Hill-Physick-Keith House
- Style
- Federal
- City
- Philadelphia, PA
- Collection
- federal philadelphia
Built in 1786 at 321 S. 4th Street in Society Hill, this freestanding brick house was the home of Philip Syng Physick, called "the father of American surgery." It's one of the finest surviving Federal-style townhouses in the city, declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976 and now operated as a house museum by the Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks.
the building
The facade. Three stories of brick rise under a hip roof, with a three-bay front divided by stone stringcourses marking each level. The center bay holds the main entrance, flanked by sidelight windows and crowned by a large half-round transom -- the restrained, finely proportioned detailing typical of the Federal style.
The interior. Inside, original Federal-period features survive, including numerous marble fireplace surrounds, and the rooms are furnished in period Federal and Empire style pieces.
the style
The house is a textbook example of the Federal style that dominated Philadelphia building after the Revolution -- plain brick volumes with restrained, finely carved stone and wood ornament concentrated at doorways and cornices, favoring proportion over overt decoration.
More on Federalsignificance
Declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the house survives as an intact Federal-period Society Hill mansion, now run as a museum by the Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks.
nearby
- St. Peter's Episcopal Church
- Congregation B'nai Abraham
- Powel House
- Head House Square
- New Market and Head House
- Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church