The Solitude Mansion is a historic two-and-a-half story

Federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

-style mansion located in west Fairmount Park,

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 ...

, above the banks of the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It f ...

on the grounds of the

Philadelphia Zoo The Philadelphia Zoo, located in the Centennial District of Philadelphia on the west bank of the Schuylkill River, is the first true zoo in the United States. It was chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on March 21, 1859, but its openin ...

. The house was built sometime between 1784 and 1785, and historical records suggest that it was designed by its owner John Penn, grandson of

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 ...

, the founder of the city of Philadelphia and the state of

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, ...

. The mansion is also referred to as The Solitude and The Solitude House, as well as the John Penn House and simply Solitude without the definite article. The name of the house was inspired by the

Duke of Württemberg Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

's much larger Castle Solitude outside Stuttgart, Germany. The Solitude is the only extant home of a Penn family member in the United States. Located in the countryside several miles to the northwest of colonial-era Philadelphia, Penn's house served as his refuge from an older cousin's city home, where he had been lodging, as well as from an anti-Penn

political faction A political faction is a group of individuals that share a common political purpose but differs in some respect to the rest of the entity. A faction within a group or political party may include fragmented sub-factions, "parties within a party," ...

in town. Penn lived in his new home for about three years until he left the country permanently in 1788 and sailed to England.

Joseph Bonaparte it, Giuseppe-Napoleone Buonaparte es, José Napoleón Bonaparte , house = Bonaparte , father = Carlo Buonaparte , mother = Letizia Ramolino , birth_date = 7 January 1768 , birth_place = Corte, Corsica, Republic of ...

lived here as a retreat from his home in society hill, and After Penn died in 1834, the house was inherited in succession by three other family members—Penn's brother and then two nephews separately. At some time after the final Penn owner died in 1869, the city bought the property and leased it to the Zoological Society of Philadelphia in 1874. The land and house then became part of the Philadelphia Zoo, which in turn is a part of Fairmount Park. The house is not open to general admission visitors, but rather only for special events. Rental information is available from the zoo."Zoo map"archive
. ''philadelphiazoo.org''.

. Retrieved December 14, 2017. "Additional venues: The Solitude For special events only. Call ... for rental information." The zoo's staff along with the Philadelphia Museum of Art performed restoration work on the house in 1975–76 to prepare it for the Bicentennial celebration. A preservation group called Friends of The Solitude was formed in 1991 which has researched the house's history and continues to perform additional restoration work."The Solitude Today" (archive)
''philadelphiazoo.org''. Philadelphia Zoo. Retrieved December 14, 2017. The Solitude is registered on the

Philadelphia Register of Historic Places The Philadelphia Register of Historic Places (PRHP) is a register of historic places by the Philadelphia Historical Commission. Buildings, structures, sites, objects, interiors and districts can be added to the list. Criteria According to the Phila ...

and is an inventoried structure within the Fairmount Park Historic District entry 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 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Solitude, The Houses in Fairmount Park Philadelphia Register of Historic Places West Fairmount Park Federal architecture in Pennsylvania Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia Historic American Buildings Survey in Philadelphia

See also

References

External links