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A City Hall Virtual Tour |
 
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A City Hall Virtual Tour |
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North Portal
ocated to our north is City Hall's
largest and most ornate entrance. The North Portal was designed to be the
building's Ceremonial and Leglislative Entrance. The main
chamber contains two grand stairways (open only for special functions)
leading to a balcony and a second floor exterior entrance to Conversation
Hall.
At the time City Hall was built, the City had two leglislative bodies,
The Common and Select Councils. Conversation Hall was to be their common
meeting place and this was their grand entrance.
 Looking
east and west at the stairways, we see huge polished granite column supports
with bronze capitols. |
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 Music- Mechanics - Poetry - Science Botney - Democracy |
The sculptures are alagorical statements of pride in the achievements of the new world and represent various arts, sciences, and trade |  Navigation - Architecture - Commerce - Agriculture Education - Medicine |
passageway from the main chamber
leads to a secondary chamber with solid granite walls almost 20 feet thick,
and highly polished granite columns 3 feet in diameter..
The
Crypt of the Tower is directly beneath the massive tower. Calder's
theme in the crypt is The World. It is a theme repeated often throughout
the building. Here it is represented in the column capitals and keystones
at arches located at each compass point. Our view is West, where the head
of a bear represents America and the Atlantids at the column capitals are
American Indian. To the South is a tiger keystone and African figures representing
the African continent. The Eastern keystone is an elephant with Mongolian
figures to represent Asia, while the North depicts Europe with a bullock
and Caucasian figures.
efore
we leave, take a look down at the well on the east side of the Crypt. This
is the location of the cornerstone for City Hall which was set on July
4, 1874 by Benjamin Harris Brewster amid much pomp and civic pride. His
speech was an indication of the "material supremacies" Philadelphian's
believed were returning with the erection of their new building.
In his words:
"We are erecting a structure that will in ages to come speak for us
with 'the tongues of men and angels'. This work which we now do, as it
were, in the morning hour of our being, will, probably, like the broken
arch of London bridge fancied by Lord Macaulay, in some far off future
day be all that remains to tell the story of our civilization, and to testify
to the dignity and public spirit of our people."
e'll now proceed through the apse
of the North portal, back into the courtyard, and turn right for a look
at the WEST PORTAL . 
Between
the columns, at the arches over the balcony are carved spandrel reliefs
by Alexander Milne Calder