Charles Currie House
50 West Walnut Lane
Pennsylvania Historic Resource Survey Form (dated 1983)
Office of Historic Preservation, PA Historical & Museum Commission, Harrisburg, PA
Available at the Philadelphia Historical Commission

Included are photograph, site plan and text including the following information:

Residence constructed of local stone with wood trim, 1899. Architect Mantle Fielding. Georgian Revival style.

Property owners name and address:
Jonathan Rhodes
50 W. Walnut Lane
Philadelphia PA 19144

Brief description:
"This house is oriented with its roof ridge parallel to the street and is set back behind a fieldstone wall. Two stories of local stone carry a full attic beneath the hipped roof. A flat roof saddle rises above the ridge to provide for a skylight. A projecting 2-story portico rises above the porch which runs along the length of the front elevation. It is capped by a pedimented gable, supported by pairs of wooden Ionic columns, that features a lunette with a fan light motif. The second story forms a balustraded balcony with access provided by a three-sided bay with French windows. Pairs of double-hung windows with 12/12 sash flank the balcony. A dentilled cornice trims the roof line and continues around the pediment. Particularly handsome are the two attic dormers with extended keystones in wooden arches enclosing traceried Georgian windows."

History, significance, and background:
"Local architect Mantle Fielding designed notable houses in Germantown and as far away as New Haven, Connecticut. He was also the author of a dictionary of American painters. Trained in the office of Frank Furness, he was capable of picturesque Victorian design as well as the tasteful Georgian Revival style seen at 50 W. Walnut Lane. Here the architecture recalls the elaborate symmetrical Georgian mansions built near Philadelphia in the mid-18th century. In addition, the landscaping and the relation to the street, behind a fieldstone wall, preserve the ideal of a rural estate even in the midst of the lively 19th century railway suburb."

Source of information:
Philadelphia Deeds: 49 N 23, 39
Clio Index: 0031924

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