Houses of Philadelphia: Chestnut Hill and the Wissahickon Valley, 1880-1930 (Suburban Domestic Architecture)

Winding its way southward through the Philadelphia communities of Chestnut Hill and Mount Airy, as well as the verdant rural countryside of Gwynedd, Whitemarsh, and Wyndmoor, the Wissahickon Creek flows through a region of both unsurpassed natural beauty and some of the nation s most exquisite residential architecture.

The marvelous landscape that attracted early travelers and settlers became the setting for glorious estates that celebrated the connection between the natural and the built environment. From the mid-19th through the mid-20th century, three generations of prominent regional and national architects designed houses that have endured as magnificent examples of their own time, and remain eminently livable homes to this day.

In Houses of Philadelphia: Chestnut Hill and the Wissahickon Valley, 1880 1930, author James Garrison documents an outstanding group of houses, illustrating the scope of development in the Wissahickon Valley and the talented architects who worked there. From Henry Houston s much altered Drum Moir to Edward Stotesbury s extraordinary Whitemarsh Hall, the book examines 40 properties in detail with over 300 archival and contemporary photographs, drawings, and floor plans.

Fully researched, cogently written, and beautifully produced, Houses of Philadelphia provides a tangible and vibrant record of the eloquent and prodigious design heritage of the Wissahickon Valley.