Matthias William Baldwin - Philadelphia, PA
N 39° 57.186 W 075° 09.835
18S E 485998 N 4422564
This statue rests close to the street at the northern side of City Hall, to the left side.
Waymark Code: WM9EX6
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 08/10/2010
Views: 9
Matthias William Baldwin (December 10, 1795 – September 7, 1866) was an American manufacturer of steam locomotives. He opened his machine shop in 1825. The business grew to become Baldwin Locomotive Works, one of the most prolific and successful locomotive manufacturing firms in America.
The statue was created in 1905 by Herbert Adams. To see the statue you need to be along John F. Kennedy Blvd., near the N. Broad St. intersection. The Smithsonian Inventory page tells us Standing portrait of Baldwin dressed in a long, double-breasted coat, a vest, and a shirt with a tie at the neck. His head is bald with a little hair on the sides of his head. In his proper left hand he holds a scroll down at his side. In his raised proper right hand he holds a compass up to his waist. The sculpture is installed on a square base..
There are a few inscriptions. They read: (Base, front, in bronze letters:) BALDWIN (Inscribed, rear of pedestal:) 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
The statue was relocated in 1921 and relocated again in 1936. The sculpture is made of bronze and the base is made of pink granite. The sculpture is aapproximately 96 x 30 x 30 inches, the base is approximately 9 ft. x 58 in. x 58 inches and the lower step is approximately 95 inches in width and 95 inches in depth.