Philadelphia is known internationally as an art city, and our art museums are recognized as some of the best in the world. Outside of the museums, there are more street murals and art installations in Philly than anywhere else in the country, and it’s hard to walk more than a block without seeing some gorgeous artwork. With so much art around us at all times, Philadelphians don’t really have to go out of their way to see creative beauty, but the best-kept secret in our city might be the impressive Dream Garden glass mural hiding in a historic office building.
The Curtis Building dates back to 1910, when Curtis Publishing built their headquarters just south of Independence Hall.
Flickr / Tom Ipri
The Curtis Center is now known for being an extravagant office building and event venue, hosting weddings in their Atrium and inviting visitors to appreciate the architecture.
Flickr / camera_obscura
The terraced waterfall fills the building with the serene sound of babbling water, and helps the building stand out as one of the most gorgeous places in the city.
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If you enter from Sixth Street, you’ll be blown away when you see the 750-square-foot “Dream Garden” mural.
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The mural measures 15-by-49-foot and was made by Louis Tiffany himself, based on a design by Philadelphian Maxfield Parrish.
Flickr / Peter Miller
The glass-mosaic work was commissioned by Edward Bok, the Senior Editor at Curtis, in the early 1910s.
Trip Advisor / Audrey C.
Over 100,000 pieces of hand-fixed Favrile glass makes this mosaic absolutely breathtaking. There are 260 different tones in the work.
Flickr / A. Carroll
The Dream Garden is arguably the largest Tiffany piece in the world, and it was the largest glass mural in the country until 2007.
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When it was completed in 1916, Tiffany Studios proudly displayed it in New York for a month, before bringing it to Philadelphia. Installation took 6 months.
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Fans of the mural dealt with a scare when it was sold to a Las Vegas casino in 1998. Luckily, local historians joined efforts, and the piece is permanently Philadelphian; owned by the Pew Charitable Trusts to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
Trip Advisor / Audrey C.
When it comes to artwork, Philly is the best city in the country. What’s your favorite piece of public art in Philadelphia? Let us know in the comments.
Flickr / Tom Ipri
Flickr / camera_obscura
Trip Advisor / Benji5781
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Flickr / Peter Miller
Trip Advisor / Audrey C.
Flickr / A. Carroll
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Trip Advisor / Amarillis Vos
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