THE COLUMNS OF THE SECOND PHILADELPHIA MINT

At the entrance of Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia sits six marble columns that have for over a century withstood the test of time, the elements and man. The Ionic order Greek-style colonnades are all that remains of the 2nd United States Mint in Philadelphia and today stand in geographic and historic isolation of their origin site.

Designed by famed architect William Strickland. Fashioned after the Temple of Ilyssus near Athens, the columns formed one of two porticoes on the Mint Building that stood at the corner of Chestnut and Juniper streets from 1829 until its demolition in 1902. Strickland wrote “it is difficult to preserve all the characteristics of a Greek Temple whose original design and appropriate was solely for the worship of the gods and for the disposition of public treasure.”

The Strickland Columns, standing 24-feet tall and three feet wide each, were donated in 1904 to what was then known as the Jewish Hospital and placed at Old York Road where they remained for nearly 100 years. It is theorized that famed architect Frank Furness, who also designed other buildings for the hospital, supervised the placement of the colonnade.

Each marble column is three feet in diameter, fluted and bound at the neck of the capital with an olive wreath. The columns are composed of five elements: an abacus, a capital, a shaft, a base and a plinth. Each abacus and capital weighs approximately 41,000 pounds. The shafts vary in weight from 17,000 to 18,500 pounds. Four of the plinths and bases weigh 4,600 pounds; the two other weigh 67,000.

The iconic columns were removed from the Einstein Campus in November 2000 when the entrance at Old York Road was modified and the traffic pattern changed. After nearly a decade and a half in storage, the Strickland Columns were returned to their home along Old York Road as an eminent example of recycling, relocation and restored history.

To read the complete article, see:
Iconic columns at Einstein Medical Center withstand the test of time (http://www.phillytrib.com/lifestyle/iconic-columns-at-einstein-medical-center-withstand-the-test-of/article_c87e3cd2-7b9d-50ff-9044-082abefb5c92.html)

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
SECOND PHILADELPHIA MINT COLUMNS STANDING TALL ONCE AGAIN (https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v16n16a11.html)
SECOND PHILADELPHIA MINT COLUMN INSTALLATION PHOTO (https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v16n18a08.html)

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