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1896 Third Horticultural Hall. Exterior
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Day, Frank Miles, 1861-1918
PHS's third Horticultural Hall opened in 1896. Designed by Philadelphia architect Frank Miles Day, this hall was patterned after a Florentine Renaissance palace. Its interior was ornate, with a large foyer, stained glass windows, and a grand staircase to the main hall brilliantly lit by electric light. An inability to make a profit on shows or hall rentals forced PHS to sell this building in 1917. It was demolished that year.
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1882 Second Horticultural Hall. Exterior View
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Hutton, Addison, 1834-1916
After the first hall was destroyed by fire in 1881, a second Horticultural Hall, built on the same location, was completed in 1882 designed by prominent Philadelphia architect Addison Hutton. In 1893, history repeated itself; during a candy fair, what began as a small fire quickly spread to the ceiling decorations hanging throughout the hall. Within a short time, the building was destroyed.
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1891 Grand Exhibition Chrysanthemums, Horticultural Hall Philadelphia
Flower shows -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia, Chrysanthemums, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. Chrysanthemum Show (1891), Exhibition catalogs
Cover of the catalog of Grand exhibition of Chrysanthemums, Horticultural Hall, Philadelphia, November 9 - 14, 1891.
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1889 Horticultural Hall Interior View, Banquet for Master Builder's Exchange
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Master Builder's Exchange (Philadelphia, Pa.), Florists Club of Philadelphia
Horticultural Hall had many uses. It was the meeting place for PHS members, housed its library, and was the venue for shows. It was also used as a rental facility. Shown here is a banquet held in the late 1880s for the Master Builder's Exchange, seating 750. This second Horticultural Hall was also home to the Florists Club of Philadelphia, which had a bowling alley where matches among florists were routinely held.
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1896 Scene at the Chrysanthemum Show in the Horticultural Hall
Flower shows -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia, Day, Frank Miles, 1861-1918, Chrysanthemums, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. Chrysanthemum Show (1895), Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Newspaper clippings
The 1896 Chrysanthemum Show and Exhibition of Flowers, Fruits, and Vegetables was a five-day event and the first major show held in PHS's new Horticultural Hall on Broad Street. The exhibition included chrysanthemums, orchids, foliage plants, palms, ferns, Japanese evergreens, ornamental grasses and bamboos, berry-bearing plants, crotons, dracaenas, carnations, caladiums, and roses. Awarded premiums totaled $1,491. This illustration, showing the interior of the new hall, appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on November 11, 1896.
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[1867-1881] Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's first Horticultural Hall. Interior view
Flower shows -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia, Exhibition buildings -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
Interior view of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's first Horticultural Hall. Exhibitions were held in this building from 1867 until it was destroyed by fire in 1881. Building location described as Broad and Lardner Streets or Broad Street below Locust.
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1905 Philadelphia Flower Show. Schedule of Prizes
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. Spring Exhibition (1905), Flower shows -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
Schedule of Prizes offered by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society at its Spring Exhibition to be Held in Horticultural Hall Broad Str., Below Locust, Philadelphia March 28th, 29th and 30th, 1905.
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1867 First Horticulture Hall. Exterior View
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Sloan, Samuel, 1815-1884
PHS held annual public exhibitions in venues throughout the city. The society built its first Horticultural Hall in 1867 on Broad Street, Philadelphia. The most remarkable display in the first grand exhibition featured pears, grapes, plums, quinces, and pomegranates shipped from California, the first offerings from that state in a PHS show. The hall was destroyed by fire in 1881.
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1876 Ladies Reception Souvenir
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. Ladies Reception Committee
For many years the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Ladies Reception Committee organized annual events in June at Horticultural Hall. This Ladies Reception souvenir may be from 1876, when all eyes were on Philadelphia as the host city of the nation’s centennial. Or, it may have been from the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the society, celebrated in 1877 with 1,250 attendees.
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1892 Grand Orchid Show and Exhibition of Spring Flowers
Philadelphia Flower Show (1892 : Philadelphia, Pa.), Flower shows -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia, Pitcher & Manda, Siebrecht & Wadley, Orchids
Beginning in 1890, the Florists Club of Philadelphia handled the decorations for PHS's spring and fall shows, turning Horticultural Hall into "a veritable bower of grace and beauty," according to a review in The American Florist. Orchid displays from Pitcher & Manda of Short Hills, New Jersey, and Siebrecht & Wadley of New Rochelle, New York, were much admired.
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1908 Schedule of Prizes Offered by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
Flower shows -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Philadelphia Flower Show (1908 : Philadelphia, Pa.)
Wealthy estate owners, called "private growers," and commercial growers such as florists and seed and nursery businesses offered prize money, called a "premium," to winners. Private growers competed with other private growers; commercial growers did likewise. Premiums would be for a specific class, such as "cut flowers, chrysanthemums, or, group of foliage and flowering plants, arranged for effect." At the 1908 exhibition, prize money amounted to $1,152, roughly $30,000 today.
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1891 Hints on Cacti A. Blanc & Co, Philadelphia, Pa.
A. Blanc & Co., Cactus, Philadelphia Flower Show (1891 : Philadelphia, Pa.), Blanc, Albert A., 1850-1928, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
While the fall shows of the 1880s and 1890s continued to feature chrysanthemums, Albert Blanc was attracting attention with his displays of cactus, a novelty at that time. Blanc was a cactus collector-turned-dealer. Through his exhibits, such as the one shown in the foreground of this photograph from The American Florist, and his mail order catalog, Hints on Cacti, he started a cactus craze in the 1890s in the United States. He was awarded a special premium for his display in the 1891 show and won a $50 prize.
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