he architect of this extraordinary building, Joseph M. Wilson (1838-1902), was among the dignitaries on the stage at the dedication. He was a member of the first Board of Managers and had been a prime mover in the shaping of Anthony Drexel's vision. In fact, almost two years before, early in 1890, Wilson had begun publication of a book-length series of articles entitled "On Schools: with particular reference to Trades Schools." They were based on a European trip in the previous year, which had lasted several months and had taken him to many of the new technical academies of Germany and England. 2 Wilson concluded the series with a bold challenge:

Educational questions are now being discussed everywhere, in all countries, with a vigor as never before. Public interest has been aroused to the importance of the matter and to the necessity of modifications and improvements in the methods of teaching and of subjects taught.

Why cannot such Institutions as the Franklin Institute, the Builders' Exchange, the Pennsylvania Art Museum, the Philadelphia Exchange for Women's Work, and others of kindred interest, form themselves into an organization and do work such as being performed by the City and Guilds of London Institute and the Department of Science and Art in Great Britain, to advance the cause of trade and technical education? 3

Wilson's challenge was immediately met - not by the assorted Philadelphia institutions but through the generosity of Anthony J. Drexel. 4 For a generation, Drexel had toyed with the idea of founding a women's college in the Philadelphia suburbs, but the success of Bryn Mawr College made the alternative of a commuter institute for training in the useful arts for men and women more attractive. It is therefore not surprising to note in the first footnote of Wilson's articles his acknowledgment that his trip had been a fact-finding tour supported and funded by the European branch of the Drexel banking house, Drexel, Harjes and Co. Wilson's conclusions supported Mr. Drexel's new direction, which was especially appropriate as the United States began the shift from agriculture and the frontier to industry and urbanism.

Why Anthony Drexel chose Joseph Wilson to make the tour and prepare a report tells much about Wilson and his special relationship with Drexel. For nearly a decade, the Wilson Brothers had served as the architects for the Drexel family enterprises, beginning in 1884 with the design of the Drexel Bank at Fifth and Chestnut streets. This was followed by its almost immediate enlargement, and their connection continued with commissions for Drexel's children in the vicinity of the family compound at 39th and Walnut streets. 5 Still, it was remarkable that Drexel would choose to be guided on so important a project by an architect and not by an educator or a clergyman. However, Joseph Wilson was more than an engineer-technocrat; rather he was one of the most remarkable men of a remarkable age. When he made his visit to Europe, he was simultaneously serving as the president of the Franklin Institute and the president of the American Society of Civil Engineers while he was also at the height of his dual career as a practicing engineer-architect.