Chamounix Mansion, Chamounix Drive, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA

Chamounix Mansion, Chamounix Drive, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA

Chamounix Mansion

Chamounix was built around 1802 as Quaker merchant George Plumsted's sylvan retreat. It was not the grandest of all the villas commissioned by wealthy Philadelphians in the Schuylkill River valley during the 18th and early 19th centuries, but commanded a spectacular view of the landscape. Although the original, Federal-style house was renovated and enlarged in the mid 19th century, it underwent few changes after being acquired by the City of Philadelphia in 1871. At that time, the estate was incorporated into Fairmount Park just as other villa properties had been in previous years; the benefits of a landscape that had once attracted exclusive private development were thus extended to the public at large.

Historic American Buildings Survey

Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)

Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)

Documentation compiled after 1933

George Plumsted

Benjamin Johnson

Benjamin Warner

Joseph Warner

Topliff Johnson

Virginia Barrett Price

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Architectural survey

English

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Building