Hill-Physick-Keith House

Hill-Physick-Keith House
(2013)
Location 321 S. 4th St.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Coordinates 39°56′39″N 75°8′55″W / 39.94417°N 75.14861°WCoordinates: 39°56′39″N 75°8′55″W / 39.94417°N 75.14861°W
Built 1786
Architectural style Federal
Governing body Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks
NRHP Reference # 71000726
Significant dates
Added to NRHP May 27, 1971[1]
Designated NHL January 7, 1976[2]

The Hill-Physick-Keith House,[3][4][5][6] also known as the Hill-Keith-Physick House,[7][2] the Hill-Physick House,[1] or simply the Physick House,[8] located at 321 S. 4th Street between Cypress and Delancey Streets in the Society Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was the home of Philip Syng Physick (1768-1837), who has been called "the father of American surgery".[2]

The four-story brick house which features a spacious interior[5] was built in 1786 by wealthy Madeira wine importer Henry Hill. It was the residence of Dr. Physick after separating from his wife, Elizabeth Emlen Physick, in 1815, until his death in 1837. The house later fell into dilapidation. In the late 1960s, publisher Walter Annenberg restored the house and then donated it to the Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks.[8] Today the house is the only free-standing Federal mansion remaining in the colonial area of Philadelphia.[5]

The house was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976.[2][3]

The house is now operated as a museum, with the garden replicating one of the early 19th century.[6] It is open Thursdays through Saturdays, noon to 5pm, and Sundays, 1 to 5pm. The building also serves as the headquarters of the State Society of the Cincinnati of Pennsylvania.

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Hill-Keith-Physick House". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 James Sheire (August 6, 1975). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Hill-Physick Keith House" (pdf). National Park Service. and Accompanying one photo, exterior, from 1975 PDF (32 KB)
  4. ↑ "The Society Today" website of the State Society of the Cincinnati of Pennsylvania, which is headquartered in the house
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Gallery, John Andrew, ed. (2004). Philadelphia Architecture: A Guide to the City (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: Foundation for Architecture. ISBN 0962290815., p.30
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Teitelman, Edward & Longstreth, Richard W. (1981). Architecture in Philadelphia: A Guide. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. ISBN 0262700212., p.53
  7. ↑ National Park Service (April 2007). "National Historic Landmarks Survey: List of National Historic Landmarks by State" (PDF). Archived from the original on 2007-06-09. Retrieved 2007-05-20.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Physick House" on the USHistory.org website

External links