balustrade sections resting on a horizontal belt of white at the
second-floor level, and its pediment with a handsome hand-tooled cornice
in which an always pleasing Grecian band is prominent, does credit to
its design, and altogether the structure was worthy of its purpose.

Within, the meeting room is of surprisingly generous size, considering
the small impression given by the exterior aspect of the building. The
restored woodwork is unfortunate, yet the general effect of bygone years
remains.

For two centuries Philadelphia has been justly famous for its public
markets, numerous and readily accessible to the entire community.
Marketing has ever been one of the duties of the thrifty housewife, to
which Philadelphia women have given particular attention, and everything
possible has been done to make the task easy and satisfactory to them.
When the city was first laid out its few wide streets, with the
exception of Broad Street, were laid out for the convenience of markets,
which in those days were placed in their center. A few of these old-time
markets still remain, notably that at Second and Pine streets, its
market house or central building of quaintly interesting design
embracing features such as the octagonal cupola, marble lintels, sills
and belt, and the elliptical and semicircular fanlights which are
typically Colonial.

To Benjamin Franklin, Philadelphia is largely indebted for the
Pennsylvania Hospital fronting on Pine Street between South Eighth and
South Ninth streets, the first hospital in the United States, which was
projected in 1751, erected in 1755 and still continues to be the
foremost of some one hundred institutions in the city. The main building
was designed by Samuel Rhodes, mayor of Philadelphia, and in
architectural excellence is regarded as second only to Independence
Hall.

Individuals gave funds freely for its erection; the British Parliament
turned over to it some funds unclaimed by a land company; Bishop
Whitefield gave a considerable sum; Benjamin West painted a replica of
his famous work, "Christ Healing the Sick", now in the entrance hall,
which was exhibited and earned four thousand pounds sterling in
admissions; some players gave "Hamlet" for the benefit of the hospital,
and money was raised in numerous other ways.

The building is a large and beautiful one of noble appearance, three
stories high, having long, balanced wings two and a half stories high,
with dormers and an octag