Clarkson-Watson House
From Archiplanet
| Clarkson-Watson House | |
| Designer | Unknown |
| Location | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Date | 1743 |
| Building Type | Housing; later mixed commercial and residential; currently commercial |
| Construction System | Schist masonry. Additions in red brick. Classical portico and stucco added in response to local fashion |
| Street Address | 5275--5277 Germantown Ave. Walk Score |
| Notes | also known as Bank of Germantown |
Contents |
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[edit] Discussion
| National Register of Historic Places | |
| Name | Clarkson-Watson House |
| ID Number | 73001661 |
| NRHP Status | Listed In The National Register |
| Certification Date | 04/02/1973 |
| Level of Significance | Local |
| NRHP Documents | Text (pdf) ; Photos (pdf) |
The Clarkson Watson House is named for its two most famous long-term inhabitants, Matthew Clarkson, Governor of Philadelphia, and John Fanning Watson, who lived over the store when as the clerk of the Bank of Germantown. Watson is known today as author of the two-volumn "History of Pennsylvania in Olden Times" which mentions that that, during the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793, Thomas Jefferson stayed in Clarkson's house to avoid the disease-plagued quarters in near Independence Hall. President Washington stayed nearby in the Dessler-Morris House, also on Germantown Avenue.
Historic photographs indicate that the facade was altered by the addition of a storefront window and second entrance. In the 1960's the building was purchased by the Germantown Historical Society and, with the guidance of architect Henry Magaziner, renovated to serve as a costume museum. The most notable aspect of that project was the restoration of the facade to its original symmetry and the application of pebble-dash finish.
The museum was closed soon after the National Bicentennial of 1976.
In 2007 the building was purchased by a group of architects and designers under the business name Clarkson-Watson House LLC. Work required to put the building back in service included hazardous material abatement, repairs to structure and envelope, rectification of the floor plan, new systems. The mission of CWH has been not only to restore the building, but to return it to a viable public function. The Clarkson Watson House currently serves as offices. Plans remain for a gallery on the first floor.
[edit] Maps
[edit] References
National Register of Historic Places; See Henry Magaziner's article on his restoration and adaptation of the building circa 1968-1970 in the Germantown Crier
[edit] External Links
Images of the most recent work to the building is posted at [1]
