Fairmount Park Historical Houses Walking Tour (Self Guided), Philadelphia

Fairmount Park, Philadelphia's oldest park, established since 1867, is also the city's largest municipal park, sprawling over 2,000 acres adjacent to the banks of the Schuylkill River. The park grew out of the Lemon Hill estate of Henry Pratt, whose land was originally owned by Robert Morris, signer of the Declaration of Independence.

In 1972, the park was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

This was partly due to the multiple historic houses located within the area and affectionately known as the "Charms of Fairmount Park" or simply "Park Charms". Designed and used as private residences, most of these properties are referred to as mansions (Woodford Mansion, Strawberry Mansion, Ormiston Mansion) due to their size and former use as the summer country estates by affluent Philadelphian citizens around the time of the American Revolution.

Back then, the city's only developed areas were located several miles away to the southeast along the Delaware River, making the current park territory an ideal refuge from epidemics during the summer months. The mansions were built between the latter half of the 18th century (Randolph House, c. 1767) and early 19th century (Rockland Mansion, c. 1810), and their architecture features a variety (and sometimes combination) of styles including Colonial Revival, Federal, Georgian, Gothic Revival, Greek Revival, and Palladian.

The majority of historic dwellings still extant were constructed within the current park boundaries, while the others, such as Hatfield House, were moved here from elsewhere in the city. The likes of Mount Pleasant, built in 1762–65 for a Scottish ship captain and currently administered by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, are among the most significant architectural examples of that period in the history of the United States.

If you want to learn more about and get a closer view of the Park Charms yourself, take this self-guided walking tour.