Sturdy, old, beautiful white oak. 

That a Pennsylvania acorn once grew from the ground to become a grand, White Oak tree that George Washington himself, may have seen growing in Pennsylvania during the American Revolution.  In fact, the British marked oak trees throughout the Commonwealth for use as timber for their ships. A century later, many of these same trees were cut down and hewed into shape in the Mid Nineteenth Century, to be used locally as in the construction of the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, the oldest opera house in America. The “Grand Old Lady of Locust Street,” opened its doors on January 26^th, 1857.  The Academy of Music was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1962. Grab your ticket and take your seat. 

Take a walk down memory lane.  It’s November and like an old family, holiday tradition, your favorite winter musical, “The Nutcracker,” is coming back to the Academy of Music in Philadelphia.  And on the night of the big show, you take your seat just behind the Orchestra Pit, where high above the stage, great beams and buttresses fashioned from Pennsylvania White Oak, are holding up the vaulted ceiling, like the great arms and shoulders of some mythical operatic leviathan of Greek tragedy, written out of the imagination of the playwright Aeschylus.

“When we first acquired the Academy Timbers, in 2002, Michael Klein posted a story in the Inquirer.  Carol Haas and Emilio Gravagno (Violinist with the Philadelphia Orchestra) purchased several Academy Timbers for their new home in Wayne.  When they visited the storage facility, I said to Emilio, “You put your ear close to the beams, you can hear Caruso singing.”  A few years later, I happened to run into Emilio and he said, “Caruso!” Bob Beaty, Beaty American.

If you love and appreciate the value of antique oak, and feel a connection to the theatrical past of Philadelphia, and if you love the theater and its history, imagine bringing this beautiful piece of art into your home.  This King Post would be perfect as a shelf for pottery, as a conversation piece, perhaps even a base for an end table.  Or find a cool way to incorporate it into a building project.  Use it in your exposed beams in your kitchen ceiling.  Perhaps, place it next to your stereo system and record player, so that the next time you play Tchaikovsky you can close your eyes and imagine yourself seated once again at the Academy of Music.

Sourced by Kalle Fauset & Beaty American