Row Houses in the 7th WardRow Houses in the 7th Ward

Set out to examine how these row houses were normative or extravagant in the context of preplanned housing, and in

relation to each other.

Row Houses We Looked At

Sansom Row- north side of the 700 block on Walnut Street and south side of Sansom Street. 1799 by Benjamin Latrobe designed the Walnut block and Thomas Carstairs planned the houses on Sansom.

York Row- south side of 700s on Walnut built in 1807.

Franklin Row- on the west side of Ninth Street between Locust and Walnut.

Carolina Row- on the north side of Spruce Street constructed between 1812 and 1815.

Colonnade Row- on the South side of the 1500s block of Chestnut 1830 by John Haviland.

Portico Row- on the south side of the 900s block of Spruce built between 1833-1835 Thomas U. Walter architect.

Luxury or Ordinary Homes?

All these houses designed to be very luxurious, targeted the upper middle class in

a prospering and affluent city

Portico Row Especially ElegantPortico Row Especially Elegant

Famous inhabitants- Commodore Issac Hull of the U.S.S. constitution and a decorated hero in the War of 1812 lived at 908 from 1842-43.

Fine Interior Finishing- Highly polished marble fireplaces, pine flooring, mahogany woodworking and ornamental plasterwork, flagstone kitchen floors.

Spacious Proportions- 25 foot wide footprint, where typical width for row houses in this area was 18 to 20 feet

Sources

Brief of Title to 908 Spruce Street, 1830

Brief of Title to Certain Lots of Ground on South Side of Spruce Street, 1870 JB Chandler Printers

Sale in Portico Square, Catalogue of Household Belongings

http://www.philaathenaeum.org/tuw/index.html

http://www.phmc.state.pa.us

http://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab