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Historic Sites – Page 2


Hassrick Residence

4130 Cherry Lane, off School House Lane [click here for map]  

Philadelphia Register of Historic Places

A strong example of a mid-century modern or “modernist” house, designed by the important west coast architect Richard Neutra, in collaboration with Philadelphia architect Thaddeus Longstreth. It was built in 1958. It is now owned by Jefferson University/Philadelphia University and is used by its program in historic preservation.

See also hiddencityphila.org/…hassrick-house-in-east-falls/
Click here for Philadelphia Register Nomination (PDF)

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Henry W. Brown residence

3850 The Oak Road [click here for map]

Philadelphia Register of  Historic Places

This handsome “Colonial Revival” house built in 1906-1907 was designed by Clinton Gardner Harris for Henry W. Brown a prominent figure in the insurance business who created The Oak Road. Its final private owner was John Spence Timmons, who invented an early form of radio loudspeaker and other electronic devices. He gave the house and property to the neighboring William Penn Charter School.

Click here for Philadelphia Register Nomination

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Ivy Cottage, 1974 photo

3819 The Oak Road [click here for map] 
Philadelphia Register of Historic Places

One of the oldest houses in the eastern region of East Falls, Ivy Cottage dates to somewhere in the 1850s-1870s. It was for many years in the 19 thcentury the home of the Johnson family, which included Lindley Johnson, an architect. It is an exemplary “Gothic Cottage,” a style intended for the country, which its surroundings were when the house was built. The architect is not known.

Click here for Philadelphia Register Nomination (Zipped file)

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The Kelly House, ca. 2009

3901 Henry Avenue, Philadelphia, PA  [click here for map] 

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Marker

Marker text:
The Kelly Family
This famous family lived in the home built here by John B. Kelly. A successful businessman active in city politics, Jack was a 3-time Olympic gold medal winner in the 1920s for rowing. Son John Jr. (“Kell”) won the Diamond Scull at the 1947 British Henley Regatta and a bronze medal at the 1956 Olympics. Both father and son were named to US Rowing and Olympic Halls of Fame. Daughter Grace was an Academy Award-winning actress and Princess of Monaco.

See also: wikipedia.org/wiki/John_B._Kelly_Sr.
See also: wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Kelly

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“Millionaires’ Row”

3822 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia, PA [click here for map]

National Register of Historic Places
Philadelphia Register of Historic Places
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Marker

From Wikipedia:

Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic garden or rural cemetery in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, it was the second major rural cemetery in the United States after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts.

The cemetery is 74-acre (300,000 m2) in size and overlooks the Schuylkill River. The cemetery grew to its current size through the purchase of four land parcels between 1836 and 1861. It contains over 11,000 family lots and more than 33,000 graves including thousands of 19th- and 20th-century marble and granite funerary monuments such as obelisks, elaborately sculpted hillside tombs and mausoleums.

In 1977, Laurel Hill Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places  and in 1998, it became the first cemetery in the United States to be designated a National Historic Landmark.

See also: .wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurel_Hill_Cemetery
See also: thelaurelhillcemetery.org

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Recent view of Chapel

3625 McMichael Street, Philadelphia, PA [click here for map]

Philadelphia Register of Historic Places

The complex of one-story buildings at 3625 Michael Street on the corner of Midvale Avenue was placed on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places by the Philadelphia Historic Commission on Friday, February 14, 2020 based on its architectural style and contribution to the social history of the neighborhood. The chapel section was built on this site in 1916 for the Manor Sunday School Association previously formed by neighborhood men in the newly developing Queen Lane Manor neighborhood bounded by Henry Avenue, Queen Lane, Coulter Street (then called Mill Street) and Stokely Street. 

See also:  History of “Ken-Crest” Site Revealed 
Click here for Philadelphia Register Nomination

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Philadelphia Record photo, Harold R. Stott, October 1927

 3816 The Oak Rd  [Click here for map]

Philadelphia Register of Historic Places

 Designed  by Colonial Revival specialist Carl A. Ziegler and completed in 1927,  the church and parish hall were found to satisfy both historic  designation Criterion D for the Philadelphia Register (Embodies distinguishing characteristics of an  architectural style or engineering specimen) and Criterion E (Is the  work of a designer, architect, landscape architect or designer, or  engineer whose work has significantly influenced the historical,  architectural, economic, social, or cultural development of the City,  Commonwealth or Nation). 

Click here for church website.
See also:  Manor Sunday School Association/Chapel of the Good Shepherd   
Philadelphia Historic Site Nomination

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Odd Fellows Hall ca. 1937

4200 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia, PA [click here for map]

Philadelphia Register of Historic Places

Constructed in 1868 for the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and owned and used by several different fraternal organizations, community groups, and commercial tenants, the building at 4200-06 Ridge Avenue exemplifies the social, economic and historical heritage of the East Falls community. The large building stands out in the context of primarily two and three-story rowhouses and is situated prominently at the intersection of Ridge and Midvale Avenues—the heart of the East Falls community. 

Click here for Philadelphia Register

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