List of houses in Fairmount Park facts for kids

Aerial view of Lemon Hill Mansion

This list contains all of the extant historic houses located in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Most of the houses are referred to as mansions 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, making the current park areas along the Schuylkill River an ideal refuge from epidemics during the summer months. The mansions were built between 1742 (Belmont Mansion) and 1810 (Rockland), in various architectural styles including Colonial Revival, Federal, Georgian, Gothic Revival, Greek Revival, and Palladian, 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 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 delegation for the Centennial Exposition; the Shofuso Japanese House—built in Japan as a museum exhibit for display at MoMA, 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 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.

Note: the general Fairmount Park National Register of Historic Places (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.

Image	Name	Years (*circa)	Park district	Location	Adjacent neighborhood	NRHP	Style	Architect	Notes	Refs
more images	Belmont Mansion	1742–45*	west park, central	2000 Belmont Mansion Dr 39°59′27″N 75°12′47″W / 39.9909°N 75.2131°W / 39.9909; -75.2131 (Belmont Mansion)	Wynnefield	1972-02-07	Palladian	William Peters (owner)	museum; events
more images	Boelson Cottage	1678–84	west park, central	2110 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr 39°59′23″N 75°12′11″W / 39.9896°N 75.2030°W / 39.9896; -75.2030 (Boelson Cottage)	Wynnefield	1972-02-07	Dutch, Swedish	~	offices
more images	Cedar Grove Mansion	1748–50	west park, south	1 Cedar Grove Dr 39°58′45″N 75°12′16″W / 39.9792°N 75.2044°W / 39.9792; -75.2044 (Cedar Grove Mansion)	Parkside	1972-02-07	Federal	~	tours
more images	Chamounix Mansion	1802, 1853*	west park, north	3250 Chamounix Dr 40°00′14″N 75°11′47″W / 40.0038°N 75.1963°W / 40.0038; -75.1963 (Chamounix Mansion)	Wynnefield Heights	1972-04-26	Federal	~	youth hostel
more images	Cliffs The Cliffs Mansion	1753	east park, south	3400 Reservoir Dr 39°58′46″N 75°11′39″W / 39.9794°N 75.1941°W / 39.9794; -75.1941 (The Cliffs Mansion)	Brewerytown	1972-03-16	Georgian	~	ruins
more images	Hatfield House	1760*, 1838*, 1850*	east park, south	3201 W Girard Ave 39°58′33″N 75°11′18″W / 39.9759°N 75.18833°W / 39.9759; -75.18833 (Hatfield House)	Brewerytown	1972-03-16	Colonial Revival, Greek Revival	~	access unknown
more images	Laurel Hill Mansion	1767*, 1800*, 1846	east park, north	7201 Edgeley Dr 39°59′29″N 75°11′42″W / 39.9914°N 75.19497°W / 39.9914; -75.19497 (Laurel Hill Mansion)	Strawberry Mansion	1972-03-24	Georgian, Federal	~	tours; events
more images	Lemon Hill Mansion	1800*	east park, south	1 Lemon Hill Dr 39°58′15″N 75°11′14″W / 39.9707°N 75.1872°W / 39.9707; -75.1872 (Lemon Hill Mansion)	Fairmount	1972-02-07	Federal	Henry Pratt (owner)	tours
more images	Letitia Street House	1713*	west park, south	3401 Girard Ave 39°58′31″N 75°11′49″W / 39.9754°N 75.196946°W / 39.9754; -75.196946 (Letitia Street House)	Parkside	1972-02-07	Georgian	~	access unknown
more images	The Lilacs House	1711*, 1832	west park, north	3600 Greenland Dr 39°59′55″N 75°11′47″W / 39.9987°N 75.1965°W / 39.9987; -75.1965 (Lilacs House)	Wynnefield Heights	1972-02-07	~	~	access unknown
more images	Mount Pleasant Mansion	1761–65*	east park, central	3800 Mount Pleasant Dr 39°59′00″N 75°11′59″W / 39.9834°N 75.1998°W / 39.9834; -75.1998 (Mount Pleasant Mansion)	Strawberry Mansion	1966-10-15	Georgian	Thomas Nevell, apprentice of Edmund Woolley	NHL; tours
more images	Ohio House	1876	west park, central	1700 Belmont Ave 39°59′06″N 75°12′58″W / 39.9850°N 75.2162°W / 39.9850; -75.2162 (Ohio House)	Wynnefield	1972-02-07	Gothic Revival	~	cafe
more images	Ormiston Mansion	1798	east park, central	2000 Reservoir Dr 39°59′19″N 75°11′47″W / 39.9887°N 75.1963°W / 39.9887; -75.1963 (Ormiston Mansion)	Strawberry Mansion	1972-02-07	Georgian	Edward Burd (owner)	occasional tours/events
more images	Ridgeland Mansion	1752–62*	west park, north	4100 Chamounix Dr 39°59′33″N 75°12′37″W / 39.9926°N 75.2102°W / 39.9926; -75.2102 (Ridgeland Mansion)	Wynnefield Heights	1972-02-07	Federal	~	events
more images	Rockland Mansion	1810*	east park, central	3810 Mount Pleasant Dr 39°59′09″N 75°11′59″W / 39.9858°N 75.1998°W / 39.9858; -75.1998 (Rockland Mansion)	Strawberry Mansion	1972-02-07	Federal	~	offices
more images	Sedgeley Porter's House	1799–1802	east park, south	3250 Sedgeley Dr 39°58′28″N 75°11′20″W / 39.9745°N 75.1889°W / 39.9745; -75.1889 (Sedgeley Porter's House)	Fairmount	1972-02-07	Gothic Revival	Benjamin Henry Latrobe	Outward Bound
more images	Shofuso Japanese House	1953	west park, south	4301 Lansdowne Dr 39°58′53″N 75°12′46″W / 39.9814°N 75.2129°W / 39.9814; -75.2129 (Shofuso Japanese House)	Parkside	1972-02-07	Shoin-zukuri	Junzō Yoshimura	tours
more images	Smith Memorial Playhouse	1897–99	east park, central	3500 Reservoir Dr 39°58′54″N 75°11′44″W / 39.9817°N 75.1956°W / 39.9817; -75.1956 (Smith Memorial Playhouse)	Strawberry Mansion	~	~	James H. Windrim	indoor play area
more images	The Solitude Mansion	1784–85	west park, south	3400 W Girard Ave 39°58′21″N 75°11′44″W / 39.9726°N 75.1955°W / 39.9726; -75.1955 (The Solitude Mansion)	Parkside	1972-02-07	Federal	John Penn (owner)	in the zoo
more images	Strawberry Mansion	1783–89*, 1828*	east park, north	2450 Strawberry Mansion Dr 39°59′39″N 75°11′26″W / 39.9943°N 75.1906°W / 39.9943; -75.1906 (Strawberry Mansion)	Strawberry Mansion	1972-02-07	Federal, Greek Revival	~	tours; events
more images	Sweetbriar Mansion	1797	west park, south	3801 Lansdowne Dr 39°58′37″N 75°12′03″W / 39.9770°N 75.2009°W / 39.9770; -75.2009 (Sweetbriar Mansion)	Parkside	1972-02-07	Federal	~	closed
more images	Woodford Mansion	1756–58, 1771–72*, 1790*	east park, north	3400 Woodford Dr 39°59′36″N 75°11′16″W / 39.9932°N 75.1877°W / 39.9932; -75.1877 (Woodford Mansion)	Strawberry Mansion	1967-12-24	Georgian, Palladian	~	NHL; tours