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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