''Matthias William Baldwin'' is a monumental statue located outside

Philadelphia City Hall Philadelphia City Hall is the seat of the municipal government of the City of Philadelphia in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Built in the ornate Second Empire style, City Hall houses the chambers of the Philadelphia City Council and the office ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Pennsylvania, United States. The statue honors industrialist and philanthropist

Matthias W. Baldwin Matthias William Baldwin (December 10, 1795 – September 7, 1866) was an American inventor and machinery manufacturer, specializing in the production of steam locomotives. Baldwin's small machine shop, established in 1825, grew to become ...

and was designed by sculptor Herbert Adams. It was dedicated in 1906 and moved to its present location in 1921. Baldwin was an industrialist who was an early developer of

steam locomotives A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

in the United States during the early 19th century. His company, the Baldwin Locomotive Works, was founded in Philadelphia and was one of the largest locomotive manufacturers in the world during the 1800s. Baldwin was also a philanthropist who donated to the Franklin Institute and supported causes intended to help African Americans, including

suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

and

abolitionism Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. ...

. He died in 1866. Efforts to erect a statue in his honor began in the early 1900s, with Philadelphia's city government passing an ordinance allowing the

Fairmount Park Art Association Established in 1872 in Philadelphia, the Association for Public Art (aPA), formerly Fairmount Park Art Association, is the first private, nonprofit public art organization dedicated to integrating public art and urban planning in the United Stat ...

to erect a statue on public property near the locomotive works. The statue itself was a gift from the company to the city, and it was completed by Adams in 1905. It was officially dedicated on June 2, 1906, in a ceremony attended by

Philadelphia Mayor The mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current mayor of Philadelphia is Cherelle Parker, who is the first woman to hold the ...

John Weaver and other politicians and businessmen. In 1921, the statue was relocated to the north property of the city hall, and, following another move in 1936, the statue has stood near

Broad Broad(s) or The Broad(s) may refer to: People * A slang term for a woman. * Broad (surname), a surname Places * Broad Peak, on the border between Pakistan and China, the 12th highest mountain on Earth * The Broads, a network of mostly navi ...

and Market Street. In 2020, the statue, along with several other monuments in the city, was vandalized during the

George Floyd protests in Philadelphia The George Floyd protests and riots in Philadelphia were a series of protests and riots occurring in the City of Philadelphia. Unrest in the city began as a response to the murder of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. ...

History

Background

was an American manufacturer and inventor who worked in

during the 1800s. While working at a manufacturing firm, he became interested in

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...

technology and, in 1832, he designed and built one of the first successful American

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

s, which was nicknamed ''Old Ironsides''. Following this, his company, the

Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railway locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, Eddystone in the early 20th century. The com ...

, became one of the world's largest locomotive manufacturers. Baldwin was also a philanthropist who helped finance the construction of several churches in the city and donated to the

Franklin Institute The Franklin Institute is a science museum and a center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and wikt:statesman, statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin ...

to promote mechanical arts. Baldwin was also an proponent of

and an advocate for increased rights for African Americans, such as the

right to vote Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in ...

, and in 1835, he established a school in Philadelphia for African American children. He died in 1866.

Creation

In April 1903, the Committee on City Property of the

government of Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the sixth-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 1,603,797 in the 2020 census. The city is the urb ...

reported positively on a bill that would allow the

to erect a

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or Casting (metalworking), cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to ...

of Baldwin on Spring Garden Street, just east of its intersection with Broad Street, which would be owned by the city. The statue would be located in a small park at the intersection, facing the office building of the Baldwin Locomotive Works. In May, the Select Council of the City of Philadelphia voted unanimously in favor of the bill, which was signed into law by

John Weaver on June 15. The statue was to be donated to the Fairmount Park Art Association by the

firm A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

of Burnham, Williams & Company, which was the current operators of the Baldwin Locomotive Works. The firm commissioned Herbert Adams, a sculptor based out of New York City, to design the statue, which was completed and donated to the art association in 1905. On April 17, 1906, the statue was hoisted onto a

pedestal A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...

at the park by several men, selected from a group of 50 who traced their employment at the locomotive works back to before Baldwin's death.

Dedication

The statue was formally dedicated on June 2, 1906, a Saturday, in a ceremony organized by the art association. Presiding over the ceremony was William P. Hensey, the head of the locomotive works, who introduced the speakers, and the statue was officially unveiled by F. T. Sulley-Darley, a daughter of Baldwin. The statue was given to the city by John A. Converse, an associate of the business firm, who gave a speech honoring Baldwin in which he quoted

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...

, saying, "Peace hath her victories no less renowned than war". The statue was accepted by Mayor Weaver on behalf of the city, who also gave a speech honoring Baldwin and his contributions to the city. Leslie W. Miller, the secretary of the Fairmount Park Art Association, also spoke at the ceremony, and after all of the speeches had concluded, George Burnham, an 80-year-old employee of the works who had been working there since 1835, was introduced to the audience. Following the dedication, the locomotive works issued a commemorative 20-page pamphlet on the ceremony that included multiple images of the sculpture and celebrations and transcripts of all speeches given.

Later history

In 1921, the statue was relocated to the northwest corner of

property. A second move occurred in 1936, and today the statue is located at City Hall's North Plaza, near Broad Street and Market Street. Around June 10, 2020, during the

, the statue was defaced with paint, with the words "colonizer" and "murderer" spray painted on its pedestal. The statue was one of several works of public art vandalized during the protests, which included the

statue of Frank Rizzo A statue of Frank Rizzo, sometimes called the Frank L. Rizzo Monument, was installed in Philadelphia, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Erected in 1998, the bronze sculpture was removed in June 2020. Black Lives Matter activists and others prot ...

, also located outside of the city hall, and a monument to soldiers and sailors who fought in the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Design

Matthias William Baldwin by Herbert Adams - DSC06827

The monument consists of a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

statue of Baldwin atop a pedestal made of

pink granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

. The statue, which is slightly larger than life, depicts Baldwin in a standing position, wearing a shirt, vest, and

double-breasted A double-breasted garment is a coat, jacket, waistcoat, or dress with wide, overlapping front flaps which has on its front two symmetrical columns of buttons; by contrast, a single-breasted item has a narrow overlap and only one column of b ...

coat. In his right hand, he holds a

compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with No ...

, while in his left hand, he is holding a scroll with designs for a locomotive. The statue measures approximately tall and has a square base with side measurements of . The pedestal is approximately and has a square base with measurements of . Inscribed on the pedestal is the word "BALDWIN" on the front and the phrase "MATTHIAS WILLIAM BALDWIN/FOVNDER OF THE BALDWIN LOCOMOTIVE WORKS/MDCCXCV/-MDCCCLXVI/HIS SKILL IN THE MECHANICAL/ARTS HIS FAITHFVL DISCHARGE/OF THE DVTIES OF CITIZENSHIP/HIS BROAD PHILANTHROPY AND VNFAILING BENEVOLENCES; AND HIS DEVOTION TO ALL CHRISTIAN WORK/PLACED HIM FOREMOST/AMONG THE MAKERS OF PHILADELPHIA" on the back. The entire monument rests on a platform with side measurements of .

Notes

References

Sources

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