Photographer James B. Rich enjoyed taking excursions around the greater Philadelphia area with his family and friends. As young adults in the late 19th century they roamed the region on bicycles, and in later years as roads improved (and as they got older) by automobile. On a lovely spring day in the mid 1930s the family traveled to this site not far from Philadelphia. Does anyone recognize this location which is still a popular tourist destination?

 

Sarah Weatherwax
Curator of Prints & Photographs

 

 

 

Our image shows buildings along the north side of the 200 block of Arch Street including the Betsy Ross House. At the time of the photograph, tailor Gustavus Franke occupied the Ross residence. Interest in the historic site was fuelled in part by the country’s Centennial celebration and the growing realization that 18th-century Philadelphia was disappearing amidst the rapidly expanding industrial 19th century city. The verso of this stereograph (only the left side is reproduced) included historical information about the making of the first American flag. In 1898 The American Flag House and Betsy Ross Memorial Association was established to raise money to purchase the home and open it to the public as a museum.

 

The following readers all correctly identified the scene:

James M. Bergquist
Gerald Bracken
Julian Brodsky
Donald H. Cresswell
Kathlyn Egan
Francis W. Hoeber
Will Jordan
David Long
Karen Nipps
Hy Myers