Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion

Cause Area

  • Arts & Culture

Location

200 West Tulpehocken StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19144 United States

Website:

http://www.ebenezermaxwellmansion.org
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Website:
http://www.ebenezermaxwellmansion.org
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Organization Information

Mission Statement

To preserve the Mansion and the story of its inhabitants as examples of Philadelphia's emerging middle class from 1850 to 1880 and to encourage the study of Victorian-era culture at the time of the American Industrial Revoution and the Civil War.

Description

The Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion is Philadelphia's only authentically restored Victorian house museum and garden. The Mansion is located in the Tulpehocken Station Historic District which is on the National Register of Historic Places as one of America's first railroad suburbs.

Events hosted by the Mansion draw individuals from all socio-economic and racial groups. The annual Old Fashioned Picnic, intended as a community outreach, attracts families from the immediate Germantown neighborhood. The yearly Murder Mystery draws people from Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs as well as groups who travel from New York City every year to solve this who-done-it. The Dickens' Christmas Party has become an annual family event for many Philadelphians.

The Mansion also hosts a series of Victorian workshops which educate the public about crafts popularized during the Victorian Era. These workshops attract all sectors of society, ethnicities and ages. Tea and cookies are served.

In order to entertain while educating, the Mansion offers Victorian Theatre producitons featuring 19th century literature interpreted into a full-cast play or a one-person dramatization. In May 2017, a full production of Anne of Green Gables, written and directed by Josh Hitchens, will take place in the Mansion's circa 1860 parlor.

Reviews

Would you recommend Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion?
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by Jennifer H. (2012-05-05 10:15:31.0)
Absolutely LOVE the Mansion! It exceeds the typical coolness of Historic houses, for SO MANY Reasons... First off, it was built in the Victorian Era—by one of the NEWLY FORMING middle-class; the exterior is Fabulous—Victorian Gothic made with local Wissahickon Schist; the interior is equally Fabulous—extraordinarily middle-class-Victorian, in all its outrageousness. Additionally, the Victorian time period was AMAZING — including the (second) Industrial Revolution, people leaving the farm for the city, income from jobs to buy 'things'—leading to more factories, more jobs, larger cities... (Definitely the beginnings of materialism). P.S. Did I mention that this is the time period of the Impressionists, the Arts & Crafts movement, and the beginnings of Art Nouveau.... I Love the Mansion so much that I voluntarily created their Facebook presence, joined the board, and spend every Saturday there, helping the FABULOUS Executive Director with anything she needs.
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