John Christian Bullitt Statue (1912 - 2010) - Philadelphia, PA
N 39° 57.188 W 075° 09.839
18S E 485992 N 4422568
This statue is located on the northern part of City Hall in Center City Philadelphia. The statue is on the far right of the building. These two pictures are virtually identical with the exception of 100 years of weathering.
Waymark Code: WMDTYM
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 02/24/2012
Views: 8
The statue stands on the north side of the humungous Philadelphia City Hall, lying in the wake of its enormous shadow thrown from the clock tower above. I first saw this statue in July of 2012 which is when I snapped my photo. I faced north, framing the statue full frontal with City Hall to the rear. As far as I can tell, nothing has changed in the last 100 years. The copyright on the photo has ran out so the photo is now public domain. I found this picture and thousands others from the 19th and 20th century from this site. The original picture was taken November 11, 2012, half a year short of 100 years. Actually, the time between when the photo was taken and the date of this waymark is 99 years, 3 months, 14 days, including today, two years shorter if you are counting when I took the picture.
John Christian Bullitt (1824–1902) was a prominent lawyer and civic figure in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He founded the law firm known today as Drinker Biddle & Reath.
The statue was created by John J. Boyle (1851/52-1917) and also some of the sculpture work was also done by Roman Bronze Works, founder. The statue was commissioned 1902, finished in 1907 and relocated to its current home in 1936. Its dimensions are approximately 9 ft. 10 in. x 39 in. x 38 inches and the base is approximately 5 ft. 1 in. x 5 ft. 2 in. x 5 ft. There are some inscriptions which read (Lower proper left side:) JOHN J BOYLE, SC, 1907 (Lower proper right side:) ROMAN BRONZE WORKS, NEW YORK (Base, front:) JOHN/CHRISTIAN/BULLITT/1842-1892 signed Founder's mark appears. The statue is made of bronze and the base is made of granite.
The Smithsonian inventory page offers a description of the statue. Standing portrait of John Bullitt dressed in a long, double-breasted coat over a buttoned vest. His proper right hand rests in his trouser pocket on his proper right side. His proper left hand holds a packet of papers. As for his life, the page tells us John Christian Bullitt (1824-1902) was born in Kentucky, but came to Philadelphia in 1849 and went on to create a successful law practice. He built the first modern office building in the city and was one of the founders of the Fourth Street National Bank. He began his political career with the Whig party and when that dissolved in 1852, he joined the Democratic party. He was a delegate to the state Constitutional Convention in 1873 and drafted the City Charter in 1885. He also introduced the "Bullitt Bill" which was to provide greater authority for the Mayor. Following his death in 1902, Philadelphia citizens raised the funds and commissioned John J. Boyle to create this memorial. Source listed below.