Congress Hall

Instead, White studied Roman law at the University of Paris from June 1899 until February of 1900.

And he returned to Philadelphia as Penn Law was leaving behind the succession of cramped downtown quarters it had occupied, including rooms in Congress Hall, City Hall, and the Girard Life Insurance Building, and taking possession of a grand new home at 34th and Chestnut Streets.

Designed by the Philadelphia firm of Cope and Stewardson, the building rose in dark red brick, Indiana limestone, and green slate.

Its great arches, carved stonework, vaulted rooms, and monumental marble staircase evoked the England of Christopher Wren and the historical roots of the common law.