Manuscript Group 343
CARL W. GATTER ARCHITECTURAL RESEARCH BOOKS
1981
6 volumes
Carl W. Gatter was an architect who conducted research for a possible reconstruction
of the Slate Roof House, William Penn's Philadelphia residence during 1700 and
1701. It was erected on 2nd Street, south of Chestnut, in Philadelphia between
1698 and 1700 by Samuel Carpenter. The structure was probably the first example
of an H-plan house built in America. The birthplace of William Penn's son, John,
in 1700, it was here that William Penn granted the Charter of Privileges in 1701.
The seat of Pennsylvania's government from 1701-1704, the house was long occupied
by William Penn's secretary James Logan before Logan constructed Stenton in 1728.
William Trent, the founder of Trenton, New Jersey, owned and occupied the house
from 1704 to 1709 when it was purchased by Isaac Norris. Thereafter the ownership
remained in the Norris family until its demolition in 1869. A Mrs. Graydon leased
the building for use as a boarding house from 1765 and it hosted such notables
as Brigadier General John Forbes, John Hancock, George Washington, Benedict Arnold,
Baron von Steuben, Silas Deane, and John Adams. It was occupied by British General
Sir Henry Clinton during the British occupation of Philadelphia in 1777 and 1778.
The volumes contain sectional drawings and photgraphs of both exterior and
interior elevations of the building as well as photographs of hearths, tiles,
furnishings, and walks, together with maps, archaeological studies of the site
and detailed architectural analyses of the building. There are also extensive
historical notes on the building's various owners and occupants.
- Architectural Research Volumes, 1981. (6 volumes) {#343m.1}
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