Historic Tax Credits @ Work: Fairelawn

This latest installment of “Historic Tax Credits @ Work” features the rehabilitation of a Tudor Style mansion into local office space.

About Fairelawn

Fairelawn is a large Tudor Revival style property in Philadelphia that embodies the distinctive characteristics of the Tudor Revival style and represents the work of architects G.W. and W.D. Hewitt and Pelham neighborhood developers Wendell & Smith.

Built in 1902-03 as a home, Fairelawn retains the distinctive architectural elements characteristic of the Tudor Revival style, such as:

• exterior half-timbering and ornate vergeboards,
• asymmetrical fenestrations with transoms and ashlar stone surrounds,
• intricate leaded windows and oriel and bay window projections with typical paneled millwork,
• broad eaves, and exposed rafters, and
• a decorative stone chimney.

Fairelawn was designed by prominent architectural firm of G. W. and W. D. Hewitt for Industrialist Henry B. Curran, who made his fortune in the coal trade business under the firm of Castner & Curran. Curran and his wife Lillie commissioned the home as a wedding gift for their daughter, Constance Davison. She lived at the property along with her husband, attorney William M. Davison Jr., their two children, and four live-in servants.

The Hewitt brothers were well-seasoned architects and renowned for their residential and ecclesiastical designs. Their prior work experiences involved partnerships with other well-known architects such as Joseph C. Hoxie, John Notman, John Fraser, and Frank Furness and on significant projects such as the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, a now National Historic Landmark, and the Wissahickon Inn at Chestnut Hill.

Given the Hewitt brother’s portfolio and reputation, the firm was a perfect partner to design an impressive family home at one of the most prominent corners in Wendell & Smith’s Pelham neighborhood. The commission of the Fairelawn Mansion within the prominent Pelham community cost $17,500 for the 1.5-acre lot and an estimated $30,000 for the construction of the 10,000 square foot house. This was at a high-end range for the typical Wendell & Smith’s attractive and efficient suburban environment.

Postcard of Pelham Road north of West Hortter Street in Germantown, Philadelphia, ca. 1909. Image from the Library Company of Philadelphia, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/digitool%3A96155.

Wendell & Smith specialized in creating picturesque, clean, suburban communities for their upper-middle class clientele. The Pelham neighborhood in Philadelphia’s Germantown section was one of several Wendell & Smith developments in southeastern Pennsylvania, the others being Overbrook Farms in Philadelphia and the Main Line communities of Wayne and St. David’s in Delaware County.

The homes in Pelham community were designed to attract to new mercantile class who could afford these costs and were constructed for large families with live-in servants. The historic Fairelawn property reflected types of community planning and architecture that helped evolve the suburban vs. urban environment relationships via strategic development, innovative marketing, and prominent designing.

Before Rehabilitation

Throughout the mansion’s long lifespan, serving as a private residence, convent, and bed and breakfast, this once prestige property remained remarkably intact with little significant change since its construction more than 100 years ago. The most substantial changes were the addition of a modern garage in 1964 and the sale of the property’s original carriage house in 1987.

Fairelawn (2022RE00366) was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on September 5, 2023, under Criteria C as an example of the Tudor Revival style and for its association with architects G.W. and W.D. Hewitt and developers Wendell & Smith.

This historical status made the proposed rehabilitation and reuse project a great candidate for the federal and state historic tax credits programs, which were a vital component in the overall financing package.

Rehabilitation

Between 2022-2024, Fairelawn LLC undertook a $2.8 million rehabilitation project of the Fairelawn Mansion. The focus of the rehabilitation was balancing the preservation of the building’s historic character, communicated through Tudor Style elements and original interior spaces, with the installation of new systems and other accommodations for its new use.

Exterior work included:

• repointing and repairing existing masonry,
• retention and in-kind repair or replacement of existing wood, stone, and metal features
• retain and in-kind repair of the existing windows and doors,
• in-kind repair of existing roof and chimney,
• installation of new mechanical equipment, and
• construction of new ADA ramp at rear elevation.

On the interior, historic features and finishes were retained and repaired in kind as necessary. This included:

• wood trim,
• decorative flooring,
• coffered ceilings and pressed metal ceilings,
• window shutters
• wall paneling and cabinetry,
• stairs, and
• fireplaces.

New features and finishes were installed where needed to accommodate modern use and systems such as ceilings and soffits in kitchen and bathroom spaces and concealed mechanical-electrical-plumbing systems.

After Rehabilitation

The historic Fairelawn residence has been revived and is now being used as offices for a local business.

Overall, the project was successful and received its Part 3 certification from the National Park Service on September 4, 2024, because the completed work met the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. The project has also applied for PA Historic Preservation Tax Credit allocation from DCED for FY 2023-2024.

The Federal and State historic tax credit programs are great redevelopment tools to use in reviving historic buildings of any size, shape, and appearance into a new or same use that will have beneficial effects on telling the history of Pennsylvania and its communities.

Many of these abandoned and forgotten historic properties would not survive if it weren’t for the historic tax credit incentive programs and individuals who care about historic preservation.

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