ABSTRACT
Architecture is a visible record of the changing nature of class aspirations and class authority in any civilization, and Boston and Philadelphia are two of our richest cities as far as the history of American architecture is concerned. William Rush, kin of Benjamin, has a permanent place in art history as the first American sculptor; Howard Roberts was of no great stature; and Adolphe Borie, a very talented portrait painter, had only a local Philadelphia reputation. The first exhibition of over 400 paintings, almost half by Americans, was held at the academy in 1811. Philadelphia has a tradition in sculpture unequaled in any other city in America. The Academy of Music, an acoustical and aesthetic masterpiece, opened in 1857 and is today the oldest auditorium in the nation still in use in its original form for its original purpose.
