Garrett-Dunn House Designated

[February 2006] At its January 2006 meeting, the Philadelphia Historical Commission approved the listing of the Garrett-Dunn house in Mt. Airy-a rare work of Architect Thomas U. Walter-in the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places. The designation is an outstanding example of work by a community to protect its historic resources.

When West Mt. Airy community activists learned the Garrett-Dunn House, 7048 Germantown Avenue, was threatened with demolition to make way for new development, they decided to nominate this Italianate Villa to the Philadelphia Register. Although listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing building to the Colonial Germantown Avenue Historic District, little was known about the building's history and no protections were in place to guarantee its preservation.

Initial research revealed the house was historically significant for the following reasons:

-The rare and fine early example of mid-19th century Italianate style of architecture was built for George Howell Garrett. The Garrett's were very early American settlers and amassed a family fortune from their very successful tobacco and snuff business, eventually known as William E. Garrett & Sons. The Garrett family's high quality snuff, trademarked in 1870, become one of the first ten trademarks (number 7) issued in U.S. history and is the oldest trademark still in use in this country;

-The Garrett family was related by marriage to Charles B. Dunn, known as "one of the grand old men of the Pennsylvania banking world".

-In 1930 one of the Garrett descendents died intestate, leaving a legacy of over $20 million. This led to one of Philadelphia's longest lasting and most complex legal cases, with 26,000 claimants from 47 states and 29 foreign countries, and more than 3,000 lawyers. The fight was documented in major newspapers, magazines, and a book.

But the most significant detail about the house was to be revealed after the initial nomination was submitted. Rumors that the house may have been the work of architect Thomas U. Walter, recognized as the most important American architect of the mid-19th century, led to a research at the Girard College archives, which houses a collection of Walter's papers and books. The visit resulted in the serendipitous discovery of written records about house, along with a drawing titled "Mr. Garrett's Cottage." The building depicted is the Garrett House-Dunn house. Annotations on the drawing state that Walter was adding to and remodeling an older building on the site and creating the Italianate Villa that is seen today.

Bruce Laverty of the Athenaeum, one of the foremost authorities on Walter, contends that this is a highly significant building and a truly rare example of residential design by Walter. The Garrett-Dunn House and Andalusia (the Biddle Estate on the Delaware River) are the only two known examples of Walter's residential work that survive.

The approval of the nomination by Philadelphia Historical Commission assures that this long overlooked building will now be recognized as one of the most important buildings among the many distinguished structures that line Germantown Avenue, and that it will be preserved and protected for future generations

Also, the following was posted on the blog of Inga Saffron, architectural critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Friday, February 17, 2006

Thomas U. Walter Was Here!

Thomas Ustick Walter designed the dome on the U.S. Capitol building. He designed the gleaming Greek Revival-style Founders Hall at Girard College and the Greek Revival Chester County courthouse in West Chester. And now, to the great astonishment of architectural historians, it seems he also designed a pretty nice house at 7048 Germantown Avenue in Mount Airy.

Although the house, which was built around 1850 for George Howell Garrett, has been on the National Historic Register, no one had any idea that it was anything more than a relic of old Philadelphia and a prominent Philadelphia family until it was threatened - as usual - with demolition. After a developer starting making plans to build 10 sets of twins on the site, a group of nearby residents mounted a campaign to have the house listed on the city's historic register, since it offers more protection from demolition. They succeeded, and in the process discovered the house was even more significant than they realized.

Their work piqued the curiosity of Jon Farnham, the staff director at the Philadelphia Historical Commission. On a hunch that Walter was involved, Farnham decided to poke around the Girard College archives to see what he could discover. It didn't take very long before he found a drawing that matched the Mt. Airy house, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that Walter was the architect of the portion on the right in the photo.

Looking at the house now, you might ask, what's the fuss? Actually the fuss has been much covered up over time. Walter was a leading figure in adapting Greek temple architecture to the civic institutions of the young American republic. He conceived the Garrett House as a country temple, with a strong hip roof and Greek-revival brackets just under the cornice. But over time, tastes changed. The Greek temple elements were obscured. An addition was grafted on the left side in the photo, giving the house the air of Italianate country palazzo, complete with a grand arch doorway and tri-partite loggia over the entrance.

Although there are only a few remnants of Walter's house, Farnham thinks the discovery will be a goldmine for historians specializing in the architecture of the early American republic. Along with the capitol dome, Walter also put the columned side wings on that building for the Senate and House chambers. He was the darling of Washington until he fell ill in 1865 and was forced to return to Philadelphia. He spent his last years advising John McArthur on the design of City Hall. The discovery that Walter could also do country houses reveals that his range was wider than previously believed. It's known that Walter designed Andalusia in Bucks County, but who knows how many more modest country houses he left behind in Philadelphia.