Built shortly after the Civil War when nearby Lincoln Square was a wasteland and not a park, the sixteen row houses at 124-154 11th Street SE were the inspiration of wealthy Philadelphia native Stephen Flanagan for houses in a style reminiscent of Philadelphia houses, which led to its moniker “Philadelphia Row,” still in use today. The houses, about a mile from the Capitol and built by prolific Capitol Hill builder Charles Gessford, presented an updated Federal-style appearance using machine-made bricks to present a smooth surface, modest bracketed cornices, flat roofs rather than pitched roofs, marble steps and foundations, white stone lintels and sills, and larger windows. Although it took 30 years for Flanagan to sell the last house, the houses have been desirable since then as the Capitol Hill neighborhood has built up around the location.

Philadelphia Row and other houses were threatened in the 1960s when plans were revealed for the East Leg of the Inner Loop Freeway that would have gone along 11th Street connecting the southern and northern portions of the freeway and demolishing or seriously impacting homes along its path. Fortunately, Peter Glickert, other Capitol Hill residents and preservationist and activists across the city joined forces to protest, lobby and litigate the projects, which were abandoned in 1977. For his efforts, Glickert earned an Evening Star trophy for “Citizen of the Year.”

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For more information on this historic sites, go to the restoration society’s web page for the tour at http://chrs.org/historic-sites-tour-2020/

Best to view in "Original" because other versions resized by Pbase are decidedly unsharp.

Not impressed, posted earlier: