a point where much of their original character has been lost. Not all forms of architecture
have suffered equally, of course. Because of their different roles in the changing pattern of
urban life, it is to be expected that religious buildings would fare the best and commercial
and domestic ones the worst. The more comprehensive the discussion of Philadelphia ar-
chitecture, the less it is possible to disregard the sweeping changes that time, neglect, and
the hand of man have made in the appearance of the city.

No one knows better than the architectural historian that the past cannot be recov-
ered, much less recreated. Yet through the medium of prints and drawings it is often pos-
sible to recapture something of the spirit of the great buildings of Philadelphia as they
appeared to a variety of artists, professional and amateur, celebrated and unknown, over
a span of more than two centuries. To this extent the old may be said to be made new
again, and the forgotten or half-remembered is brought once more to mind.

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