Laurel Hill Mansion
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Laurel Hill Mansion, previously known as Randolph House, is a historic mansion in east
Fairmount Park Fairmount Park is the largest municipal park in Philadelphia and the historic name for a group of parks located throughout the city. Fairmount Park consists of two park sections named East Park and West Park, divided by the Schuylkill River, with ...
,
Philadelphia 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 ...
, Pennsylvania.


History

There are conflicting histories about the origins of the home. Some sources claim that it was built by Joseph Shute in 1748 after which it was purchased by Francis Rawle for use as his family's summer retreat. Other sources, including the organization that manages the home, state that the land where the house sits was purchased by Francis Rawle in 1760 and, after Rawle was killed in a shooting accident in 1761, his wife,
Rebecca Rebecca, ; Syriac: , ) from the Hebrew (lit., 'connection'), from Semitic root , 'to tie, couple or join', 'to secure', or 'to snare') () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical ...
, proceeded with plans to build Laurel Hill. Francis and Rebecca had three children together; Anna, William, and Margaret. Rebecca married Samuel Shoemaker who would later become mayor of Philadelphia. The Shoemakers retained multiple residences including Laurel Hill. Samuel Shoemaker was a British Loyalist and fled to England to avoid arrest. Laurel Hill was seized and sold at auction. Major James Parr purchased the home and leased it to French Prime Minister, the Chevalier de la Luzern. Rebecca was able to reclaim the home by 1791. Rebecca died in 1819 and her son, William, inherited the home. William sold the home to Philadelphia surgeon Dr. Philip Syng Physick. Physick's daughter, Sally Randolph, inherited the house upon his death, at which time it became known as the Randolph Mansion, or Randolph House. The house was renamed Laurel Hill Mansion in 1976 by the City of Philadelphia during the
United States Bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States of America as an independent republic. It was a central event ...
.


Style

The central portion of the house was built around 1767 in the
Georgian style Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarchs of the House of Hano ...
and expanded in the early 19th century with a one-story addition on the south side. The
octagon In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, whi ...
ally-shaped
Federal style Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the newly founded United States between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was heavily based on the works of Andrea Palladio with several inn ...
addition on the north side was built in 1846."Property History and Architecture of House"
Women for Greater Philadelphia Inc. 2016. Retrieved October 8, 2017. The house was added to 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 v ...
on March 24, 1972.


Present day

Laurel Hill Mansion is managed by the nonprofit organization, Women for Greater Philadelphia, Inc. The organization hosts social and fundraising events at the home.


See also

*
List of houses in Fairmount Park __NOTOC__ This list contains all of the extant historic houses located in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Most of the houses are referred to as mansions due to their size and use as the summer country estates of Philadelphia's affl ...
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in North Philadelphia __NOTOC__ The following properties are listed on the National Register of Historic Places in North Philadelphia. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in North Philadel ...


References


External links

*
Historic American Buildings Survey Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...
(HABS) documentation: ** ** of historical context
Randolph
at the Historical Society of Philadelphia {{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia Georgian architecture in Pennsylvania Houses completed in 1750 Houses in Fairmount Park Historic house museums in Philadelphia Philadelphia Register of Historic Places Federal architecture in Pennsylvania Historic American Buildings Survey in Philadelphia East Fairmount Park