{"nrhp_refnum":"72000095","name":"Deshler-Morris House","other_names":["Deshler House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"5442 Germantown Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":40.03371455900003,"lon":-75.17240638999994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-01-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two and a half story house with a full cellar in Germantown, Philadelphia, built in 1772 by David Deshler, a shipping merchant in the West Indies trade. It is a rough-caste stone structure with a rear wing.","why_significant":"The house is significant for its unusual plan for Germantown houses of the period, its interior woodwork and Tidewater paneling, and its associations with the Revolutionary War, with George Washington's presidency, and with the Morris family. It was left to the United States Government in 1949 as a national shrine.","narrative":"Built in 1772 in Germantown, Philadelphia, by David Deshler, a shipping merchant in the West Indies trade, this two and a half story rough-caste stone house has a central entrance hall, a rear wing, and a full cellar. Its plan is unusual for Germantown houses of its period. Interior features include Tidewater paneling in the downstairs hall, delft tiles in a rare mulberry color, Pennsylvania marble fireplaces, a stately staircase, and colored woodwork in French grey, blue-green, pale blue, and mahogany. After the Battle of Germantown, Sir William Howe made the house his headquarters. In 1793 and 1794, Colonel Isaac Frank, the owner, housed President George Washington and his cabinet there during the Yellow Fever Epidemic. The Morris family owned the house for much of the following century before it passed to the federal government in 1949 as a national shrine.","period_of_significance":"1772","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Part of the Independence Hall National Park Project, per the document.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:28.766166-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/72000095.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000095/b32e73e0d6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000095/b32e73e0d6-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Jack Boucher","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gtown_W_House_136627pu.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jack Boucher</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gtown_W_House_136627pu.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"66000678","name":"Colonial Germantown Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/colonial-germantown-historic-district-66000678/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997350","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germantown_White_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5552051"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/deshler-morris-house-72000095/"}