Reynolds-Morris House
This house, named for two of the families that owned it, is one of the largest and most artful examples of Georgian architecture in Philadelphia. Built in 1786-87 by the brothers John and William Reynolds, a brickmaker and a doctor, respectively, at the time of its construction it stood at the undeveloped edge of the city. Here the brothers acquired two lots, allowing them to build a wide, five-bay house with a central doorway, which stood out among its ordinary rowhouse neighbors.
It is likely that John Reynolds, who was also a builder, designed the house, whose robustly three-dimensional details (wood cornice, stone window lintels, and projecting brick belt courses) had a somewhat old-fashioned air. In the post-Revolutionary War recession, he overextended himself in real estate speculation, and in 1796 the house was sold at a sheriff's sale to Ann Dunkin. In 1817 it was resold to Luke Wistar Morris, prosperous brewer, lumber merchant, and scion of a prominent family. The Morrises would occupy the house for the next 120 years, and it became known as the “Morris Mansion.”
Family members occupied smaller rowhouses on either side of the mansion, but these were torn down in 1914 to create the present garden-like setting. After the last Morris family occupant died in 1955, the building served briefly as a guest house for the adjacent N.W. Ayer advertising company before being restored to private ownership. It is now operated as the Morris House Hotel.
Photo credit: WHYY