Fairmount Park, Along Schuylkill River, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA

Significance: Officially founded in 1855 but with roots extending back to 1812, Fairmount Park represents one of the earliest efforts in the American park movement. While originally intended to protect Philadelphia's water supply from the effects of increased industrialization to the north, the land's initial function as a buffer zone was soon eclipsed by its role as a public pleasure ground. Although no formal design plan was directly imposed on the park, Hermann Schwarzmann, engineer for the Fairmount Park
Commission from 1869-1876, culled elements from several 19th century sources when laying out the park's infrastructure. With its winding paths, framed vistas, and vast open spaces, the park is an excellent example of American romantic design deriving from a combination of English garden theory, Transcendental thoughts on nature and conservation, and design innovation by American landscape pioneers Andrew Jackson Downing, Frederick Law Olmsted, and Calvert Vaux.
The existing park contains elements constructed over the course of three centuries. Scatter throughout the site, historic houses built from ca. 1750 to ca. 1810 as rural retreats for Philadelphia's elite continue to exist as a loosely-arranged villa district. The series of classical buildings at the Fairmount Park Waterworks near the southeast entrance to the park combine 19th century engineering innovations with historical revival styles. Just north of the waterworks, Boathouse Row, a chain of structures owned by independent rowing club s lines the east bank of Schuylkill River, Memorial Hall, the Ohio State House and various gardens, fountains and roads from the 1876 Centennial Exhibition remain in the West Park, and the Zoological Gardens, chartered in 1859 as the first zoo in America, continue to thrive. The construction of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and the Philadelphia Museum of Art at the beginning of the 20th century created a gateway to the park in the City Beautiful mode and the landscape has been embellished with monuments provided by the Fairmount Park Art Association. Although the Schuylkill Expressway now runs the length o the park and several of the bordering neighborhoods have deteriorated, the park remains a vital part of the life and history of the city.
Survey number: HABS PA-6183
Building/structure dates: 1812 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: before 1828 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1855 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: after 1857 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: ca. 1870 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1874-1876 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1955 Demolished
Building/structure dates: 1872 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1917- before 1930 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: after. 1901- before. 1908 Subsequent Work