{"nrhp_refnum":"72001146","name":"Chamounix","other_names":["See Also:Fairmount Park"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"West Fairmount Park on Chamounix Dr.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":40.003864702000044,"lon":-75.18449297399997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-04-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Chamounix is a former country house on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, built about 1800 as a small two-story house. It was later enlarged about 1856 and now serves as a youth hostel.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is significant as one of the many country estates built by prominent Philadelphians in the post-Revolutionary period, when yellow fever made the city unhealthy. It is also cited as a fine example of adaptive use in historic preservation, having been restored and reopened as a youth hostel in 1964.","narrative":"Chamounix is a country house on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, built about 1800 by George Plumstead, a merchant in the India trade. It was a small two-story house with a hipped shingle roof and a notable ten-foot bow on the south side, built to take advantage of the view of the falls of the Schuylkill. About 1856, under the ownership of Topliff Johnson, the house was enlarged and given piazzas on three sides with decorative iron supports, and its roof was later replaced with tin. It is significant as one of the country retreats built by prominent Philadelphians after the Revolution, when yellow fever threatened the city. The Johnson heirs lost the land to public appropriation in 1869, and it later became part of Fairmount Park. After years of decline, the house was extensively repaired and opened as a youth hostel in 1964, retaining its facade and interior layout.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1800","architect_builder":"George Plumstead (builder, merchant in the India trade)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Restored and in use as an international youth hostel since 1964, with overnight accommodations for up to 40 guests.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:12:56.621839-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/72001146.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001146/dfc8125674-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001146/dfc8125674-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chamounix.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chamounix.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"72001151","name":"Fairmount Park","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/fairmount-park-72001151/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997026","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamounix_(Philadelphia,_Pennsylvania)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5069846"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/chamounix-72001146/"}