List of houses in Fairmount Park facts for kids
This list contains all of the extant historic houses located in Fairmount Park in 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
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 |
Wynnefield | February 7, 1972 | Palladian | William Peters (owner) | museum; events | |
 |
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 |
Wynnefield | February 7, 1972 | Dutch, Swedish | ~ | offices | |
 |
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 |
Parkside | February 7, 1972 | Federal | ~ | tours | |
 |
Chamounix Mansion | 1802, 1853* | west park, north | 3250 Chamounix Dr 40°00′14″N 75°11′47″W / 40.0038°N 75.1963°W |
Wynnefield Heights | April 26, 1972 | Federal | ~ | youth hostel | |
 |
The Cliffs Mansion | 1753 | east park, south | 3400 Reservoir Dr 39°58′46″N 75°11′39″W / 39.9794°N 75.1941°W |
Brewerytown | March 16, 1972 | Georgian | ~ | ruins | |
 |
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 |
Brewerytown | March 16, 1972 | Colonial Revival, Greek Revival | ~ | access unknown | |
 |
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 |
Strawberry Mansion | March 24, 1972 | Georgian, Federal | ~ | tours; events | |
 |
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 |
Fairmount | February 7, 1972 | Federal | Henry Pratt (owner) | tours | |
 |
Letitia Street House | 1713* | west park, south | 3401 Girard Ave 39°58′31″N 75°11′49″W / 39.9754°N 75.196946°W |
Parkside | February 7, 1972 | Georgian | ~ | access unknown | |
 |
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 |
Wynnefield Heights | February 7, 1972 | ~ | ~ | access unknown | |
 |
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 |
Strawberry Mansion | October 15, 1966 | Georgian | Thomas Nevell, apprentice of Edmund Woolley | NHL; tours | |
 |
Ohio House | 1876 | west park, central | 1700 Belmont Ave 39°59′06″N 75°12′58″W / 39.9850°N 75.2162°W |
Wynnefield | February 7, 1972 | Gothic Revival | ~ | café | |
 |
Ormiston Mansion | 1798 | east park, central | 2000 Reservoir Dr 39°59′19″N 75°11′47″W / 39.9887°N 75.1963°W |
Strawberry Mansion | February 7, 1972 | Georgian | Edward Burd (owner) | occasional tours/events | |
 |
Ridgeland Mansion | 1752–62* | west park, north | 4100 Chamounix Dr 39°59′33″N 75°12′37″W / 39.9926°N 75.2102°W |
Wynnefield Heights | February 7, 1972 | Federal | ~ | events | |
 |
Rockland Mansion | 1810* | east park, central | 3810 Mount Pleasant Dr 39°59′09″N 75°11′59″W / 39.9858°N 75.1998°W |
Strawberry Mansion | February 7, 1972 | Federal | ~ | offices | |
 |
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 |
Fairmount | February 7, 1972 | Gothic Revival | Benjamin Henry Latrobe | Outward Bound | |
 |
Shofuso Japanese House | 1953 | west park, south | 4301 Lansdowne Dr 39°58′53″N 75°12′46″W / 39.9814°N 75.2129°W |
Parkside | February 7, 1972 | Shoin-zukuri | Junzō Yoshimura | tours | |
 |
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 |
Strawberry Mansion | ~ | ~ | James H. Windrim | indoor play area | |
 |
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 |
Parkside | February 7, 1972 | Federal | John Penn (owner) | in the zoo | |
 |
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 |
Strawberry Mansion | February 7, 1972 | Federal, Greek Revival | ~ | tours; events | |
 |
Sweetbriar Mansion | 1797 | west park, south | 3801 Lansdowne Dr 39°58′37″N 75°12′03″W / 39.9770°N 75.2009°W |
Parkside | February 7, 1972 | Federal | ~ | closed | |
 |
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 |
Strawberry Mansion | December 24, 1967 | Georgian, Palladian | ~ | NHL; tours |
See also
- List of National Historic Landmarks in Philadelphia – includes Mount Pleasant and Woodford Mansions
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Philadelphia – includes The Cliffs, Hatfield House, Laurel Hill, Mount Pleasant and Woodford Mansions
- Philadelphia Register of Historic Places
