Type Residence Country United States Opened 1917 Client George Howe | Address 101 West Hampton Road Completed 1917 Architectural style Norman architecture Architect George Howe | |
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Location Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Similar The Chestnut Hill, Loews Philadelphia Hotel, Margaret Esherick House, Wissahickon Creek, Wissahickon Valley Park | ||
High Hollow, also known as the George Howe House, is a historic Chestnut Hill residence in Northwest Philadelphia designed and built by American architect George Howe.
Contents
Map of High Hollow, Philadelphia, PA 19118, USA
Design
High Hollow's design is derived in-part from Howe's thesis while studying under Victor Laloux at the École des Beaux-Arts in France. Initial construction began in 1914, while Howe was apprenticed with the Philadelphia-based architecture firm Furness, Evans & Co., and was completed in 1917, during his time with Mellor Meigs & Howe.
The design is of European influence, particularly Italian and French, hinting at Howe's roots in the Beaux Arts, but it does not conform to any specific style of the time. Rather, High Hollow lends itself more to its surroundings then to any architectural genre. A local quarry was even reopened, just to supply the purplish stone used in its construction.
Bordering Fairmount Park and overlooking the Wissahickon Valley, High Hollow is often regarded as Howe's most significant residential work and viewed by many as setting the standard for house design in the region through the early 20th Century. Famed architect and educator Robert A. M. Stern referred to the house as being "often imitated" and "never surpassed" by those that came to design in a similar style.
Renowned American blacksmith Samuel Yellin, who was frequently commissioned by Mellor, Miegs & Howe, fabricated all of the intricate metalwork at the estate.
Other Occupants
When Howe left Mellor, Meigs & Howe in 1928, he sold High Hollow to cigar mogul Samuel Paley (see La Palina) and his artist-philanthropist wife, Goldie Paley. The Paley's were the parents of William Paley, who was instrumental in establishing the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) as the largest radio and television network in The United States. The Paleys, maintained residency at the High Hollow estate for 20 years, later donating the property to the University of Pennsylvania, who sold the property to a private owner some time thereafter.