 428 Bainbridge Street. Southwark House, 101 Ellsworth Street. Workman Place House, 756 South Front Street.

Honored guests were invited to lunch or dinner and these meals were often held on the show floor. Heading the table is Philadelphia's Mayor Mackey. He, along with the woman to his right, Mrs. Gifford Pinchot, wife of Pennsylvania Governor Pinchot, has just opened the 1931 show. To Mrs. Pinchot's right is show president, John Habermehl. Even in the depths of the depression, the Philadelphia Flower Show was wildly popular, with attendance over 115,000. At that time, the Show opened at noon on Monday, and closed on Saturday. Pennsylvania's "Blue Laws" prohibited commerce -- and the Flower Show -- to be open on Sundays.

The Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women (now Temple University, Ambler Campus) has exhibited regularly from the show's days in the Commercial Museum up through today's shows. Other academic exhibitors have included Delaware Valley College, the University of Delaware, William Saul High School, and Abraham Lincoln High School.

This exhbit, featuring a garden sculpture set among the Widener Acacia collection, won first place in the 1934 Flower Show.

The 1935 show included several stunning garden sculptures including La Source, by Harrison Gibbs. He graduated from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and exhibited his works there as well as at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the American Academy in Rome, and the 1939 New York World's Fair. Harrison Gibbs was killed in 1944 in World War II. (Courtesy Ramona Harrison Gibbs.)

Conveniently sized for pocket or purse, The PRT Traveler was a biweekly news leaflet produced by the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (a predecessor of today’s mass transit system, SEPTA) and placed in transit vehicles and stations throughout the city. The 1935 PRT Traveler included tips on getting to the Flower Show. Visitors had a choice of taking the Market-Frankford “EL,” one of several bus and trolley routes, or a “Yellow or Quaker Cab (in which five can ride as cheaply as one).” Getting visitors to the show was and continues to be a priority for SEPTA.

Close up view of 1936 Central Feature tulip bed with garden sculpture, a boy riding a dolphin.

1936 Flower Show exhibit with garden sculpture, standing boy holding a jug.