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Our Historic Site
Due to the historical significance of the Philadelphia Sketch Club, its building is considered a historic site and is listed in the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places and the National Register as a contributing property to the Washington Square West Historic District. The building consists of three brick row-houses built in the early 1820s. The Sketch Club purchased two of these units in 1902 and the third in 1908. Shortly after their purchase, the first two row-houses were extensively renovated to form a single building. The third property was connected internally to the other two in 1915. The three adjoining basements formed a large Rathskeller (dining room) and kitchen. The first floor rooms include a billiard room, library, archive room, sitting room and vestibule areas. The second floor rooms and attics formed a large, sky-lit exhibition gallery and classroom. The rear yards connected to form a garden, enclosed by a high brick wall.
Joseph Pennell (1869-1926), the world famous illustrator and etcher, recorded many of his experiences in his book The Adventures of an Illustrator which was published in 1925. In this book, Pennell's comments about the Philadelphia Sketch Club include the following: “…But almost all the distinguished American artists came from or through Philadelphia in those days, and were made members of the Club. And I have been chosen President of the Philadelphia Sketch Club since. The Sketch Club, which has been in existence for half a century, is now one of the sights of Philadelphia . It stands in ‘the Little Street of Clubs,' Camac Street, which also holds the Franklin Inn, a literary club where the Philobiblon too has its meetings, the Plastic and the Coin D'Or, to mention a few. It is a street mainly of little two-story houses, real red-brick, white-shuttered Philadelphia houses, on one side almost perfect, the other ruined, a big tree at one end, a skyscraper at the other, but the Sketch Club, untouched, unspoiled…The Club, like many other institutions in Philadelphia, is different from any in the country.”
Over the years, the Sketch Club's building fell into a state of disrepair. Within the last several years, the Club's building has undergone several renovation projects in accordance with a Preservation Plan developed by John Milner Architects, Inc. The completed work has included replacement of the wood shingle roof and flashing; reinforcement of roof rafters with steel C-beams; restoration of windows, shutters, dormers and porch; reinforcement of first floor supports with steel angles and joints; upgrading and rewiring of electrical system; adding emergency egress doors, exit signs and emergency lights; expanding the fire alarm system; replacing the gallery lighting system; masonry repointing and brick replacement; and exterior painting.
With the completion of our most recent project, we are happy that our building is once again, to use Pennell's words, “…one of the sights of Philadelphia …untouched, unspoiled.”
Support for the Philadelphia Sketch Club’s programs and facility was received from the following foundations, businesses, and government agencies:
Arcadia Foundation
Claneil Foundation
Connelly Foundation
Cultural Economic Development Grant funded by the Delaware River Port Authority, with administrative support provided by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance.
Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation
Frame Fit Company
Hamilton Charitable Trust
LA Weight Loss Franchise Company
Lenfest Foundation
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Keystone Historic Preservation Grant
Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA), the regional arts funding partnership of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency
Philadelphia Cultural Fund
The Philadelphia Intervention Fund of Preservation Pennsylvania which is funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts
Rittenhouse Foundation
William Penn Foundation
 Detailed view of historic site after renovations (728 KB) |
Our historic site before and after current renovations.
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