APRIL 2006
Tuesday, April 11 -- 6 p.m.
"Architecture and Architects in Philadelphia Cemeteries" for the Old York Road Geneaological Society. Twelfth Annual Dinner Meeting of the Old York Road Historical Society at Williamson's Restaurant, Route 611 (Easton Road) and Blair Mill Road, Horsham. Keels will take the Society's guests on an illustrated slide tour of the magnificent architecture of Philadelphia's cemeteries, showing slides of existing and demolished gatehouses and monuments by such architects as John Notman, William Strickland, Napoleon LeBrun, Frank Furness, and others. Keels will also discuss the burial sites of Philadelphia's artists and architects. For further information, visit the Old York Road Genealogical Society web site at OYRGS.org.
MAY 2006
Sunday, May 14 -- 2:00 p.m.
"Art and Architecture at Laurel Hill Cemetery." Monthly tour of Philadelphia's premier Victorian rural cemetery, focusing on its artists and architects. Keels will show tour guests the works of famous architects at Laurel Hill, including the original 1836 gatehouse by John Notman, the statuary group "Old Mortality" by James Thom, and monuments by William Strickland, John McArthur Jr., and other architects. Keels will also show visitors the final resting places of such artists and architects as Notman, McArthur, Thomas U. Walter, Thomas Sully, and others. Tour begins at 2:00 p.m. at the Laurel Hill Cemetery gatehouse, 3822 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia PA 19132. Call the cemetery office at 215-228-8200 for more details or to make reservation.
Wednesday, May 24 -- 5:45 p.m.
"America Lies Here: Philadelphia's Colonial and Federal Cemeteries" for the American Revolution Round Table of Philadelphia. Keels will take round table
members on a tour of the burial places of famous Revolutionary figures in Philadelphia, including Benjamin Franklin, Dr. Benjamin Rush, Francis Hopkinson,
Betsy Ross, Lydia Darrach, and others, as well as tracing the development of the city's cemeteries from the first communal burial grounds to the birth of the
rural cemetery in the early 19th century. Meeting at Brittingham's Irish Pub and Restaurant, 640 Germantown Avenue, Lafayette Hill PA limited to round table
members only.
JUNE 2006
Thursday - Sunday, June 22-25
"Designing for the Dead: Art and Architecture in Philadelphia Cemeteries" at the AGS 29th Annual Conference. Keels will be one of the speakers at the 29th Annual Meeting of the Association for Gravestone Studies at Delaware Valley College in Doylestown, PA. Further details to come. For more information on the conference, visit the AGS conference gravesite at www.gravestonestudies.org/conferences.htm.
© Copyright, 2003. Thomas H. Keels