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Fairmount Park, America's largest city park, teems with natural beauty, recreational facilities, and alfresco culture. And it's home to some splendid houses full of history.
Fairmount Park. The name first appeared on plans for the City more than 300 years ago. William Penn's surveyor, Thomas Holme, spotted a piece of high ground — where the Philadelphia Museum of Art now stands — and called it "Faire Mount".
The name stuck. And city officials began using it in the mid-1800s for the park, which by 1855 encompassed 2,000 acres and had become a model for city parks around the world. It was part of the realization of Penn's effort to create a "greene Country Towne."
In time, the city and state had to take action to save Penn's dream of a verdant town from the ravages of industrialization. A bill was introduced in 1865 to authorize the purchase of ground along the west bank of the Schuylkill [River]."
The General Assembly established the Fairmount Park Commission two years later and authorized the purchase of land "to be laid out and maintained forever as an open public place and park, for the health and enjoyment of the people. ..."
The growing park became the site in 1876 of the mammoth national Centennial Exposition, which celebrated the 100th anniversary of the founding of the nation. More than 200 buildings were erected on about 250 acres in West Fairmount Park. Two notable buildings from the fair remain: Memorial Hall, with its beautiful green dome, and the Ohio House.
The park also takes in the oldest zoo in the nation, first opened in 1874; Boathouse Row, the clubhouses of rowing organizations, flanking one of the nation's finest rowing courses; the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, summer home of the Philadelphia Orchestra; and Robin Hood Dell East, site of music and ethnic programs.
For many visitors, the park's strongest lures are nature and the myriad recreational facilities. Here is America's largest landscaped park — 8,900 acres, about 10 percent of the city. Within this sprawling acreage are 73 baseball and softball diamonds, 105 tennis courts, six golf courses, six indoor recreation centers, three outdoor swimming pools, and one indoor pool, 100 miles of bridle paths and hiking trails, 25 miles of paved bikeways, and a fishing stream stocked with trout each season.
Villas and country houses
The park also contains about 70 historically certified buildings. Many of these splendid mansions are open to the public, and touring them gives visitors a view of the lifestyles of some of the city's wealthiest and most powerful families two centuries ago. (Call the Park Commission office in advance to confirm the days and times they are open: 215-685-0000 [sic - according to FairmountPark.org, the number is 215-685-0200]. You can buy tickets at the houses to tour the interiors).
Because of the park's size, it's impossible to do an extensive tour of the mansions by foot. So pick up a map of the park at the city's Visitor's Center (16th Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard), get in your car, and head out the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, past the Art Museum and on to Kelly Drive.
Drive west on Kelly Drive to the end of Boathouse Row, where you will make a right turn and follow a road around to the right to Lemon Hill. This is an Adamesque Federal country house completed in 1800 by Henry Pratt, a successful merchant and owner of many properties in Philadelphia. (Open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Closed holidays. Open by appointment during January, February, and March. Admission, $2.50; free for children under 12.)
Building "The Hills"
Robert Morris, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and a financier of the Revolution, built a farm and elaborate greenhouse at the in 1770. He called it "The Hills." But by the end of the century, Morris, a close friend of George Washington, had overextended himself and his land was confiscated.
Henry Pratt, son of portrait painter Matthew Pratt, purchased nearly 43 acres of Morris' 300-acre property. Lemon trees were growing in the large greenhouse, and the estate became known as "Lemon Hill."
Pratt built the present house between 1799 and 1800 but probably did not live here. It has a pair of curving steps leading to double doors on the north side. The entry hall has a checkerboard floor of Valley Forge marble.
Return to Kelly Drive, make a right turn and follow the road to Fountain Green Drive.
Turn right here, then left at the next street, which will take you to Mount Pleasant, a charming Georgian mansion that had several famous owners, including Benedict Arnold, the Revolutionary War-era traitor. (Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Admission $2.50).
Once described by John Adams as "the most elegant seat in Pennsylvania," Mount Pleasant was built in 1761 and 1762 by sea captain John Macpherson, a Scot who made his fortune as a privateer. It has ornate woodwork, Chippendale-style furnishings, and eight fireplaces.
The house later was owned by Benedict Arnold, who bought it as a wedding present for his bride, Peggy Shippen, was found guilty of treason and fled the country before he could occupy the property. Jonathan Williams, first superintendent of West Point and a great nephew of Benjamin Franklin, also owned it.
As you follow Mount Pleasant Drive, you will pass Rockland Mansion, a Federal house built by George Thompson in 1810 and now undergoing restoration. Make a left turn at the next street, Reservoir Drive, and then look to your left. Here is Ormiston, a red-brick Georgian house built in 1798 by lawyer Edward Burd. (Open for tours May to August by appointment.) Burd named his house for his grandfather's country seat near Edinburgh, Scotland. It is furnished in reproduction 18th- and 19-century furniture. The Royal Heritage Society of Delaware Valley occupies the house and provides tours. Exhibits and events here focus on British heritage in the region.
Make a left turn from the parking lot next to Ormiston, follow Reservoir Drive tot he next cross street, Randolph Drive, and make another left for Laurel Hill. This lovely brick Georgian mansion was erected in the 1760s on a laurel-covered hill overlooking the Schuylkill. (Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday. Admission: $1.50.)
Francis and Rebecca Rawle built the middle section of the house in 1760. Rebecca Rawle married Samuel Shoemaker in 1767 and later added a kitchen wing. Laurel Hill was confiscated by the state legislature during the Revolution because of Shoemaker's pro-British sympathies, and it was sold to Maj. James Parr. The octagonal wing on the north side of the house was added after the Revolution.
When wartime passions subsided, Rebecca Rawle Shoemaker bought and returned to Laurel Hill in 1784.
Leave Laurel Hill by Edgely Drive, which becomes Dauphin Street. Follow it past the Medicine Man sculpture to Woodford Estate, a Georgian mansion built in 1756 and home of the Naomi Wood Collection of colonial household gear. (Open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Closed Mondays and holidays. Admission: $2.50.)
Woodford was erected by William Coleman as a grouping of three buildings: a handsome brick house, a separate servants' house, and a stable. Coleman, a friend of Benjamin Franklin's, was a Philadelphia merchant, and served as judge of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania before his death in 1769.
The furnishings in Woodford are remarkable: a Philadelphia Chippendale lowboy, a set of Chippendale chairs, two Philadelphia Chippendale camelback sofas, a handsome secretary, and a host of artifacts including copies of a Loyalist newspaper published in Philadelphia during the British occupation.
Make a left turn from Dauphin onto Strawberry Mansion Drive, passing the front of Woodford on the way to nearby Strawberry Mansion. This is the largest mansion in the park, featuring a Federal-style center section and Greek Revival wings. (Open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Admission: $1.50.)
Strawberry Mansion got its name in the mid-19th century, when it was a dairy farm, serving strawberries and cream. The surrounding community has taken on the name. But long before that, the mansion was known as the home of Philadelphia judges. Quaker Judge William Lewis bought the wooded land in 1783 and rebuilt an earlier structure by about 1790, calling it "Summerville."
Another judge, Joseph Hemphill, purchased the house in the 1820s and added the Greek Revival wings. Here, he entertained such guests as the Marquis de Lafayette, John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, and Daniel Webster of Massachusetts. Hemphill's son, Coleman, grew strawberries here from roots he imported from Chile. The house has elegant Federal, Regency and Empire furniture.
Leaving Strawberry Mansion, make your way to nearby Ridge Avenue and follow it to Laurel Hill Cemetery, a worthy detour from your mansion tour. This was the first cemetery in the nation designed by an architect and was a popular picture spot during the 19th century. (Open 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Tours provided by appointment; call 215-228-8200.)
This sprawling Victorian necropolis was founded by John Jay Smith in 1836. Smith, head of the Library Company of Philadelphia, acquired land on the banks of the Schuylkill and invited architects to submit designs.
John Notman, a young Scottish-born architect, received the commission, beating out well-known architect William Strickland, designer of the Second Bank of the United States. Notman laid out curving paths and sculpted natural amphitheaters out of the riverside slope, turning the parklike Laurel Hill into such a popular destination that tickets had to be handed out to control the number of visitors.
Sculpture garden
More than 70,000 people lie buried here in a beautiful 100-acre sculpture garden, amid obelisks and mausoleums that dot the hilly landscape overlooking the river. Dozens of military commanders were interred in Laurel Hill — a kind of Valhalla of the Civil War, shared by enlisted men as well.
You can pick up a map at the gatehouse, located at the entrance to the cemetery. Walk down a narrow lane, through a canyon of brooding marble statues and granite monuments; pass a macabre tomb depicting a soul's escape from a sarcophagus; then look for a large, ivy-covered maple and a simple white headstone beneath it. Here lies George Gordon Meade, the general who led Union troops to victory at the Battle of Gettysburg.
Down another winding road is the tomb of Rear Adm. John Adolph Bernard Dahlgren, "father of modern naval ordnance," who helped revolutionize the navies of the world and who developed the Dahlgren cannon. Next to him is his son, Col. Ulric Dahlgren, who was killed in 1864 during a cavalry raid near Richmond, Va. And further on is the grave of Confederate Gen. John Pemberton, a Philadelphia native who surrendered Vicksburg, Miss., to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant with 30,000 Southern troops on Independence Day 1863.
Centennial Exposition
From the cemetery, turn left on to Ridge Avenue, follow it to Ferry Road, make another left, followed by a left onto Kelly Drive. Head south to the Strawberry Mansion Bridge, turn right and cross the river, then bear left onto West River Drive. Take it to Montgomery Drive, make a right turn and follow it to Belmont Avenue. On your left is the Ohio House, built for the Centennial Exposition. This Victorian Gothic cottage represented the State of Ohio during the Centennial. It was erected with stone from 21 quarries in the state.
Continue on Belmont Avenue to Belmont Mansion Drive, make a right turn for Belmont Plateau and Belmont Mansion. From the mansion grounds, you'll get a spectacular view of the city skyline.
Belmont Plateau is more than 240 feet above the river, so it offers one of the best vistas of Philadelphia, looking down toward the Art Museum and the skyscrapers beyond. The Belmont Mansion belonged to Judge William Peters in 1742. Peters, a Loyalist, returned to England but his son Richard, a patriot, entertained Washington, Franklin and Madison here. It's a favorite place for wedding receptions and private parties.
Follow Belmont Mansion Drive until it forks, bear left, cross Montgomery Drive, bear left again for North Horticulture Drive and another detour, this time to the Horticultural Center. This is Philadelphia's only multipurpose horticultural exhibition facility. (Open daily 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. from April to October, weekdays from November to March. Admission is by donation.) The center has permanent and changing seasonal plantings and displays.
Next, continue on Concourse Drive, then turn left onto Lansdowne Drive and follow it to Cedar Grove, a gray fieldstone house erected about 1748 in the Frankford section of Philadelphia. It was dismantled and moved here in 1926. (Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Admission: $2.50.)
Elizabeth Coates Paschall, a widow, built the house on land in Frankford. Elizabeth's granddaughter, Sarah Paschall Morris, inherited it and added on to it in the 1790s.
Lydia Thompson Morris, fifth-generation owner of Cedar Grove had the house disassembled, then erected in Fairmount Park as a gift to the city. Inside is the furniture of five generations.
Head back toward the intersection of Lansdowne and North Concourse Drives and bear left for Sweetbriar, a symmetrical, Federal-style mansion built in 1797. (Open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, July to mid-December. By appointment from December to June.)
The house was built by Samuel and Jean Breck to escape the yellow fever epidemics that killed thousands of Philadelphians between 1793 and 1800. The Brecks entertained such influential people as the Marquis de Lafayette when he toured the United States in 1825.
Foreign dignitaries, generals, statesmen, nation-builders and, yes, those of a traitorous beat — all found hospitality in the glorious and gracious mansions of Fairmount Park. |
