Lemon Hill
Encyclopedia
Lemon Hill is a Federal-style
mansion in Fairmount Park
, Philadelphia, built by the merchant Henry Pratt. Originally part of Robert Morris's 300 acres (121.4 ha) estate, The Hills, Pratt purchased 43 acres (17.4 ha) at a sheriff's sale for $14,654 in 1799. According to Pratt's letterbooks, recently discovered by Philadelphia Museum of Art assistant curator Martha C. Halpern, he designed the mansion himself and served as his own general contractor. Named for the many lemon trees in Morris's greenhouse, which was part of his new property, Pratt lived here until his death in 1838.
To protect its water supply, the City of Philadelphia began purchasing properties along the Schuylkill River
, beginning with Lemon Hill in 1844. This formed the basis for what is now Fairmount Park
.
Lemon Hill is located on a bluff overlooking the Schuylkill River
and Boathouse Row
. Exceptional architectural features include its three oval parlors, stacked one on top of the other, with curved fireplace mantles and doors.
The mansion was restored by the architectural historian Fiske Kimball
, 1925–26, who lived here while president of the Philadelphia Museum of Art
, 1925–55. He conjectured that Robert Morris had built the mansion, but this was disproven by Martha C. Halpern in 2005. In the William L. Clement Library at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, she discovered Henry Pratt's letterbooks, and established through tax records that the mansion did not exist at the time he purchased the land.
Owned by the City of Philadelphia, it is operated as a house museum by the Colonial Dames of America and the Friends of Lemon Hill. Long hidden by dense trees on the sides of the hill, a restoration of the "historic viewscape" is underway which will recreate the original vistas of and from the mansion.
Federal architecture
Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the United States between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815. This style shares its name with its era, the Federal Period. The name Federal style is also used in association with furniture design...
mansion in Fairmount Park
Fairmount Park
Fairmount Park is the municipal park system of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It consists of 63 parks, with , all overseen by the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, successor to the Fairmount Park Commission in 2010.-Fairmount Park proper:...
, Philadelphia, built by the merchant Henry Pratt. Originally part of Robert Morris's 300 acres (121.4 ha) estate, The Hills, Pratt purchased 43 acres (17.4 ha) at a sheriff's sale for $14,654 in 1799. According to Pratt's letterbooks, recently discovered by Philadelphia Museum of Art assistant curator Martha C. Halpern, he designed the mansion himself and served as his own general contractor. Named for the many lemon trees in Morris's greenhouse, which was part of his new property, Pratt lived here until his death in 1838.
To protect its water supply, the City of Philadelphia began purchasing properties along the Schuylkill River
Schuylkill River
The Schuylkill River is a river in Pennsylvania. It is a designated Pennsylvania Scenic River.The river is about long. Its watershed of about lies entirely within the state of Pennsylvania. The source of its eastern branch is in the Appalachian Mountains at Tuscarora Springs, near Tamaqua in...
, beginning with Lemon Hill in 1844. This formed the basis for what is now Fairmount Park
Fairmount Park
Fairmount Park is the municipal park system of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It consists of 63 parks, with , all overseen by the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, successor to the Fairmount Park Commission in 2010.-Fairmount Park proper:...
.
Lemon Hill is located on a bluff overlooking the Schuylkill River
Schuylkill River
The Schuylkill River is a river in Pennsylvania. It is a designated Pennsylvania Scenic River.The river is about long. Its watershed of about lies entirely within the state of Pennsylvania. The source of its eastern branch is in the Appalachian Mountains at Tuscarora Springs, near Tamaqua in...
and Boathouse Row
Boathouse Row
-Early 19th century beginnings:The history of Boathouse Row begins with the construction of the Fairmount Dam and the adjacent Water Works. The Dam was built in 1810 as part of a lock at the Falls of the Schuylkill to bring coal downriver. The Dam submerged rapids and transformed the Schuylkill...
. Exceptional architectural features include its three oval parlors, stacked one on top of the other, with curved fireplace mantles and doors.
The mansion was restored by the architectural historian Fiske Kimball
Fiske Kimball
Fiske Kimball was an American architect, architectural historian and museum director.-Biography:Kimball was born in Newton, Massachusetts on December 8, 1888....
, 1925–26, who lived here while president of the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It is located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The Museum was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year...
, 1925–55. He conjectured that Robert Morris had built the mansion, but this was disproven by Martha C. Halpern in 2005. In the William L. Clement Library at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, she discovered Henry Pratt's letterbooks, and established through tax records that the mansion did not exist at the time he purchased the land.
Owned by the City of Philadelphia, it is operated as a house museum by the Colonial Dames of America and the Friends of Lemon Hill. Long hidden by dense trees on the sides of the hill, a restoration of the "historic viewscape" is underway which will recreate the original vistas of and from the mansion.
External links
- Lemon Hill Mansion History
- http://www.fairmountparkhouses.org/243-36.html
- Historic Photographs of Lemon Hill, PhillyHistory.org
- 34 photographs of Lemon Hill from Historic American Buildings Survey
- Data pages from Historic American Buildings Survey