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 PHILADELPHIA 391 the union, and here its publication business is carried on. Nearly opposite the mint is the handsome new building of the Presbyterian board of publication. Near each other in 4th Masonic Temple. street, not far from Walnut, are the offices of the Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia and Reading railroad companies. The former, built in 187l-'2, is a spacious edifice of brick, with an elegant front of Quincy granite. The lat- ter is a handsome building, enlarged and im- proved in 1871. In 3d street, near the former, is the spacious building of the Lehigh Valley railroad company. The new masonic temple is on the corner of Broad and Filbert streets ; it is built of granite in the Norman style, and is 150 ft. broad by 250 ft. in length, the sides being 90 ft. above the pavement, with a tow- er at one corner 230 ft. high. The temple is richly ornamented, and contains several large halls finished in various styles of architecture, Corinthian, Doric, Egyptian, Ionic, oriental, &c. The Union League club house, at the corner of Broad and Sansom streets, was built in 1865; it is of brick in the French renais- sance style, with facades of granite, brick, and brown stone. Its cost, including furniture, was about $200,000. The club was formed toward the close of 1862 for the purpose of aiding the federal cause in the civil war. The Reform club has a fine marble front building in Chestnut near 16th street, handsomely fur- nished. The Girard national bank (built in 1795-'8 for the first United States bank) in 3d street, the building of the Fidelity insu- rance, trust, and safe deposit company and the farmers^ and mechanics' national bank in Chestnut street, of marble ; the new building of the Provident life and trust company in 4th street, of iron; the tradesmen's national bank in 3d street, the Philadelphia national bank and the Pennsylvania life insurance and trust company's building in Chestnut street, of granite ; and the bank of North America in Chestnut street, of brown stone, are handsome structures. The bank of North America, char- tered by congress in 1781, was the first bank established in the United States. The largest hotel is the Continental, in Chestnut street, with fronts also on 9th and Sansom streets. It was opened in 1860, is six stories high, and covers 41,536 sq. ft. The Chestnut street front is of Albert and Pictou sandstone, and the oth- ers of fine pressed brick. On the opposite side of Chestnut street is the Girard house, and in Broad street near Chestnut the La Pierre house ; both are fine architectural structures, built in part of brown stone. The Colonnade hotel, recently erected on the corner of 15th and Chestnut streets, is six stories high with a Man- sard roof. Other hotels are the Merchants', in 4th street ; the Bingham house, in Mar- ket street ; the St. Cloud, in Arch street ; the Irving house, in Walnut street ; the American, Guy's, the Markoe house, the St. Lawrence, ' and the Washington house, in Chestnut street. Very many hotels exist in various parts of the city with the signs, arms, and insignia of revo- lutionary times. The " Old Swedes' " church, built in 1700, is the oldest church edifice in the city. It is of brick, and stands in an ancient cemetery, fronting on Swanson street near Christian. In the cemetery is the tomb of Wilson the ornithologist. Christ church (Epis- copal), in 2d street near Market, begun in 1727, is still a fine building and in perfect preserva- tion. The spire is 196 ft. high, and contains a chime of bells cast in London in 1754. The graveyard, on the corner of 5th and Arch streets, contains the remains of Franklin. St. Peter's church (Episcopal), in 3d and Pine streets, built in 1758-'61, has a tower contain- ing a chime of bells. In the churchyard is a monument to Commodore Decatur. The Friends' meeting house, secluded in a broad graveyard, in Arch street near 3d, deserves mention ; it was built in 1808. Among Epis- copal churches, St. Mark's, in the later or Eng- lish Gothic style, in 16th and Locust streets; the church of the Holy Trinity, in the Nor- man style, in 19th and Walnut streets; and the church of the Incarnation, in Broad and Jefferson streets, are fine specimens of ar- chitecture. The West Arch street Presbyte- rian church is a very handsome and spacious structure in the Roman-Corinthian style ; the West Spruce street, the Calvary, the Washing- ton square, and the second (21st and Walnut streets) Presbyterian churches are fine build- ings in various styles. The Roman Catholic cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul, in 18th street opposite Logan square, erected in 1846- '64, is an imposing specimen of Roman-Corin- thian architecture; it is of red sandstone, 136 ft. front by 216 ft. deep, and is crowned by a