__NOTOC__ This list contains all of the extant historic houses located in Fairmount Park in

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 Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. Most of the houses are referred to as

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

s due to their size and use as the summer country estates of Philadelphia's affluent citizens in the 18th and 19th centuries. During that period, the city's only developed areas were located several miles away to the southeast along the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

, making the current park areas along the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river in eastern Pennsylvania. It flows for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map(). accessed April 1, 2011. from Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Pottsville ...

an ideal refuge from epidemics during the summer months."The Cliffs: Fairmount Park Ruins with a Link to Joseph Wharton"

archive
by Steven Ujifusa. ''phillyhistory.org''. City of Philadelphia. November 9, 2012. Retrieved November 5, 2017. "The Cliffs was...an informal retreat where the Fishers escaped the city's miserable, disease-ridden summers.""History Of Sweetbriar Mansion"

''fairmountparkhistoricsites.org''. The Fairmount Park Council for Historic Sites. Retrieved November 5, 2017. "Samuel Breck...built Sweetbriar Mansion in 1797 to escape the Yellow Fever epidemic." The mansions were built between 1742 ( Belmont Mansion) and 1810 ( Rockland), in various architectural styles including

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the arch ...

, Federal, Georgian,

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

, and

Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

, with some in combinations of those styles. There are 19 extant historic houses of which 16 were constructed within the current boundaries of Fairmount Park, while three of the houses were moved to the park from elsewhere in the city— Cedar Grove Mansion from Frankford,

Hatfield House Hatfield House is a Grade I listed English country house, country house set in a large park, the Great Park, on the eastern side of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. The present Jacobean architecture, Jacobean hous ...

from Nicetown, and Letitia Street House from Old City. All of the 19 houses were designed and used as private residences. The Cliffs Mansion, located in east park, has been left in ruins since a 1986 fire caused by arson. Other historic houses were demolished due to extensive deterioration, vandalism, fire damage or insufficient funds for restoration. Demolished houses are not included in this list. Three additional historic park buildings were designed like residential houses though they were never intended to be used as private residences: the Ohio House—built by the

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

delegation for the

Centennial Exposition The Centennial International Exhibition, officially the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876. It was the first official wo ...

; the Shofuso Japanese House—built in Japan as a museum exhibit for display at

MoMA The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

, then relocated to Fairmount Park; and the Smith Memorial Playhouse—designed, and still used, as an indoor play area for children. This list does not include the historic boathouses on Boathouse Row which were designed as sporting

clubhouses Clubhouse may refer to: Locations * The meetinghouse of: ** A club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal ** In the United States, a country club ** In the United Kingdom, a gentlemen's club * A ...

rather than residential homes. The historic houses within the adjacent Wissahickon Valley Park are also not included though that park was previously within the ''Fairmount Park system''. Since 2010, all park areas and facilities are administered separately after the merger of the Fairmount Park Commission and the Department of Recreation into the new Philadelphia Parks & Recreation department. The Fairmount Park Conservancy's Historic Preservation Trust, in collaboration with the city of Philadelphia, offers long-term leasing of some historic houses to civic organizations and businesses. The lessees must commit to rehabilitate and maintain the buildings, without altering their historic architectural features, while allowing public access. The trust offers assistance to prospective lessees in assessing feasibility, identifying financial incentives, and managing rehabilitation and maintenance work."Leasing Program"

archive
''fairmountparktrust.org''. Fairmount Park Historic Preservation Trust. Retrieved November 5, 2017. Note: the general Fairmount Park

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 ...

(NRHP) listing date of February 7, 1972, is entered for all sites with no individual designation record; ~ is entered for Style and Architect when unknown.

Notes

References

External links

*
Philadelphia Parks & Recreation
– park administration
Fairmount Park Conservancy
– capital projects and historic preservation efforts; merged with the Preservation Trust in 2015
Fairmount Park Trail Master Plan
– includes a summary of mansions and houses
Map of historic sites and buildings in Fairmount Park

– article a
philly.com
{{authority control Houses Fairmount Park Fairmount Park Houses

See also

Notes

References

External links