{"nrhp_refnum":"72001164","name":"Monastery, The","other_names":["See Also:Fairmount Park"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Fairmount Park, Kitchen's Lane at Wissahickon Creek","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":40.03608796100008,"lon":-75.20333353199999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-03-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three and a half story rubble stone house with a dressed stone front facade and a one story rubble stone kitchen wing, located in Germantown, Philadelphia. It was built about 1747.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is notable for its size, being a full story taller than other eighteenth century houses in the Germantown vicinity, and as an interesting expression of mid-eighteenth century Germantown domestic architecture. Its heavy cove cornices and unique coved pent eave between the second and third stories are cited as distinctive features.","narrative":"Built about 1747 by Joseph Gorgas, a miller, on land assembled by his father John Gorgas, this three and a half story house in Germantown is constructed of rubble stone with dressed stone on its front facade. Its gable roof carries brick end chimneys, and a one story kitchen wing of rubble stone extends from the rear. The house stands a full story taller than any other house built in the Germantown vicinity during the eighteenth century, and it is valued as an expression of the area's mid-eighteenth century domestic building. Its cove cornices and a coved pent eave between the second and third stories are notable features. Several mantelpieces, interior mouldings and some hardware survive inside. The name derives from legends that Johannes Kelpius built the house, and from its later association with the Ephrata community, whose members stayed there while traveling to Philadelphia on business.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Joseph Gorgas, miller (builder)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["C"],"status_note":"The property is presently unoccupied and in need of extensive interior repairs.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:29.751286-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/72001164.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001164/2afc878427-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001164/2afc878427-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Monestary_Philly.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Monestary_Philly.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/71997040","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monastery_(Philadelphia,_Pennsylvania)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7751972"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/monastery-the-72001164/"}