Hatfield House (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

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Hatfield House
Hatfield House Philly.JPG
Hatfield House in 2010.
Hatfield House (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is located in Philadelphia
Hatfield House (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
LocationFairmount Park, 33rd Street near Girard Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Coordinates39°58′33″N 75°11′18″W / 39.97583°N 75.18833°W / 39.97583; -75.18833Coordinates: 39°58′33″N 75°11′18″W / 39.97583°N 75.18833°W / 39.97583; -75.18833
Arealess than one acre
Built1760
1838
Architectural styleColonial Revival, Greek Revival
NRHP reference No.72001157[1]
Added to NRHPMarch 16, 1972

The Hatfield House is a historic house in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

History[]

In its original location, 1929. Simon Gratz High School is in the background. Photo: HABS

It was built as a suburban villa in 1760, in what is now the Nicetown neighborhood of the city. It operated as Catherine Mallon's Boarding School for Girls from 1806 to 1824. William J. Hay was the next owner, and made major Greek Revival-style alterations – including the addition of the unusual 5-column temple portico – in 1838. Dr. Nathan L. Hatfield, of the University of Pennsylvania, bought it in 1854; his family owned it for 75 years.[2]

The house appears on the 1843 Ellet Map of Philadelphia County, on the south side of Nicetown Road (Hunting Park Avenue), east of the Philadelphia and Germantown Rail Road and west of the Germantown and Perkiomen Turnpike (Germantown Avenue).[3] By the 1855 Barnes Map, the city's street grid has been sketched in, although few of the streets yet existed.[4] By 1862, a horse-drawn streetcar line passed a block east of the house.[5]

Simon Gratz High School was built directly east of the house in 1925. Major Henry Reed Hatfield donated the house to Fairmount Park Commission in 1929. In 1930, the building was dismantled and moved one story at a time to its present site, 33rd Street and Girard Avenue.[6] Architect Erling H. Pedersen, of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, managed the relocation.[7]

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 16, 1972. It is currently leased as office space by the Father's Day Fund.[8]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ Data Pages, Hatfield House, Historic American Buildings Survey (PDF)
  3. ^ Ellet Map (1843), from Free Library of Philadelphia.
  4. ^ Barnes Map (1855), from Free Library of Philadelphia.
  5. ^ 1862 Smedley Atlas of Philadelphia, from Free Library of Philadelphia.
  6. ^ http://articles.philly.com/1987-09-29/news/26212367_1_art-museum-hatfield-house-porch
  7. ^ Erling H. Pedersen, from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings.
  8. ^ "Philadelphia Parks & Recreation".

External links[]

Media related to Hatfield House, Philadelphia at Wikimedia Commons

  • Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. PA-1658, "Hatfield House", 15 photos, 3 data pages, 1 photo caption page
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