Horticultural Hall

The primary reason Wilde came to Philadelphia was to deliver lectures on topics of style, decoration, and cultural trends, speaking broadly about the Aesthetic Movement, which valued beauty over meaning or politics. Wilde’s first lecture on the English Renaissance, attended by approximately 1500 people, was described in a diary entry by one attendee, the architect of the building, Addison Hutton.The lecture disappointed most who attended and Hutton noted a lack of “modulation” by Wilde: “Some people thought they were listening to a lullaby, and made the mistake of falling half asleep.” Wilde’s references to Pre-Raphaelites, including William Morris (see stop #7), and French poetry (in French) were probably unfamiliar to his local audience, who expected practical advice offered by a witty celebrity.