Amid all the excitement at Lemon Hill in East Fairmount Park this summer, some visitors may have spotted a unique historic building just north of the World Cup festivities. That’s the Sedgeley Porter’s House, designed by Benjamin Latrobe and one of the earliest examples of Gothic Revival architecture remaining in the United States.

Fairmount Park Conservancy’s preservation experts recently restored a key piece of this historic structure as part of our commitment to honoring and preserving the history and artistry found in Philadelphia’s public spaces.

Over the winter, our architectural conservation experts teamed up to repair and restore the building’s distinctive cornice. To complete this work, the team scoured old photographs and records to figure out specific details which had been lost in subsequent alterations.

Architectural Conservation Technician Jessie Renew was able puzzle out the original locations of several sections of decorative scrollwork, then restore and reinstall them with new mitered corners. The added benefit of this research is that the team now has documentation, samples, and templates on hand to guide future restoration work.

Additionally, this project provided the opportunity to use thermally modified poplar wood for the crown moulding, soffit and fascia repairs. The Conservation team has been eager to start prioritizing the use of this Pennsylvania-grown product as a sustainable alternative to imported tree farm lumber and tropical hardwoods.

To replace damaged and non-original sections of the crown along the building’s exterior, the Conservancy had a custom cutter made to match the crown profile and a colleague milled around 150 linear feet. For the gabled East and West porches, the team made a custom rake moulding to miter to the horizontal crown. The team enjoys problem-solving and honoring key details on historic buildings, and this recreation project was satisfying on both counts.

After carpentry repairs were complete, Milo Navarro of Paint Fishtown cleaned, scraped, prepped and painted all of the remaining cornice. The finished cornice looks fully transformed.

The Sedgely Porter’s House is all that remains of the Sedgely Mansion estate and the only extant structure in Philadelphia designed by Latrobe. The Conservancy is proud to play a part in restoring this important space and hopes to continue this work in the future.