Arch Street Friends Meeting House
- Architect
- Owen Biddle, Jr.
- Year
- 1805
- Style
- Federal
- City
- Philadelphia, PA
- Collection
- federal philadelphia
The Arch Street Meeting House has stood at 320 Arch Street since Quaker master-builder Owen Biddle Jr. designed its east wing and center section, built between 1803 and 1805, on land William Penn deeded to the Society of Friends in 1701 as a burial ground. Built to reflect Quaker testimonies of simplicity and equality, it remains little changed after more than two centuries of continuous use.
the building
West wing addition. The building was enlarged in 1810-11 with a west wing, and architects Walter Ferris Price and Morris & Erskine later contributed further design and construction work, while Cope & Lippincott renovated the east wing's interior and added a two-story addition behind the center building in 1968-69.
the style
Biddle worked in the plain Georgian and Federal idiom favored by Quaker builders of the period, deliberately avoiding ornament to embody the Friends' testimonies of simplicity and equality rather than to impress.
More on Federalthe architect
Owen Biddle Jr. was a Quaker master-builder best known for The Young Carpenter's Assistant, a builder's handbook he published in 1805, the same year he completed the Meeting House's original design.
significance
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Meeting House continues to serve as a center for worship and the activities of the Monthly Meeting of Friends of Philadelphia.
nearby
- Franklin Court
- Philadelphia Bourse
- Christ Church
- St. Augustine Church, Philadelphia
- Second Bank of the United States
- Rohm and Haas Corporate Headquarters