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The Slate Roof House was a mansion that stood on 2nd Street north of Walnut Street in
Watson's Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, 1857
* Harry Kyriakodis, ''Philadelphia's Lost Waterfront'' (The History Press, 2011), at 91, 99.
"The Slate Roof House"
at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania {{DEFAULTSORT:Slate Roof House 1687 establishments in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures demolished in 1867 Demolished buildings and structures in Philadelphia Houses completed in 1687 Houses in Philadelphia Jacobean architecture in Pennsylvania Landmarks in Philadelphia
The Slate Roof House was a mansion that stood on 2nd Street north of Walnut Street in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, from about 1687 until its demolition in 1867. Built for Barbadian Quaker merchant Samuel Carpenter
Samuel Carpenter (4 November 1649 – 10 April 1714) was a Deputy Governor of colonial Pennsylvania. He signed the historic document "The Declaration of Fealty, Christian Belief and Test" dated 10 September 1695; the original is in the Histori ...
, the house occupied a small hill overlooking the Delaware River. It was built of brick]in the Jacobean architecture, Jacobean style with its façade
A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loan word from the French (), which means ' frontage' or ' face'.
In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important aspect ...
featuring two projecting wings that flanked a recessed central entrance. The house was notable for its large size as well for its slate roof, which was a rarity in early Philadelphia.
History
For two years (1699-1701), during his second visit to America,William Penn
William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...
rented the house for use as a city residence while maintaining his country house at Pennsbury Manor
Pennsbury Manor is the colonial estate of William Penn, founder and proprietor of the Colony of Pennsylvania, who lived there from 1699 to 1701. He left it and returned to England in 1701, where he died penniless in 1718. Following his departur ...
in Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...
. It was at the Slate Roof House that he wrote and issued his "Charter of Privileges," a progressive framework for Pennsylvania’s government that became the model for the United States Constitution and is still the basis of free governments all over the world.
James Logan, the secretary of the Proprietary after Penn returned to England, later lived in the Slate Roof House. He administered the colony of Pennsylvania from there between 1701 and 1704.
In later years, the house was the temporary abode of John Adams
John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of t ...
, John Hancock
John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of t ...
, and many other distinguished members of the First Continental Congress, and also of Baron Johann de Kalb
Johann von Robais, Baron de Kalb (June 19, 1721 – August 19, 1780), born Johann Kalb, was a Franconian-born French military officer who served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was mortal ...
, who fell, fighting for American independence, at the Battle of Camden. It was the death site for General Charles Lee and for General John Forbes
John Forbes (5 September 1707 – 11 March 1759) was a Scottish professional soldier who served in the British Army from 1729 until his death in 1759.
During the 1754 to 1763 French and Indian War, he commanded the 1758 Forbes Expedition t ...
, second in command, and afterwards successor to General Edward Braddock
Major-General Edward Braddock (January 1695 – 13 July 1755) was a British officer and commander-in-chief for the Thirteen Colonies during the start of the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the North American front of what is known in Europe ...
.
The Slate Roof House was altered for commercial use in the 18th century and became dilapidated during the 1800s. Despite protests from historians, the house was razed in 1867. It was replaced by a large Victorian commercial structure that stood until 1976.
In 1982, an urban courtyard called "Welcome Park" was built on the site. The park features William Penn’s plan of the city of Philadelphia laid out in slate and marble, as well as a bronze model of the house. A miniature version of the statue of Penn that crowns Philadelphia City Hall
Philadelphia City Hall is the seat of the municipal government of the City of Philadelphia. Built in the ornate Second Empire style, City Hall houses the chambers of the Philadelphia City Council and the offices of the Mayor of Philadelphia. ...
stands on a pedestal in the center. The park also features a timeline of Penn’s life on the enclosing wall. Welcome Park was named after Penn's ship, ''Welcome'', which brought Penn and over one hundred passengers, mostly Quakers, to America in 1682.
The site is a small park with pattern brick work, a few benches, some trees and a statue of Penn by Alexander Milne Calder.
See also
* Athenaeum of Philadelphia *Letitia Street House
Letitia Street House is a modest eighteenth-century house in West Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. It was built along the Delaware riverfront about 1713, and relocated to its current site in 1883. The house was once celebrated as the city residence ...
* Pennsbury Manor
Pennsbury Manor is the colonial estate of William Penn, founder and proprietor of the Colony of Pennsylvania, who lived there from 1699 to 1701. He left it and returned to England in 1701, where he died penniless in 1718. Following his departur ...
Sources
Watson's Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, 1857
* Harry Kyriakodis, ''Philadelphia's Lost Waterfront'' (The History Press, 2011), at 91, 99.
References
External links
"The Slate Roof House"
at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania {{DEFAULTSORT:Slate Roof House 1687 establishments in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures demolished in 1867 Demolished buildings and structures in Philadelphia Houses completed in 1687 Houses in Philadelphia Jacobean architecture in Pennsylvania Landmarks in Philadelphia