Included are the above photograph, site plan and text including the following information:
Bracketed villa [local stone, wood trim], c. 1860, attributed to John Riddell.
Property owners name and address:
Brand Johnson
150 W. Walnut Lane
Philadelphia PA 19144
Brief description:
"The larger version of the suburban villa includes such special
houses as this. Like the nearby houses on Walnut Lane, this is
an adaptation of the center hall house, but with the hall volume
differentiated by projecting and receding gable roofed volumes.
To the north a service wing, also in cut stone, completes our
understanding of the use of the building. Crazy quilt ashlar
with square cut blocks at the corners and carefully cut voussoir
above the windows suggest the sophistication of the builders of
the region, while the bracketed eave and gabled tower mark the
allegiance to Downing and Hobbs. Only the lost front porch marks
a significant alteration to a major masterpiece."
History, significance, and background:
"This is among the largest and most ambitious of the 1850s
generation of houses of the region, and marks the awareness of
the McKean s Fernhill by Notman. It is in extraordinary
condition and on a highly visible site."
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