Edwin Forrest House on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The Edwin Forrest House (also known as the Gaul-Forrest House) is an historic house and arts building located at 1346 North Broad Street in
The Edwin Forrest House is located in Philadelphia's Yorktown neighborhood, on the west side North Broad Street between Master and West Thompson Streets. The building has three parts: the original townhouse, a theater addition to the south, and a classroom wing to the rear.
The townhouse is a three-story brick building with a brownstone, exhibiting Italianate styling that was popular at the time of its construction. Windows decrease in height from the first to third floors, and those on the first two floors have decorative bracketed hoods over them. The main entrance is at the center of the five-bay facade, topped by a hood with paired brackets. The window directly above projects, with a similarly bracketed base and hood.
The original townhouse portion of the building was built between 1853 and 1854 for William Gaul, a wealthy brewer, to a design by Stephen D. Button, a prolific local architect.
A year after its completion, it was bought by actor
Freedom Theatre web site
*
Listing of the Gaul-Forrest House
at Philadelphia Architects and Buildings {{DEFAULTSORT:Forrest, Edwin, House Broad Street (Philadelphia) Historic American Buildings Survey in Philadelphia Houses completed in 1854 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia Italianate architecture in Pennsylvania Landmarks in Philadelphia Moore College of Art and Design National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia Theatres in Pennsylvania
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, Pennsylvania. Built between 1853 and 1854, it was home, from 1880 until 1960, to the Philadelphia School of Design for Women
in Philadelphia
Philadelphia School of Design for Women (1848–1932) was an art school for women in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Housed in the former Edwin Forrest House at 1346 North Broad Street, under the directorship of Emily Sartain ( ...
, at one time one of the nation's largest art schools for women.
The house was designated as a National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
in 1993.
Description and history
The Edwin Forrest House is located in Philadelphia's Yorktown neighborhood, on the west side North Broad Street between Master and West Thompson Streets. The building has three parts: the original townhouse, a theater addition to the south, and a classroom wing to the rear.
The townhouse is a three-story brick building with a brownstone, exhibiting Italianate styling that was popular at the time of its construction. Windows decrease in height from the first to third floors, and those on the first two floors have decorative bracketed hoods over them. The main entrance is at the center of the five-bay facade, topped by a hood with paired brackets. The window directly above projects, with a similarly bracketed base and hood.
The original townhouse portion of the building was built between 1853 and 1854 for William Gaul, a wealthy brewer, to a design by Stephen D. Button, a prolific local architect.
A year after its completion, it was bought by actor Edwin Forrest
Edwin Forrest (March 9, 1806December 12, 1872) was a nineteenth-century American Shakespearean actor. His feud with the British actor William Macready was the cause of the deadly Astor Place Riot of 1849.
Early life
Forrest was born in Phila ...
, who resided there until his death in the house in 1872.http://www.arch.state.pa.us/pdfs/H001370_02B.pdf
The Philadelphia School of Design for Women
in Philadelphia
Philadelphia School of Design for Women (1848–1932) was an art school for women in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Housed in the former Edwin Forrest House at 1346 North Broad Street, under the directorship of Emily Sartain ( ...
purchased the property in 1880, and built an extensive rear addition westward to Carlisle Street, to house art studios. The addition's Master Street façade was brick, but fitted with brownstone-trimmed windows consistent with those of the original house.
The school, which later changed its name to the Moore College of Art
Moore College of Art & Design is a Private college, private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1848 by Sarah Peter, Sarah Worthington Peter as the Philadelphia School of Design for Women, and was renamed the Moore Colleg ...
, continued to occupy the building until 1960. The Philadelphia Cotillion Society purchased the building and used it as a community center until 1968.
As of the early 21st century, the building is occupied by Freedom Theatre, which provides professional instruction in acting and live theatre production.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1972 for its architecture, and was designated a National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
in 1993 for its association with the art school, whose only surviving building it is.
See also
*List of National Historic Landmarks in Philadelphia
There are 67 National Historic Landmarks within Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
See also the List of National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania, which covers the 102 landmarks in the rest of the state.
Current listings
...
*National Register of Historic Places listings in North Philadelphia
__NOTOC__
The following properties are listed on the National Register of Historic Places in North Philadelphia.
This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in North Philade ...
References
External links
Freedom Theatre web site
*
Listing of the Gaul-Forrest House
at Philadelphia Architects and Buildings {{DEFAULTSORT:Forrest, Edwin, House Broad Street (Philadelphia) Historic American Buildings Survey in Philadelphia Houses completed in 1854 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia Italianate architecture in Pennsylvania Landmarks in Philadelphia Moore College of Art and Design National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia Theatres in Pennsylvania