PCP on the Parkway? Almost.

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By Dan Flanagan

A drawing of the planned new college building on the Parkway graced the cover of the June 13, 1921, board of trustees and faculty supper program.

At the annual meeting of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy on March 11, 1911, President Howard B. French described the school's existing conditions: "Laboratories are now over crowded… demands of the classes are now so great that it seems necessary that increased accommodations be secured in the near future. The College location was originally a residential section, but with the lapse of years, it is now surrounded by manufacturing establishments…your President has for three years past been endeavoring to secure from the City of Philadelphia a site for a new building, and it is hoped that in the near future this may be secured."

Within a few days Mayor John E. Reyburn informed the press that a PCP alumnus offered $1 million toward the construction of three buildings on the new Parkway, the new cultural boulevard envisioned as the "Champs Elysees of America."

French graduated from PCP in 1870 and rose to prominence overseeing the 1892 construction of PCP's landmark six-story building near the NE corner of Tenth and Cherry streets. Unfortunately, the neighborhood deteriorated into a gritty manufacturing sector and Tenderloin district. Marginal entertainment venues proliferated nearby, alongside hotels involved in prostitution and drug-trafficking. For President French and the other college officials, the city couldn't build the Parkway fast enough.

Plans for a New Home

After years of stalling, Parkway development accelerated rapidly under Mayor Thomas Smith (1916–1920). Among the last obstructions blocking the Parkway stood the Medico-Chirurgical College. A medical university in all but name, Medico- Chi's departments included medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and pharmaceutical chemistry. With nowhere else to go, the pharmacy department merged with PCP.

"The year 1916 has proved to be the most eventful one in the history of the College," wrote Dean Joseph Remington to alumni concerning the merger. "It is a time for ‘rejoicing' but there can be no falling off, for now we must have our ‘New Building' on the Parkway to house the large classes."

PCP thrived despite its troubled location but concern for the students constantly worried the faculty. As one graduate recalled, "Professor Remington…warned us of the dangers of the Bright Lights…and above all, cautioned us never to ‘cut' lectures and visit the ‘Troc' [Trocadero burlesque hall on Arch Street]."

Sadly, Remington didn't live to see his "New Building." Years passed while the college sought final approval from the Park Commission which hesitated to allow a private institution to build on city land. To improve its position, PCP recruited Horace Trumbauer in 1920 to design the new building. Trumbauer's firm had successfully designed two other buildings on the Parkway: the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Free Library at Logan Circle. Moreover, Trumbauer sat on the Art Commission, that passed judgment on the appearance of every Parkway project. With Trumbauer on board, approval seemed forthcoming and, shortly ahead of his 1921 annual report, President French sent a new petition to the Park Commission reminding everyone that "for ten years the college has been given repeatedly the assurance that the city would grant to it a proper site." Regretfully, nothing had changed by March 28 when President French gave his report to the trustees. Perhaps because of the delays, he was suddenly replaced as president by trustee Otto Osterlund, who intended to hold office only as long as it took to find a replacement of "national reputation."

New Directions

On May 9, 1921, President Osterlund resigned in favor of William C. Braisted, MD, surgeon general of the Navy (1914–1920). President Braisted delivered his first address on June 14 with caution: "We must stay in our old building at 145 North Tenth Street for three or four years more…But [the plan] to construct a new building has not been abandoned; it has been merely postponed."

Although PCP stayed on Tenth Street longer than Braisted expected, a new site was obtained within a year. On March 25, 1922, the College acquired options on land owned by the Clarence Clark Estate in West Philadelphia. In June, PCP officially announced that "an ideal location" had been found on Woodland Avenue, near 43rd Street, opposite Clark Park. The announcement also described the Parkway as "less desirable than had first appeared" because it lacked room for expansion.

Griffith Hall Opens Its Doors

PCP celebrated Founder's Day on February 23, 1923, by dedicating the ground for the new campus, but it wasn't until March 17, 1927, that groundbreaking occurred, with Mrs. Joseph P. Remington doing the honors. Work progressed quickly, and in January 1928 the long-awaited new building opened its doors.

Ivor Griffith, a 1912 PCP graduate, then serving as assistant professor of pharmacy, remembered the ceremony with mixed emotions:

"It was an event of thrilling significance… But it…conjured poignant memories [and] sadness with the thought of leaving the old and beloved Halls on Tenth Street. For it was there…that Maisch and Proctor, Trimble and Bridges, Remington and Sadtler, Kraemer and Lowe—the beloved masters—walked and talked and breathed their living inspiration [into us]. Blessed be the memories of these—our old masters."

Griffith rose steadily through the ranks and simultaneously held the offices of president and dean from 1941 to 1959, retaining the presidency until his death in 1961. Five years later, the college named the 1928 building "Griffith Hall" in his memory.

And What of Tenth Street?

The old college building, left vacant since the school's departure, came down in 1935 to make room for a parking lot. No trace of the old campus survives today, but if you'd like to go looking, visit Chinatown and walk a block north of the Friendship Gate. But beware the "Bright Lights," and don't cut lectures to visit "the Troc."

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Comments

[Richard G Smith '71]

Fascinating article. Have wandered around Chinatown trying to find any vestige of the old building without success. Found location on one of the Philageohistory maps. Also searched for MedicoChi; little available with google search. Article would have been enhanced with some bibliography. Thank you for the info.

[Dan Flanagan]

Medico-Chi stood on the north side of Cherry Street and took up the entire block between 17th & 18th Streets. The Parkway made a diagonal corner-to-corner cut through that block. So, if you ever find yourself on the Parkway between 17th & 18th that's where Medico-Chi used to be. PCP has, of course, vanished from Tenth Street, but the Troc is still there on Arch.