No, nothing to do with instant coffee kids! Or being good to the last drop!
Over the weekend I drove down to Chestnut Hill, a neighborhood outside of Philly by 15 minutes to meet some friends for lunch, and a walk about around the cute little town. Think another New Hope, only more modern. Beautiful weekend. On our walk around the neighborhood, we came upon the Ebenezer Maxwell House, one of the few remaining Victorian homes left in Philadelphia. We did the tour as I had heard about it but had no idea it was right there so close. Fit the Halloween vibe too. Looked a bit eerie. And the house had a feel to it.
This suburban 19th century home is located in the Tulpehocken Station Historic district and is the only authentically restored Victorian Era house in the Philadelphia area in good shape. In 1839 Ebenezer Maxwell, a cloth merchant built his "country villa". The cost of the land and the house combined was only $10,000!!!! The house is modest compared to the many other Philadelphia estate mansions, but it is still an imposing structure to be sure. It sort of reminded me a bit of the Victorian house my favorite late aunt, and my uncle lived in, in Westfield NJ, before moving to Harrisburg, once they had an empty nest. Docents at the mansion often point out that this home was that of an upper middle class Victorian family, The homeowner would have been a successful businessman who continued into the city, thanks to the newly completed railway line to the suburbs. The masonry and stone building is two-and-a-half stories and has a three-story widows tower at the front. The roof is in the mansard style, with slate covering. The house has three lovely porches and four stone chimneys. It's my understanding the Maxwell family only lived in the house for three years...as Maxwell died at 43, as well as three of the six children, who died in infant years. The house was then sold to one William and Roslie Hunter and their 5 children. Even after William's death, Roslie remarried and continued living there. It remained in the Hunter-Stevenson family for 96 years.
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I personally am not into Victorian style, but I can appreciate the detail and fine craftsmanship.
Like you, Victorian isn't my thing, and the inside gives a bit too much, but the exterior of the house, wow. Stunning. Love everything about it.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing I loved about my aunt and uncle's home in Westfield was the sheer size of the rooms. The house was huge! But they also had 6 kids. Their one son just looked up the house when it sold last. Four years ago, it sold for 1.2 million.My uncle almost passed out when he heard, considering they only paid 185,000 for it.
DeleteVery nice. I've never truly been into the ornateness of Victorian, the heavy fabrics, brocade wallpaper, and the lack of decent plumbing. A very nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there,.
ReplyDeleteImagine doing all those steps to get to bed every night?!?!?
DeleteQuite grand, isn't it? I love that it's stone, not wood. Sixpence is featuring a kid today who should stop here to see what Victorian really is. LOL. Hey, next time, can you do a photo tour of the Philadelphia Mainline for us???
ReplyDeleteOh my!!!! The homes of main line are insane!!!! Talk about old money. The Philadelphia Story was based on the Montgomery Scott' who lived there. Their home was insanely huge. Beautiful old homes on the main line. Our dear Antes Goldberg De-Woofs is on the main line I believe.
DeleteWatch this space Pat!!!!
Love the arched doorways and that stained glass window!
ReplyDeleteI think the stained glass is one of my favorite things about Victorian homes.
DeleteNice!
ReplyDeleteCan you imagine the kind of parties you could host in that thing? I love it.
ReplyDeleteYes....yes i can. Friend of mine use to host a huge Halloween party every year in theirs.
DeleteThe Victorians tended to "gild the lily" but I do quite like this house, the exterior more than the interior.
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed all your posts lately. Thanks x
Ah thanks Christina!!!! I too love the exterior more so. The outside capitaves me.
DeleteWhen I was young, a grand old stone mansion was my fantasy home. Not anymore, but I still love this place.
ReplyDeleteMe too. I couldn't handle or have the time for all that house it would take to upkeep it.
DeleteA Philly gem!!!! Nice to see that they have preserved this house. It is beautiful to see how people with 'money' lived in the past. Love seeing old Victorian homes...which are few and gar between these days. I haven't been to Chestnut Hill/ Mt Airy neighborhoods in an age. Such nice wooded communities...rather nice.
ReplyDeleteThey are rather very pretty and quite areas. It's a pleasure just walking around them.
DeleteYou have got to hop over to Dawn the Bohemian's site. She has a Halloween costume for you.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness what a beautiful home. My style is out Victorian but I sure do love it. Philadelphia and the East Coast always had some of the best homes and architecture I've seen in the United States.
ReplyDeleteWow, they don't make them like that anymore. Grand old home. Although it does have a vibe of ghostiness
ReplyDeleteI love Victorian mansions. Philly has some of the best old homes I've seen. I just wish I could afford a Victorian home. I love the style and design...but not so much the interior furnishings. And I double Pats idea. The Main Line has stunning old homes.
ReplyDeleteTundra Bunny here... This home's exterior is stunning! I'm not a fan of Victorian interiors or furnishings either, though I've always had a soft spot for Widow's Walks and wrought iron gates. I gravitate towards Georgian furniture and interior design for its elegant, clean lines, but I wouldn't turn up my nose at having genuine Shaker, french Art Nouveau or Art Deco furniture either... too bad I've always had champagne tastes on a beer budget, LOL!
ReplyDeleteI like your style Tundra...sound very close to what I like also.
DeleteAbsolutely stunning. Outside and in.
ReplyDeleteI think Victorian takes a second to get used to because some of the rooms seem to be too small but the craftsmanship! Fantastic restoration work, if there's been any.
Seriously, very beautiful. It's a mood, but it's beautiful.
XOXO
I agree. I think Victorian is one of the hardest styles and time periods to embrace. Many like the homes, but then gut the inside and make it modern, mostly because they don't know what to do with Victorian.
DeleteWhat a gorgeous house. I knew this name sounded familiar. I read an article about the place once and rumor has it that the Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion was one home that served as inspiration for the Addams Family house, as depicted by Philadelphia’s own Charles Addams. It is unclear how much cartoonist Charles Addams was influenced by the Victorian buildings he saw, but in article he commented being familiar with both College Hall (on the Penn campus) and the Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion, and both may have shaped the architecture of the Addams Family house. I have also read reports of a house in Westfield, NJ…I’m sure there were many such Victorian masterpieces that ‘inspired’ the Addams Family home–which in the TV show’s intro was actually a drawing. How cool your family lived in Westfield.
ReplyDeleteNow that is cool. I had no idea!!!!!
DeleteNow that’s what I call character! You can really feel the personality of that home.
ReplyDeleteThat is a vibrant Victorian home and Interior for sure…they were not afraid of color! But there are so many cool elements in there…Victorian furniture is like sculpture, don’t you think?
ReplyDeleteAnd ps-LOVE Chestnut Hill.
Glorious old home! So glad it has been persevered and can be toured. Love the interior too. I had a client with a Victorian home, and it was such a fun color palette to design. Wish more people would love that much color.
ReplyDeleteLove the call-system for the servants, they always make me chuckle. If only I could have one to use one on my husband. It would mostly likely go un-answered. lol
ReplyDeleteLovely stonework, sweetpea. I'm not a fan of Victorian interiors, but the craftsmanship and attention to detail is incredible. Thanks for the tour! xoxo
ReplyDeleteWow such a neat historic tour! Makes me really think about all the home advancements just in these past few decades.
ReplyDeleteThe outside of the Maxwell House looks a bit like a church and the inside is beautifully restored. I've lived in a Victorian House (twice), an Edwardian house and a 17th century farmhouse; they all had their good and bad points. One thing I will never do is live in a modern house. Building standards in the UK are complete c**p.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's much better here Helen. You can be driving down the road past an empty field, and it seems like literally 5 months later there's over 300 homes. If they went up that fast how could they possibly be well built?
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