The Edwin Forrest House (a.k.a. Gaul-Forrest House) is a historic house and arts building at 1346 North Broad Street in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. Built in 1853–54, it was from 1880 until 1960 home to the

Philadelphia School of Design for Women Philadelphia School of Design for Women (1848–1932) was an art school for women in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Housed in the former Edwin Forrest House at 1346 North Broad Street, under the directorship of Emily Sartain (1886–1920), ...

, at one time one of the nation's largest art schools for women. The house was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1993 for this association.

Description and history

The Edwin Forrest House is located in Philadelphia's Yorktown neighborhood, on the west side North Broad Street between Master and West Thompson Streets. The building has three parts: the original townhouse, a theater addition to the south, and a classroom wing to the rear. The townhouse is a three-story brick building with a brownstone, exhibiting Italianate styling that was popular at the time of its construction. Windows decrease in height from the first to third floors, and those on the first two floors have decorative bracketed hoods over them. The main entrance is at the center of the five-bay facade, topped by a hood with paired brackets. The window directly above projects, with a similarly bracketed base and hood. The original townhouse portion of the building was built in 1853-54 for William Gaul, a wealthy brewer, to a design by Stephen D. Button, a prolific local architect. A year after its completion, it was bought by actor

Edwin Forrest Edwin Forrest (March 9, 1806December 12, 1872) was a prominent nineteenth-century American Shakespearean actor. His feud with the British actor William Macready was the cause of the deadly Astor Place Riot of 1849. Early life Forrest was born i ...

, who resided there until his death in the house in 1872.http://www.arch.state.pa.us/pdfs/H001370_02B.pdf The

purchased the property in 1880, and built an extensive rear addition westward to Carlisle Street, to house art studios. The addition's Master Street façade was brick, but fitted with brownstone-trimmed windows consistent with those of the original house. The school, which later changed its name to the

Moore College of Art Moore College of Art & Design is a Private college, private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its undergraduate programs are available only for female students, but its other educational programs, including graduate programs, are co-ed ...

, continued to occupy the building until 1960. The Philadelphia Cotillion Society purchased the building and used it as a community center until 1968. Edwin Forrest Mansion

Today the building is occupied by Freedom Theatre, which provides professional instruction in acting and live theatre production. The building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1972 for its architecture, and was designated a

in 1993 for its association with the art school, whose only surviving building it is.

References

External links

Freedom Theatre web site
*
Listing of the Gaul-Forrest House
at Philadelphia Architects and Buildings {{DEFAULTSORT:Forrest, Edwin, House Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia Houses completed in 1854 Theatres in Pennsylvania Landmarks in Philadelphia Historic American Buildings Survey in Philadelphia Italianate architecture in Pennsylvania Moore College of Art and Design Pennsylvania state historical marker significations National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania

Description and history

See also

References

External links