National Hall, Philadelphia - 1224-1228 Market Street - 1850s to 1873

1868 image - link below.

"...We find but little to interest us in the block from Twelfth street to Thirteenth on Market. On the south side, near Thirteenth street, stood National Hall, a structure which was mainly noted for the abolition meetings which were held there. The hall was opened in the early 50's, and was the scene of many mass meetings, fairs and similar efforts to add to the gaiety of nations. During the Civil War there were frequent meetings, concerts and fairs held there, and in 1866 a convention of Southern Loyalists was opened on September 3d. Probably the greatest excitement ever seen in the hall was on the occasion of an Abolitionists' meeting to protest against the hanging of John Brown in 1859. It was an historic occasion and excitement was very high throughout the city, in which there were a large number of Southern sympathizers as well as Abolitionists. It seems that a large number of the former attended the mass meeting, which ended almost in a riot.

The arrest of Brown also was discussed at a meeting held at National Hall on October 28, 1859. On that occasion Joshua R. Giddings, a venerable Abolitionist, told of the relation he had sustained toward the erratic leader of the Harper's Ferry raid. The hanging of Brown, how ever, was too much for the Abolitionists. They were not only indignant, but they insisted upon expressing them selves in no uncertain or guarded manner. A meeting was held at National Hal on December 2. The call had gone out, and the whole city was in a ferment of excitement. James Mott presided, and there were present on the plat form Lucretia Mott, Theodore Tilton, Mary Grew and Robert Purvis. The speakers were all allowed to proceed in silence until Purvis arose to address the meeting, and there the storm of hisses which greeted him revealed the presence of a large pro-Southern contingent. For some minutes he was not able to speak for the noise and din. Finally, the disturbers became tired and then he began his address, which was a rather remarkable one, and did not tend to pacify the pro-Southern element. His allusion to Brown as a man "who would be looked upon as the Jesus Christ of the nineteenth century," set the meeting on fire again. The uproar continued until Chief Ruggles, with a detail of policemen, appeared, when the meeting was allowed to adjourn.

National Hall in the summer of 1873, was transformed into a theatre, which at that time was said to have the largest stage in the city outside of the Academy of Music. The New Olympic Theatre, as it was called, was devoted to vaudeville, and had the old actor and dramatist, James Pilgrim, for stage manager. The career of the house was very brief, for between 2 and 3 o'clock on the morning of January 29, 1874, the entire structure was burned by a fire of unknown origin. Two firemen lost their lives when the rear wall fell.

National Hall and later the Olympic Theatre, occupied the properties 1224 to 1228 Market street, and the ground floor was devoted to business purposes. The theatre never was rebuilt, but an iron front building was put up on the site by Croft, Wilbur & Allen, candy manufacturers..."

(Page 273, 274 - America's most historic highway : Market street, Philadelphia ... Joseph Jackson, 1926)

https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/digitool%3A99104?fbclid=IwAR1b9HeItR4NPtvwPufJny1WLKfJXKO9Rz-6x9r7myz78Eiw33bNedLosJQ


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