Academy of Music, Philadelphia, PA
Posted by: 
hykesj
N 39° 56.875 W 075° 09.864
18S E 485955 N 4421989
Modeled after Milan’s La Scala, this grand opera house has been hosting performances continually since 1857.
Waymark Code: WMVZFP
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 06/16/2017
Views: 3
The postal card commemorates the Academy of Music located in downtown Philadelphia. And there’s nothing arbitrary about the date it was issued (18-June-1982), in fact, it kills two birds with one stone. June 18th was the date of the official groundbreaking ceremony (in 1855) where President Franklin “Handsome Frank” Pierce laid the cornerstone. And 1982 marked the 125th anniversary of the first performance held in the new building. The Academy of Music has been used continuously as an entertainment venue ever since.
During design and construction more attention was paid to (and money spent on) the interior of the building rather than the exterior. The auditorium is ornately decorated with murals, carvings and sculptures and the balconies are supported by Corinthian columns. To top it all off is a 5000 lb. crystal chandelier. The exterior was designed in such a way that it could be clad with marble at a later date but apparently, that has yet to happen. And in spite of its name, there has never been a school here.
Though designed primarily for opera and ballet, the Academy of Music was also home to the Philadelphia Orchestra throughout the twentieth century. Noted conductors (and U.S. stamp subjects) Leopold Stokowski and Eugene Ormandy both had long stints conducting the orchestra in this building. But some issues with the acoustics (Ormandy refused to make recordings here) and other concerns prompted the orchestra to move to the state-of-the-art Kimmel Center a block or so away in 2001.
Today, the “Grand Old Lady of Locust Street” (as it is sometimes called) is home to the Pennsylvania Ballet and Opera Philadelphia. In 1962 it achieved National Historic Landmark status.
Stamp Issuing Country: United States
Date of Issue: 18-June-1982
Denomination: 13 cents
Color: multicolored
Stamp Type: Single Stamp
Relevant Web Site: Not listed
|
Visit Instructions:
To post a visit log for this category, you must visit the actual site of the waymark. Post at least one photo that you personally took of the site if at all possible. If you cannot provide a photo for some reason, your visit will still be welcome.
You do NOT need to be a stamp collector to visit the waymark site, nor do you have to provide a photo of the stamp. Just having a copy of the stamp in question, however, is not sufficient; you must personally visit the site.