Castner Scrapbook v.18, Chestnut Street – Residences 1, page 25

Historical Images of Philadelphia Castner Scrapbook Collection
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Castner Scrapbook v.18, Chestnut Street – Residences 1, page 25

Item Info

Item No: pdcc03110
Title: Castner Scrapbook v.18, Chestnut Street – Residences 1, page 25
Historic Street Address: 5267 Germantown Avenue
Media Type: Scrapbooks
Source: Print and Picture Collection
Notes:

Item 1, entire page:  Caption reads, "Fairy Tale House Recalls Past."  This 1949 newspaper article details the history of the Wister family mansion, nicknamed "Grumblethorpe," located at 5267 Germantown Avenue.  Merchant John Wister had this residence built in 1744, in the American Georgian style.  The property extended as far back as Wakefield Street and included a working farm, which over the next 160 years gave way to gardens and homes for Wister's descendants.  John's grandson Charles Jones Wister Sr. updated the facade in the 1820s to a more Federal style.  In 1941, all 36 individual Wister family lots on the property were consolidated by Frances Anne Wister and deeded to PhilaLandmarks, to ultimately create a museum and gardens for the Germantown Historic District.  The photographs in this article show how the back and front of the residence looked in 1949, with the changed facade; between 1956-1967, the facade was restored to the original Georgian style.  In 1972, the house was named to the National Register of Historic Places.  Reproductions of two photographs for an unidentified newspaper, 20 x 31 cm, 5/1/1949.


Creation Year: ca. 1845
Geocode Latitude: Geocode Longitude:-75.168427
Geocode Latitude:40.032082

Call Number: A917.481 P536 v.18
Creator Name: Castner, Samuel, Jr., 1843-1929 - Compiler
Elizabeth Emerson Stine - Author

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