A House at Germantown , Philadelphia 
A HOUSE AT GERMANTOWN. 
PHILADELPHIA. 
Designed by Alfred Cookman Cass, Architect. 
T he site of this new house was a plot of 
ground fifty-six feet in width taken from 
the western end of an old homestead prop¬ 
erty located about five miles from the center 
of Philadelphia. Some three hundred feet of 
lawn lies between the old house and the new. 
The two properties have been permitted to 
appear like one, inasmuch as the new house 
has been built by a member of the family 
toward the shade of a splendid ash-tree. 
The hall and living-room open upon a 
terrace surrounded by a low hedge and paved 
with brick. During the summer this terrace 
is in shade early in the afternoon and is a 
delightful outdoor living-place. The lawn, 
a few feet below, offers an exceptional oppor¬ 
tunity for a garden, but at present it is felt 
that the simplicity of the green expanse is 
an agreeable and sufficient change from the 
monotony of surrounding pavements, and it 
will be left for the present as it is. 
The porch which adjoins the living-room 
FROM THE SOUTHEAST 
which has occupied the old place for many 
years. 
As the remainder of the former lawn lay 
nearly three feet below the street level, the 
first floor of the new dwelling was set but a 
trifle above the pavement, so as to give the 
house the best appearance from the front and 
also from the lower grade. All the living- 
rooms face the east and look out across the 
lawn. The dining-room has an outlook in 
that direction through generous casements, 
is really a sheltered portion of the terrace, 
and it will be enclosed with glass during the 
winter months for use as a conservatory or 
a sun-parlor. For either of these purposes 
the brick paving will be found quite suitable 
for it has been laid upon a deep foundation of 
broken stone and cinders, and dampness has 
already been proved impossible. The stair¬ 
way, pantry and kitchen are properly confined 
to the north and west of the house, and on 
the second floor this side is occupied by 
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