The Marian Anderson House is a historic home located in the Southwest Center City neighborhood of

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 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, ...

. Built circa 1870 in the same neighborhood where opera singer and civil rights advocate

Marian Anderson Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897April 8, 1993) was an American contralto. She performed a wide range of music, from opera to Spiritual (music), spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throu ...

was born 27 years later, this two-story, brick

rowhouse In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...

dwelling was designed in the

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

style. Purchased by Anderson in 1924, the same year she became the first African-American concert artist to record spirituals for a major American recording company, she continued to reside here until 1943. The house is currently home to the Marian Anderson Museum and Historical Society.

History and architectural features

The Marian Anderson House was built circa 1870 as a two-story, brick terraced dwelling in the Italianate style. A studio was added above the previously one-story, rear kitchen ell sometime around 1925. The home was then extensively renovated circa 1940. It served as the residence of opera singer and civil rights advocate Marian Anderson from 1924 to 1943. ''Note:'' This includes This historic residence 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 ...

in April 2011."Department of the Interior: National Park Service: National Register of Historic Places; Notification of Pending Nominations and Related Actions," in ''Federal Register'', Vol. 76, No. 61, March 30, 2011, p. 17670.

Marian Anderson Museum and Historical Society

The property currently houses the Marian Anderson Museum and Historical Society. The organization was founded by Blanche Burton-Lyles. Its current CEO is Jillian Patricia Pirtle.

Flood damage and restoration

In 2020, pipes burst in the home causing significant damage to both the structure and Anderson memorabilia. In July 2021, the

National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 by ...

announced plans to grant the Marian Anderson Museum and Historical Society $75,000 for the purpose of repairing the home's exterior. The Marian Anderson Memorial Fund Task Force, a group that is working to erect a monument to Marian Anderson at the Academy of Music, has stated that it plans to use some of the funds raised to assist with additional repairs to the home.

References

External links

Marian Anderson Historical Society website

Visions 2018: Touring the Marian Anderson Museum
(video). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: ABC-6 TV, February 12, 2018. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Marian, House Historic house museums in Philadelphia African-American history in Philadelphia Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia Italianate architecture in Pennsylvania Houses completed in 1870 Women's museums in the United States Anderson, Marion Music museums in Pennsylvania Southwest Center City, Philadelphia African-American historic house museums Historic American Landscapes Survey in Pennsylvania Historic house museums in Pennsylvania

History and architectural features

Marian Anderson Museum and Historical Society

Flood damage and restoration

See also

References

External links