Historic buildings -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
On entering, the visitor will be impressed with the simplicity of the
architecture and the delicacy of the ornament. Of a later date than that
of Mount Pleasant, the style is more classic, varied by the relief
ornament of the mantels and the number of large graceful windows. The
large reception room contains four beautifully carved Heppelwhite side
chairs, a pair of mahogany card tables and a sofa of the same style.
Wedgwood vases, gilt torchères and a large Oriental rug represent
imported objects which the room might have exhibited in its original
state. A rare acquisition, a complete set of William Birch’s views of
Philadelphia, hang upon these walls and on the stair landing. At the
right of the fireplace stands a painted armchair with needlepoint back
and seat, and nearby is a tripod candlestand. These pieces formed a part
of the original furnishings of Sweetbrier, and have been lent by the
descendants of Samuel Breck. In a vitrine near the west door, a
miniature on ivory shows the youthful Samuel Breck.
[Illustration: CEDAR GROVE, 1721-1795 Shown on map as No. 2]
CEDAR GROVE
Cedar Grove is an ancestral home of the Morris family. The house, which
stood for over two hundred years near Harrowgate station in Frankford,
in 1927 was removed stone by stone. It has been re-erected on Lansdowne
Drive near Memorial Hall, with its original contents, through the
generosity of Miss Lydia Thompson Morris. The land at Frankford was
bought in 1714 by Thomas Coates of High Street, the father of Elizabeth
Coates. In 1721 Elizabeth married Isaac Paschall, and it is from this
time that dates the oldest portion of the house. Isaac Paschall, a son
of Elizabeth, married Patience Mifflin in 1767. The house came to his
daughter Sarah, who married Isaac W. Morris in 1795.
Through the munificent gift of Miss Morris, Cedar Grove has retained its
heirlooms dating from 1720 to 1800. Within its walls may be seen
furniture from the simple William and Mary type to the elegant examples
of Heppelwhite and Sheraton.
One enters directly into the living room with the informality of
pre-Revolutionary times. The Chippendale sofa, upholstered in yellow
brocade, the pie-crust table and the six ball-and-claw foot chairs
combine easily with the earlier William and Mary highboy and lowboy.
In the dining room, the majority of pieces illustrate the formal
Heppelwhite style. The kitchen remains in a simple state, its large
fireplace adequately supplied with cranes and pots.
Passing upstairs one visits the several bedrooms, furnished mainly in
Heppelwhite style. The beds with their fluted posts and straight chintz
hangings illustrate the simplicity which followed Chippendale’s
exuberant curves. In the same style are mahogany chests of drawers with
bracket feet.
[Illustration: BELMONT, 1755 Shown on map as No. 3]
BELMONT
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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