Penn's First Campus, 1740-1801

College, Academy and Charitable School

The College, Academy and Charitable School classrooms were housed in the former Whitefield building at Fourth and Arch Streets from 1751 through 1801. This building was even larger in size than the State House (now Independence Hall). It had been built with the intention of serving as a church for the English preacher and evangelist, George Whitefield; but as interest and financial support for Whitefield's ministry waned, the building was sold to the Trustees of the Academy. Robert Smith became the "House Carpenter" who was charged with the renovation of the structure for use as a school. The first Academy and Charity School classes were held in this building in 1751, although reconstruction continued until 1755.

The "New Building" was added to this site in 1763, housing the Charity School on the ground floor and dormitory rooms on the upper floors. Shortly before the American Revolution a third building was added to the campus, a three-story residence built for Provost William Smith at the corner of Fourth and Arch Streets. Even after the University of Pennsylvania moved to Ninth Street, the Academy and Charity School continued at this site until 1877, and the University retained ownership of the property until after World War I. However, by 1845 the original buildings had been replaced by a church, two new school houses and several commercial buildings.

Medical School

Early classes in the Department of Medicine, founded in 1765, were not held at the Fourth and Arch Street Campus, but in Surgeons' Hall, on Fifth Street near Walnut Street.

	College and Dormitory, Fourth and Arch Streets, 1740-1801 A brief history of these buildings may be found in "The Early Years: The Charity School, Academy and College of Philadelphia" prepared for the ceremony conducted by Trustees and Officers of the University of Pennsylvania on January 13, 1972, to designate the site of the original buildings and to honor the birth date of the founder, Benjamin Franklin. View one Sketch of first Penn campus at Fourth and Arch Streets by Pierre Eugene DuSimitiere, ca. 1780. The classroom building is on the left, and the newer dormitory on the right. This is the only known contemporary view to exist.
	View two Reproduction of water color by Charles M. Lefferts, 1913
	View three Reproduction of an original pencil sketch by Frank H. Taylor, 1918
	View four Procession entering the New Building, home of the College, to hear first Professor of Law James Wilson, 1790
	Old Jail, Third and Market Streets View one Where Provost William Smith taught his classes February to April, 1758
	Department of Medicine, Surgeons' Hall, on Fifth Street near Walnut Street, 1765 through 1801 View one Photoprint of original W. Birch and Son engraving "Library and Surgeons Hall in Fifth Street Philadelphia", 1799
	View two Derived from a detail of Birch print "Library and Surgeons Hall in Fifth Street Philadelphia"
	University of the State of Pennsylvania, 1789-1792 View one After the return of the Fourth and Arch Street campus to the trustees of the College of Philadelphia, the University of the State of Pennsylvania leased the Hall of the American Philosophical Society. After the 1791 union of these two institutions as the University of Pennsylvania, this building was no longer needed.

Penn in the Age of Franklin

More on Penn's early campuses