Bricks, Mortar and the Mystic Chords of Memory: How Buildings Help Us Remember
with Professor Bruce Laverty
The approach of the 250th anniversary of American independence is a fitting time to reflect on the ways our Philadelphia ancestors chose to celebrate achievement and commemorate sacrifice. Bruce Laverty will examine the integral role Philadelphia’s builders, engineers and architects played in these milestone events. In 1774, they hosted the First Continental Congress at Carpenters Hall. In 1788, they built the Federal Edifice, a circular, portable, 10-columned, domed, classical temple-a physical symbol of the newly created United States. He will discuss the architectural and engineering triumph of the 1876 Centennial, an enterprise so successful, it planted the seeds of failure for both the 1926 Sesquicentennial and the 1976 Bicentennial – or so it seems. He will explore the good that emerged from these apparent failures and the challenge we face in 2026.
6 Tuesdays from May 5 - June 9, 2026; 6 - 7:30pm
Location: at the Parkway Central Library, Free Library of Philadelphia, 1901 Vine Street (between 19th and 20th streets), Philadelphia. This course meets on the 4th Floor in room 405/406/307.
This course requires pre-registration. Separate registration is required for each student. Sign up here or call 215-763-6529 x14 for assistance.