Marc Blitzstein (1905-1964)
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
An influential American composer, lyricist, and translator who brought vernacular to musical theater was born here. Works include the ground-breaking The Cradle Will Rock and an adaptation of The Threepenny Opera. He studied at Curtis Inst. of Music and mentored Leonard Bernstein.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
The composer and lyricist Marc Blitzstein was born here in 1905 and went on to reshape American musical theater by bringing everyday, working-class speech to the stage. His fiercely political The Cradle Will Rock and his enduring English adaptation of The Threepenny Opera pushed the boundaries of what a musical could say. Trained at Philadelphia's Curtis Institute, he became a mentor to the young Leonard Bernstein.
Why it matters
Blitzstein helped give American musical theater a socially conscious voice, influencing a generation of composers who followed.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- Hill-Physick Housenearby · 321 South 4th Street
- Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial0.1 mi away
- Powel House0.2 mi away · 244 South 3rd Street
- Merchants' Exchange Building0.3 mi away · 143 South 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Philosophical Hall0.3 mi away · PA
- New Hall Military Museum0.3 mi away · Philadelphia
Attractions
- Carpenters' Hall0.3 mi away · 320 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Second Bank of the United States0.3 mi away · 420 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- First Bank of the United States0.3 mi away · 120 South 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA
- City Tavern0.3 mi away · 138 South 2nd Street
- Liberty Bell0.4 mi away · 526 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- USS Becuna0.4 mi away · South Christopher Columbus Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA
Food & drink
- FRIEDA0.3 mi away · 320 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Talula's Garden0.3 mi away · 210 West Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA
- Talula's Daily0.3 mi away · 208 West Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA
- Cafe Walnut0.3 mi away · 703 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Fat Salmon0.4 mi away · 719 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Thank You Thank You Coffee Roasters0.4 mi away · 700 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA
Places to stay
- Morris House Hotel0.3 mi away · 225 South 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Philadelphia Marriott Old City0.4 mi away · 1 Dock Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Renaissance Philadelphia Downtown Hotel0.4 mi away · 401 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Thomas Bond House0.4 mi away · 129 South 2nd Street, Philadelphia
- Best Western Plus Independence Park Hotel0.4 mi away · 237 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Apple Hostels Philadelphia0.4 mi away · 32 South Bank Street, Philadelphia, PA
Places data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hours and details change — call ahead.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Marc Blitzstein
- · Leonard Bernstein
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Caspar Wistar (1761-1818)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2000
Caspar Wistar, one of early America's most respected physicians, lived here while serving as professor of anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania and president of both the American Philosophical Society and the Pennsylvania Abolition Society. In 1803, at Thomas Jefferson's behest, he tutored Meriwether Lewis in medicine and paleontology to prepare him for the Corps of Discovery's journey west. Wistar moved easily among the scientific, medical, and reform circles of the young republic.
W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1995
In 1896 and 1897 the young scholar W.E.B. Du Bois lived in a Philadelphia settlement house while conducting the door-to-door research for "The Philadelphia Negro," published in 1899. That study was one of the first rigorous sociological portraits of an African American community in the United States. Du Bois went on to help found the NAACP and to become one of the most influential Black intellectuals and activists in American history.
Pennsylvania Bible Society
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2014
Founded in Philadelphia in 1808, the Pennsylvania Bible Society was the first organization of its kind in America. In 1812 it became the first in the country to print Bibles from stereotyped plates, a technique that made books cheaper to produce and helped spread reading among ordinary people. Bible House has served as its distribution center since 1854.
Octavius V. Catto (1839-1871)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1992
Octavius V. Catto was a rising leader of Black Philadelphia in the Civil War and Reconstruction years—an early graduate of the Institute for Colored Youth who became an educator, a military officer, and a tireless organizer for equal rights. On election day in 1871, as he urged Black citizens to exercise their newly won right to vote, he was assassinated by rioters. His death was mourned across the city as the loss of a brilliant champion of equality.