A Piece of Jolly Old England Right Here in the Delaware Valley

The Tudor Revival style was in its full glory this weekend as the part of West Philadelphia known as Overbrook had its annual house tour. And some houses they are!  We started out at the most unusual residences, which were condos converted from industrial lofts along the railroad tracks that run from Center City out to the Main Line suburbs such as Ardmore and Paoli, Pennsylvania.

Then we visited many of the stone houses which are constructed of what I believe is known as Wissahickon Schist (a type of gray stone), named after the stream which starts in nearby Montgomery County and runs into Northwest Philadelphia.  Most Overbrook homes, built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, have shaded front porches with stone columns. The first home we visited had an area in the front hall where the coachman waited to be called into service. Another home had the original porte cochere outside the house at one end where one could disembark from a coach or an early automobile and avoid inclement weather protected by this covered passageway.

Overbrook owners are very proud of their homes, and rightfully so. We were able to speak to most of them and they graciously explained details of the homes. Since many of the Tudor Revival homes have half-timbering and stucco exteriors (imitating the 15th century heavy structural timbering with non-structural exterior wooden beams) we could see where some of the more run-down homes were getting a stucco re-surfacing or in some cases, replacement.  Maybe when we come back to next year's tour we will get to visit some of these. The people at the ticket table in the Overbrook train station said that many owners wanted to be on the tour this year, but their contractors were running behind schedule, and I know it takes special skills to work on a house 100 or more years old. So, take your time and do it right you contractors!