Henry Howard Houston and West Germantown

Neighborhood Historic Talk and Walks

Germantown

Join us on a mini series of three presentations and walks to learn about the creation of Philadelphia's first suburb. 

Henry Howard Houston and West Germantown 

Presented by George McNeely

Henry Howard Houston, railroad executive, investor, and real estate developer, is best known in Northwest Philadelphia for the creation of the west side of Chestnut Hill, including the railway line (now known as Chestnut Hill West), Wissahickon Inn, Philadelphia Cricket Club, Saint Martin's (Episcopal) church, and nearby houses. But he only lived in Chestnut Hill for his last ten years. He spent most of his adult life in a large Italianate house at the corner of Tulpehocken Street and Wayne Avenue. While living there, he added real estate development to the long list of his business successes, building comfortable houses on the nearby blocks of West Germantown. Just as he was later to do in Chestnut Hill, he also created in Germantown various amenities to attract desirable neighbors, including Saint Peter's (Episcopal) church and a series of elaborate pleasure gardens along the nearby Monoshone Creek. Those gardens are long gone but we can still explore his many surviving buildings in the West Germantown national historic district. 

Following the talk, George McNeely will lead a walk to see select houses and buildings from Henry Howard Houston's developments.  

George McNeely is an architectural historian, writer, and lecturer. He co-edited World Monuments: 50 Irreplaceable Sites to Discover, Explore and Champion (Rizzoli, 2015).He writes an occasional column on local architectural history for The Chestnut Hill Local. He lectures regularly on architectural history and leads architectural walking tours. George has a BA in art history from Princeton University and an MBA from the Columbia Business School. 

Meet at Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion, 200 W Tulpehocken St, Philadelphia, PA 19144.