Solomon House (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Explained

Solomon House (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) should not be confused with Solomon's House.

Solomon House
Nrhp Type:nrhp
Location:130–132 S. 17th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Coordinates:39.9503°N -75.1694°W
Built:1887
Architect:Furness & Evans
Builder:Ketcham, B.
Added:August 24, 1978
Refnum:78002454

Solomon House is an 1887 brick-and-brownstone building at 17th and Moravian Streets in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was designed by the architectural firm of Furness & Evans, headed by Frank Furness, Philadelphia's leading architect in the last quarter of the 19th century. It was built as the southernmost of a row of five city houses by developer Joseph Solomon and contractor B. Ketcham. It became Solomon's own house, and is the only one of the five still standing.

The Solomon House represents a period in Furness's career when he began a more mature, restrained style, yet retained his playful manipulation of texture and color.[1] Major features include a rusticated brownstone base, smooth brownstone bands connecting the first-floor windowsills and the rusticated arches above, a pair of oversized chimneys, a two-story tile-covered box window projecting over the Moravian Street sidewalk, a heavy articulated brick cornice, a dormer capped by a pyramidal tile roof, a calla lily which appears to support a spur wall, and exposed ironwork at the entrance.[2] The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Contemporaneous Furness buildings include the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania Library, and the Philadelphia B. & O. Railroad Station (demolished). The Solomon House is related to the George R. Preston House (demolished).
  2. George E. Thomas, National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form - [{{NRHP-PA|H001456_01H.pdf}} Solomon House]