The First Mint then and now

EagleEye

Here are two images with the first mint superimposed over the office building that sits on that spot now on 7th Ave at the corner of Arch. The first one is a straight on view. The second is an angle view. I didn't get the angle correct so I had to skew the image a bit, losing the correct perspective.

sparky64

Super cool.

Goldbully

Cool pics Rick....thanks for sharing!

Raufus

Super cool!!! Thanks so much for sharing. Such a shame that the original building was not saved.

ms70

Neat. Interesting story- I was there taking a pic of the plaque on the wall when a guard from the jail across the street came over and asked what I was taking pics of. He was really nice
and said all the years he worked there he never knew that's where the first mint was. He told me they had to check on people taking pics around federal buildings..

ernie11

Neat. I walk by there all the time. There are a lot of those blue and gold historical markers around the city of Philadelphia, it's a shame none of the mint sites have gotten their own markers which would be more prominent than that plaque.

DeutscherGeist

This is really a neat idea to take photos of current places and then superimpose how it looked like hundreds of years ago.

There are a lot of factors that go into whether a building is preserved or not. Its never really consistent. Some buildings are simply in the way of "progress." Who knew in 1792 what the needs of the city would be in 1992, for example. Usually what happens is that a city expands from a center outwards. All of the newer stuff is on the outer rim. However, one can step away from the concentric design of a city to one that is more elliptical, so that you actually have two "centers." When I look at more contemporary cities, sometimes I wonder if it is also built in the most efficient way possible like are there sufficient public transport, parking, easy access to hospitals in an emergency, grocery stores within walking distance of any point in the city, etc. I could be wrong on this, but Washington D.C. seemed to have been planned out relatively well, but then again, it was planned to be a capital city.

Bullsitter

Cool.....

BillJones

This is really a cool idea. Many years ago I tried to locate the place where the first U.S. mint once stood and took some pictures. I think I was close to the spot, but you are more precise

ms70

<< <i>Neat. I walk by there all the time. There are a lot of those blue and gold historical markers around the city of Philadelphia, it's a shame none of the mint sites have gotten their own markers which would be more prominent than that plaque. >>



You're right. Many of our historical places are lacking prominence.

ricko

Great comparative photography Rick...thanks... Cheers, RickO

MrHalfDime

Great juxtaposition of some 'then' and 'now' pictures of the first U. S. Mint in Philadelphia. Of course, there are no photographs of the first mint from 1792, and the best artist's renditions were also done many years later, when things had dramatically changed in urban Philadelphia. Anyone seriously interested in the subject of the first U. S. Mint is encouraged to read "The Secret History of the First U. S. Mint" by Joel Orosz and our own Coinasaurus. It is a fascinating and extremely well researched book, and a fitting supplement to Frank Stewart's 1924 monograph "The First U. S. Mint". With just a little bit of searching the book can be found for somewhat less than $24.00. Well worth the purchase price at any level.

Edited to repair link.

tahoe98

...Very Thanks!

EagleEye

The corner of Arch off of 7th is no longer there. Across the street from the office building is an alley which is the old Arch st. Behind the office building is the mall in front of Independence hall.

Ablinky

<< <i>...Very Thanks! >>



+1

johnny9434

wicked cool i like

messydesk

On the site of the Second Mint is a Fogo de Chão.

okiedude

<< <i>Great juxtaposition of some 'then' and 'now' pictures of the first U. S. Mint in Philadelphia. Of course, there are no photographs of the first mint from 1792, and the best artist's renditions were also done many years later, when things had dramatically changed in urban Philadelphia. Anyone seriously interested in the subject of the first U. S. Mint is encouraged to read "The Secret History of the First U. S. Mint" by Joel Orosz and our own Coinasaurus. It is a fascinating and extremely well researched book, and a fitting supplement to Frank Stewart's 1924 monograph "The First U. S. Mint". With just a little bit of searching the book can be found for somewhat less than $24.00. Well worth the purchase price at any level.

Edited to repair link. >>


That's the book that HA sent me today. I just finished reading Frank Stewart's Book last month. If you can find a copy of Stewart's book it is well worth the read, I have an original copy. Great fun. Interesting, Stewart, tried to give the mint building to the City of Philadelphia, as a historically significant property, but they chose not to take it. He razed the building shortly thereafter.