Name/Title
Letter from Dr. Thomas; a view of the Steamboat House and a view of the Gorgas HouseEntry/Object ID
2013.5.1.105a-cDescription
Photographs from Scrapbook 1, Part 1, Page 105
Photograph a [top, overlay]: Please see notes for captioning information. This letter is dated February 27, 1927 and is from Dr. Frank Wister Thomas, 27 East Mt. Airy Avenue to Dr. I. P. Willits of East Walnut Lane. In this letter, Dr. Thomas decries the demolition of old houses in Germantown in the name of improvement, and encloses a picture of the Steamboat House for the Site and Relic Society. Dr. Willits was described in the Germantown Crier (Volume 39, Number 3, Summer, 1987, page 58) as a physician and antiquarian of Germantown.
Photograph b [top, under overlay letter)]: This photograph shows a front and side view of a most unusual structure - the Steamboat House located at what is now (June 2013) 7001 Germantown Avenue. The structure is sited so that the side of the building faces Germantown Avenue and the front entrance faces the side of the property lot. The original house is actually four stories above ground level to include the top roof line with numerous dormer windows and peaked roof (affording another story). The house is built on an elevation so that the front steps lead up to the main entrance which is actually at the second story level. The front entrance is indented so that a two story porch supported by four massive columns is created. A low stone wall creates a sidewalk along Germantown Avenue and another low stone wall is surmounted by a picket fence to the left, with another stone wall to the right of the front steps. Many individuals are seen on the front proch and/or standing/sitting on railings in the photograph. The "steamboat structure" is built at the top of the roof line and appears "supported" by the dormer windows in part. This "steamboat structure" is narrow and runs the length of the roof line with many windows incorporated at intervals on the two sides visible. At the rear of this "steamboat structure" is an additional structure that could best be described as a "pilot's house". Windows are visible that would afford a clear view as on a steamboat. The house was demolished in 1949 and today (June, 2013) is the site of the Mt. Airy Recreation Center. It should be noted that Captain Erasmus Pierce, a former sea captain and owner of this house had the "steamboat structure" built.
Photograph c [bottom]: This photograph shows a front and side view of the Gorgas House located at 6901 Germantown Avenue. Germantown Avenue is visible in the foreground as a paved street (although at initial glance it could appear to be unpaved). The Gorgas House is visible in the left foreground as a full three story structure (from the street side) with a two story extension at the rear. Two dormer windows are seen built into the front roof line and one dormer window is visible built into the rear extension roof line. At street level(along Germantown Avenue) commercial shops appear to occupy that designated space. Additional buildings are visible in the background along Germantown Avenue. To the left of the Gorgas House in the photograph is a picket fence and two individuals are observed walking along the sidewalk. Land on the property beyond the picket fence slopes upward so that the first story streetside gradually becomes basement level in the rear of the structure. Utility poles and wires are visible along Germantown Avenue at the top of the photograph.Photograph Details
Subject Place
* Untyped Subject Place
unknownCollection
GHS Scrapbook CollectionMade/Created
Studio
UnknownNotes
Author: Unknown
