Rushlight Club Fall Meeting

 November 1-3, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

 

Thursday Afternoon / Evening members may begin to arrive. There are no official activities, but members are welcome to gather in the hotel restaurant’s bar/lounge area. Dinner is on your own.

Friday Morning is on your own, for those that arrive on Thursday. The hotel is near Rittenhouse Square and other historic areas within the city of Philadelphia, so feel free to explore.

Friday Afternoon we will tour The Athenaeum of Philadelphia 2:00-3:30. The Athenaeum is a vibrant Philadelphia-centered and member-supported circulating library, research archive and cultural forum, designed by John Notman in 1845. The collections focus on American architectural history and building technology—we will view historical lighting trade catalogs and the Athenaeum’s lighting collection.

Friday Evening dinner will be on your own.  Suggestions will be in your registration packets. In the evening, registrants will be able to gather in the hotel restaurant/bar area for socialization.

Saturday Morning we will tour the Powel House (11:00-12:00), built in 1765, in “Old City” Philadelphia. This red-brick Powel House is considered one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in the United States. Samuel Powel is often called the “Patriot Mayor,” serving as the last mayor under the British Crown and the first mayor in our new American republic, and among the richest men in Philadelphia. His wife Elizabeth Willing Powel was an equally seminal figure in our country’s founding. She not only lavishly entertained the political elite during the drafting of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, but she also became one of George Washington’s closest confidants, before, during and after his Presidency. We will gather for lunch at a nearby restaurant.

Saturday Afternoon we will visit the nearby Hill-Physick House (2:00-3:00), built in 1786. Built by the wealthy Madeira wine importer Henry Hill, this stunning four-story square brick house is the only free-standing Federal townhouse remaining in Society Hill. After Henry Hill succumbed to yellow fever in 1798, it became the home of Dr. Philip Syng Physick—known as the father of American surgery—until his death in 1837. Dr. Physick hosted the country’s elite at his grand home—guests included novelist James Fenimore Cooper and deposed king of Naples and Spain, Joseph Bonaparte, medical colleagues like Dr. Benjamin Rush and Stephan Girard, notable wealthy neighbors and celebrated patients: Dolly Madison, the daughters of President John Adams and President James Monroe, Chief Justice John Marshall and President Andrew Jackson.

Saturday Evening we will have dinner and the annual membership meeting at the Motto by Hilton.  Our keynote speaker, Dan Mattausch, will give a presentation on notable Philadelphia lamp makers and retailers.  Other events will include the usual show and tell session and a silent auction.

Sunday Morning we will tour the mansion at Glen Foerd on the Delaware in Northeast Philadelphia (10:30-11:30—for those able to attend the cost will be $10 person). The mansion, built in 1850, is home to a diverse collection of historic domestic artifacts, including a number of Cornelius & Co. fixtures.