Mar-a-Lago, first opened in 1927, is the most magnificent mansion on Florida’s east coast built before the Great Depression. Planned by architect Marion Wyeth and interior designer Joseph Urban, with sculpture by Franz Barwig of Vienna, Mar~a~Lago is an adaptation of the Hispano-Moresque style. It is two storied and crescent-shaped in plan, with upper and […]
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One of the best examples of a Greek Revival house in the United States is to be found in a remote part of South Carolina, after much travel over winding dirt roads. From all who have made the journey, the trip is worth it to see this well preserved mansion, completed in 1841 and rumored to cost $100,000
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The George Read House is called Stonum, a historic residence not far from the banks of the Delaware river in New Castle DE, in what was originally called the “Lower States on the Delaware River”. Read signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and later became Senator and Chief Justice for the state. He attended the
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Maison de la Brinvilliers rue de Bièvre by Jules-Adolphe Chauvet Over 1400 renderings of Paris street scenes from the late 1800s by the artist Jules Adolphe Chauvet can be seen at the Bibliotheque nationale de France. This body of work accidentally documents some of the buildings that were demolished by the urban development plans of
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While eating pizza at In Riva restaurant near Kelly Drive in Philadelphia after a self-guided tour of historic houses in Fairmount Park – and even walking through the parking lot between the buildings – we completely missed the newly restored diner south of the Rt. 1 overpass called the Trolley Car Cafe ((Trolley Car Cafe,
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The world moved much slower before the automobile. So for thrills, Philadelphia “drivers” would saddle up and race down Chamounix Speedway, named for Chamounix Mansion in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. Soon after the horse speedway opened, the Quaker City Motor Club modified the horse track for automobile races. 1913 Chamounix Speedway An article from The Horse Review (1900)1 published in
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Drive on the serpentine roads around the Fairmount Park Houses on the west of the Schuylkill River to find one of the first Beaux-Arts buildings in the United States. Memorial Hall was completed in 1876 as a permanent structure for the International Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, now occupied by the Please Touch Museum.(( Please Touch
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All houses wherein men have lived and died Are haunted houses. Through the open doors The harmless phantoms on their errands glide With feet that make no sounds upon the floor. “The Builders” ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
All houses… are haunted houses Read More »
The last weekend in April is the perfect time to visit the Fairmount Park Houses in Philadelphia. Flowers and trees are blooming, everyone is getting over cabin fever from the winter months – and today Otto got a new bicycle. All the park buildings were open for business and the baseball fields were busy with
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Not to be confused with the Congress Hall in Cape May, New Jersey (one of the oldest beach resort communities in the country), this Congress Hall in Center City Philadelphia is part of Independence National Historical Park. The building started as a County Courthouse but was derelict for years until a new tenant was found. Find out how
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