The President's House was a mansion built from 1792 to 1797 by the

Government of Pennsylvania The Government of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the governmental structure of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as established by the Pennsylvania Constitution. It is composed of three branches: Executive (government), executive, Legislatur ...

and located on Ninth Street, between Market and Chestnut Streets, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, then the temporary

national capital A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational division, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encomp ...

. Intended to persuade the

federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

to permanently stay in the city, this house intended for the

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

never housed any president. In 1800, the property was purchased at public auction by the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

for use as a new, expanded campus. The university demolished the building in 1829 and replaced it with two new buildings.

Background

After the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

was ratified, the national capital of the United States was in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. On July 16, 1790,

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

passed the

Residence Act The Residence Act of 1790, officially titled An Act for establishing the temporary and permanent seat of the Government of the United States (), is a United States federal statute adopted during the second session of the 1st United States Cong ...

(), which designated Philadelphia the temporary capital for a 10-year period while the permanent capital at

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, was constructed. The recently built

Congress Hall Congress Hall, located in Philadelphia at the intersection of Chestnut and 6th Streets, served as the seat of the United States Congress from December 6, 1790, to May 14, 1800. During Congress Hall's duration as the capitol of the United State ...

was used from December 6, 1790, to May 14, 1800. The president of the United States, first

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

and then

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

, resided at the house leased from financier

Robert Morris Robert or Bob Morris may refer to: :''Ordered chronologically within each section.'' Politics and the law * Robert Hunter Morris (1700–1764), lieutenant governor of Colonial Pennsylvania * Robert Morris (financier) (1734–1806), one of the Foun ...

, also known as the President's House, on Market Street, between Fifth and Sixth Streets.

History

In September 1791, the state government enacted the "Federal Building Bill" to pay for the renovations needed for the federal government office space and for the construction of a new executive mansion. Twelve lots were purchased on the west side of Ninth Street, between Market Street, then named High Street, and Chestnut Street. The property measured . The cornerstone, inscribed "House to accommodate the President of the United States", was laid on May 10, 1792, in a ceremony attended by Governor

Thomas Mifflin Thomas Mifflin (January 10, 1744January 20, 1800) was an American merchant, soldier, and politician from Pennsylvania, who is regarded as a Founding Father of the United States for his roles during and after the American Revolution. Mifflin sig ...

. The mansion was completed in the spring of 1797 and cost more than $110,000. On March 3, 1797, Governor Mifflin offered the nearly completed mansion to John Adams on the eve of his inauguration. However, Adams rejected the offer on constitutional grounds: "as I entertain great doubts whether, by a candid construction of the Constitution of the United States, I am at liberty to accept it without the intention and authority of Congress". Thus neither Washington, no longer president when the mansion was ready, nor Adams, would reside in the President's House. On July 15, 1800, the

bought the property, the mansion, and twelve lots, at public auction for $41,650. Classes started at this new campus in the spring of 1802. This Ninth Street campus was the university's second one. The property was renovated for the university by architect

Benjamin Henry Latrobe Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe (May 1, 1764 – September 3, 1820) was a British-American Neoclassical architecture, neoclassical architect who immigrated to the United States. He was one of the first formally trained, professional architects in ...

. The

Philomathean Society Philomathean Society of the University of Pennsylvania is a collegiate literary society, the oldest student group at the university, and the oldest continuously-existing collegiate literary society in the United States.Columbia University's ...

was organized in 1813 and had a room in the President's House. The mansion was demolished in 1829 to make room for two new university buildings, designed by architect William Strickland.

Description

In 1790, Governor Mifflin had originally asked

Pierre Charles L'Enfant Pierre "Peter" Charles L'Enfant (; August 2, 1754June 14, 1825) was a French-American artist, professor, and military engineer. In 1791, L'Enfant designed the baroque-styled plan for the development of Washington, D.C., after it was designated ...

, who was planning the new federal city,

, for a design. The house was eventually designed and built by master builder William Williams (1749–1794). The resulting three-story house was built of brick trimmed with marble and featured a facade in the

neoclassical style Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassici ...

of British architect

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (architect), William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and train ...

. It had a

hip roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downward to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope, with variants including Tented roof, tented roofs and others. Thus, a hipped roof has no gables or other ve ...

with a central glass dome and

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

, topped by an eagle sculpture.

Artistic depictions

In 1799, W. Birch & Son, artists William Birch and his son

Thomas Birch Thomas Birch (23 November 17059 January 1766) was an English historian. Life He was the son of Joseph Birch, a coffee-mill maker, and was born at Clerkenwell. He preferred study to business but, as his parents were Quakers, he did not go to ...

, created the print entitled ''The House intended for the President of the United States, in Ninth Street Philadelphia'', which depicted the house. It was plate 13 in ''

Birch's Views of Philadelphia ''Birch's Views of Philadelphia'' was an 1800 book of prints drawn and engraved by William Birch (painter), William Russell Birch (1755–1834) and his son Thomas Birch (artist), Thomas Birch (1779–1851). The 27 illustrations of the city ...

'', published in 1800. In 1940, the Presidential Mansion was illustrated on commemorative Wedgwood china cups for the bicentennial of the University of Pennsylvania.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{White House Houses in Philadelphia Presidential residences in the United States Old City, Philadelphia Brick buildings and structures in the United States Federal architecture in Pennsylvania Demolished buildings and structures in Philadelphia Houses completed in 1797 1797 establishments in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures demolished in 1829