Opposite the famous Chew house on Germantown Avenue, amid a luxurious setting of splendid trees, clinging ivy and box-bordered gardens, stands Upsala, one of the finest examples of the Colonial architecture of Philadelphia. A great, square two and a half story house with a gable roof, three handsome dormers in front, a goodly sized chimney toward either end, and an L in the rear, it speaks eloquently of substantial comfort. Like many houses of the time and place, the facade is of faced stone carefully pointed, while the other walls are of exceptionally pleasing ledge stone, the two kinds of masonry being quoined together at the corners. The pointing of the stonework is a very informal variation of the modern Germantown type,--flat-trowel pointed with little regard to definiteness of line. The wide joints are more appropriate in scale and taste than the ridge or weathered type, in that they harmonize better with the generally broad effect of the house and the white-painted wood trim of numerous windows and doors. Keyed lintels and window sills of marble accentuate the fenestration, and the facade is further enriched by a handsome cornice and marble belt at the second-floor level. Four marble steps give approach to the high, pedimental porch before a door of delightful grace and dignity. As was often the case, there are white-painted shutters at the lower windows and green-painted blinds at the upper. The gable ends of the house are interesting in their fenestration, with a fanlight of delightful pattern above and between two ordinary windows; one notices with interest that the returns of the eaves are carried entirely across the ends of the house from front to back, after the manner of the characteristic penthouse roof. Within, a broad hall extends through the house, an archway at the foot of the winding staircase being its most striking feature. Two rooms on each side contain handsome mantels, paneled wainscots and other beautiful wood finish. As indicated by the date stone in one of the gables, Upsala was begun in 1798 by John Johnson, Junior, who inherited the land from his grandfather, also named John Johnson, and was some three years in the building. It is located near the corner of Upsal Street on part of a tract of land that originally extended from Germantown Avenue, then Germantown Road, to the township line at Wissahickon Avenue. The house stands on the spot where the Fortieth Regiment of the British Army was encamped, and where later General Maxwell's cannon were planted to assail the Chew house at the Battle of Germantown. It has been successively occupied by Norton Johnson, Doctor William N. Johnson and Miss Sallie W. Johnson, all descendants of the builder. [Illustration: PLATE XXVI.--Doorway, 5200 Germantown Avenue; Doorway, 4927 Frankford Avenue.] [Illustration: PLATE XXVII.--Doorway, Powel House, 244 South Third Street; Doorway, Wharton House, 336 Spruce Street.]