The Slate Roof House

The Slate Roof House

The Slate Roof House was one of two residences occupied by William Penn during his second visit to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1699-1701. The house stood on 2nd Street south of Chestnut from ca. 1687 until its demolition in 1867.

Built for Barbadian Quaker merchant Samuel Carpenter, the house was located near the heart of the colonial city and occupied a small hill overlooking the nearby Delaware River. Built of brick in the Jacobean style, it featured a facade of two projecting wings flanking a recessed central entrance. Notable at the time for its large size, it received its moniker due to the rarity of slate roofs in early colonial Philadelphia. For two years, Penn rented the house for use as a city residence while maintaining his country house north of the city at Pennsbury Manor.

In this house General John Forbes, second in command, and afterwards successor to General Edward Braddock, died, and from it was borne to the grave, with military honors. In after years, it was the temporary abode of John Adams, John Hancock, and many other distinguished members of the First Continental Congress, and also of Baron Johann de Kalb, who fell, fighting for American independence, at the Battle of Camden. The brave General Charles Lee also breathed his last in this house, and was buried in Christ Church Burial Ground.

The house was altered for commercial use during the 19th century and, despite protests from historians, was demolished in 1867. It was replaced by a commercial building that stood until 1976. In 1982, Welcome Park was built on the site and features Penn’s plan of the city laid out in slate tiles as well as a bronze model of the house located at the rear of the park.

Sources

* [http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/pa/philadelphia/watsontoc.htm Watson's Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, 1857]
* [http://www.frommers.com/destinations/philadelphia/0023020034.html Frommer's Philadelphia Walking Tour]
* [http://www.philaathenaeum.org/ The Athenaeum of Philadelphia]

External links

* [http://www.libraries.psu.edu/do/digitalbookshelf/27843260/27843260_part_025.pdf#search=%22%22slate%20roof%20house%22%22 Penn's House]
* [http://www.ushistory.org/tour/tour_welcome.htm Welcome Park]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Roof — A roof is the covering on the uppermost part of a building. A roof protects the building and its contents from the effects of weather. Structures that require roofs range from a letter box to a cathedral or stadium, dwellings being the most… …   Wikipedia

  • slate — 01. The President is [slated] to speak before the United Nations General Assembly this afternoon. 02. The actor who was [slated] to star in the movie died just before filming began. 03. They are [slated] to move at the beginning of August. 04.… …   Grammatical examples in English

  • Slate industry in Wales — The slate industry in Wales began during the Roman period when slate was used to roof the fort at Segontium, now Caernarfon. The slate industry grew slowly until the early 18th century, then expanded rapidly until the late 19th century, at which… …   Wikipedia

  • The Tholsel, Kilkenny — The Tholsel, High Street, Kilkenny, Ireland was built in 1761 by Alderman William Colles (b.1702). It was built as place for collecting tolls, but has also been used as customs house, a courthouse and a guild hall. It is used today as the town… …   Wikipedia

  • Roof construction — This article is about house construction that consists of beams and an outer weatherproof skin, as found on most domestic architecture. Such roofs may take a number of different shapes. Construction of a ridged roofA simple ridged roof consists… …   Wikipedia

  • slate — slate1 [sleıt] n ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(rock)¦ 2¦(on a roof)¦ 3 slate blue/grey 4¦(politics)¦ 5¦(for writing on)¦ 6 put something on the slate ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ [Date: 1300 1400; : Old French; Origin: esclat thin piece split off , from esclater to burst, splinter ] …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • roof — rooflike, adj. /roohf, roof/, n., pl. roofs, v. n. 1. the external upper covering of a house or other building. 2. a frame for supporting this: an open timbered roof. 3. the highest part or summit: The Himalayas are the roof of the world. 4.… …   Universalium

  • roof — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ conical, flat, gabled, mansard, pitched, pointed, sloped (esp. AmE), sloping, steep ▪ corruga …   Collocations dictionary

  • The Shell Grotto — There is also a Shell Grotto in Margate.The Shell Grotto (sometimes called the Shell Hermitage) is a late 18th century stone built, slate roofed grotto decorated with shells and animal bones on the interior. It stands on a prominent ridge 700 ft… …   Wikipedia

  • The Beatles — This article is about the band. For other uses, see The Beatles (disambiguation). Fab Four redirects here. For other uses, see Fab Four (disambiguation) …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”