1. Philadelphia Row Houses
By Don Letts and Lindsey Kieffaber

2. Penn's Plan
“Penn's initial design for his 'green country town' was framed partly in response to his negative view of london”- (pg. 10. Spaces, inside and outside in Eighteenth-Century Philadelphia by Sharon V Salinger)
Philadelphia was the first large-scale gridiron.
He designed the town for large mansions per block surrounded by gardens. A truly suburban setting
Ironically, “...by 1750 the aspect of the toen bore a closer resemblance to London than to Penn's vision of a disciplined community.” (pg. 1. Houses and Early Life in Philadelphia, by Grant Miles Simon)
You note “greene country town” in previous slide
also, make sure to reference all your facts/idea
make sure to write about how these examples of row houses fit into the object of the assignment
how do row houses fit into penn's idea of a “green country town”?
Is the row house a compromise between what penn saw in London and his ideal of a green country town?
Philadelphia renowned for its ability to provide citizens with a house – not just an apartment. Is the row house an embodiment of a spacious, “green country town” in the sense that each person has the real ability to own her/his own property?
Which sets of the row houses are speculatively built, and which have unique designs?
Christopher Wren – drew out plans for London after the fire of 1666
“in 1690 most of the inhabitants were well housed, and John Goodson was finding “rents towards the river high.” Penn's dream of a great town had come a reality.” - (wilderness, 10)

3. Row House Comprimise
Row Houses were “Philadelphia’s dominant building type for 300 years…” (pg. 14, The Comparative Row House Study: an Introduction to Architectural Design, by Paul Hirsorn)
Row House design is essentially a comprimise between what Penn wanted, and what London was.
The majority of the row houses did not have gardens in front of them.
However row houses allowed for individuals to own property rather than the appartment style New York.
Penn encouraged, and there still remains a psychology within Philadelphia (especially the old Philadelphia area) that the inhabitants are city people, but country people at heart.

4. Half Timber Construction
A few examples of half-timber construction:
Used in Germany and London (before the great fire of 1666)
Relevance: the first row houses were constructed in half-timber construction (Budd’s Row- “the earliest recorded row in Philadelphia… dating from about 1691” (pg. 140, Robert Mills and the Philadelphia Row House, by Kenneth Ames)

5. - upper to middle class inhabitants - 1702-1755
Elfreth's alley
- upper to middle class inhabitants
- one side is primarily Georgian architecture, and the other federal.
South Side of Elfreth's Alley
Georgian architecture
- pediments
- paneled shutters
Elfreth's alley is the most perfect existing example of city house plan.

6. North Side of Elfreth’s Alley
Federal Architecture
-collumns around the door
-more aymewtrical and balanced.
-have elevated entrances more often
- pedimented gable
- three full stories
- roof pitch reduced

7. York Row:
South side of walnut street facing sansom row
originally very grand
Built by BHL in , shortly before Mills created Franklin row

8. Built in 1810 by Robert Mills
Franklin Row:
Built in 1810 by Robert Mills
South 9th St, between Chestnut and Walnut St.
Franklin rowis not just a series of different architectural unites but a unified architectural composition to emulate England's tradion of style. Franklin row was different in it's style because it took the traditional country house (pictured above) and replicated it (without the one story sides) into a row. It was unique in its approach and was copied afterwards.

9. Colonade Row Corner of Fifteenth and Chestnut Streets
residential four-storey buildings
1830
John Haviland

10. Sansom Row:
Brown Stone Façade – (16 of 18…2 westward have common Philadelphia brick)
Imbricated Shingles – overlapping edges
Mansards - upper story formed by a slanted roof
Paired Doorways
Continuous bracketed cornices – molding
Built in 1860’s By Benjamin Henry Latrobe

11. Elfreth's Alley
Franklin Row
Sansom Row
York Row
Budd's Long Row

12. Bibliography
Bridenbaugh, Carl. Cities in the Wilderness. New York: The Ronald Press Company.
Burt, Nathaniel. The Perennial Philadelphians. Philadelphia: University of Pennslyvania Press, 1963.
Salinger, Sharon V. “Spaces, Inside and Outside in Eighteenth Century Philadelphia.” Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Vol. 26, No
Ames, Kenneth. “Robert Mills and the Philadelphia Row House”. The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 27, No. 2. May,
Schweitzer, Mary M. “The Spatial Organization of Federalist Philadelphia, 1790.” Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Vol. 24, No
The Octavia Hill Association. “Certain Aspects of the Housing Problem in Philadelphia.” Annals of the American academy of Political and Social Science.Vol. 20. July 1902,

13. Bibliography con’t
Simon, Grant Miles. “Houses and Early Life in Philadelphia.” Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. New Ser, Vol. 43, No
Murtagh, William John. “The Philadelphia Row House.” The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 16 No. 4. December 1957.
Smith, Robert C. “Two Centuries of Philadelphia Architecture ” Transations of the American Philosophical Society, New Ser, Vol 43, No
Hirshorn, Paul. “The Comparative Rowhouse Study: An Introduction to Architectural Design.” JAE, Vol. 36, No