University City in Philadelphia in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
1896
The Nation's First Student Union
| | Undergraduate Life on Campus | |
There is in the Hall life of English universities something which has been hitherto lacking in our University, and that is something which has been needed to give full tone to the University career. It is not a question so much of lecture rooms and laboratories; it is of his home while at the University. It is a vital part of the educational apparatus.
Charles Harrison, Provost, "The Dormitory System," 1895
1813 Undergraduates established the Philomathean Society, the first student organization.
1865 The class of 1865 publish the first yearbook, the ancestor to The Record, and begin such traditions as Class Day and the senior honor award of the spoon.
1873 On the new campus, the first Ivy Day is commemorated by a plaque on College Hall. The University Magazine, forerunner of the Daily Pennsylvanian, first appears in 1875.
1895 The Academic Gothic dormitory quadrangles by Cope and Stewardson enable the University to recruit students from across the nation.
1896 Provost Harrison initiates a competition among Penn students to design Houston Hall, the nation's first student union, as a setting for student
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1896 The University opens Franklin Field with the first running of the Penn Relays. Penn becomes a national football power led by John Helsman (1892) and John Outland (1900).
Erected by University of Pennsylvania.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Communications • Education • Sports. A significant historical year for this entry is 1895.
Location. 39° 57.072′ N, 75° 11.594′ W. Marker is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia County. It is in University City. It can be reached from Spruce Street west of South 34th Street, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3417 Spruce St, Philadelphia PA 19104, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Pennsylvania. It is also in the American Northeast and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, New Netherland, and one of the original
![1896 Marker [Reverse] image. Click for full size.](Photos7/700/Photo700854.jpg?117202381900AM "1896 Marker [Reverse]. Click for full size.")
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: 1749 (here, next to this marker); 1946 (within shouting distance of this marker); Benjamin Franklin (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Wistar Institute of Anatomy & Biology (about 600 feet away); Hilary Koprowski, M.D. (about 600 feet away); Benjamin Franklin in 1723 (about 600 feet away); Marshal Joffre and Former Premier Viviani (about 600 feet away); Ferdinand Foch (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Philadelphia.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 2, 2023. It was originally submitted on January 17, 2023, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 186 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on January 17, 2023, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
