Head House Square

Head House Square in Philadelphia is a cluster of brick buildings dating from the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Most are two and a half to three and a half stories, with shops on the ground floor and living quarters above, reflecting a long tradition of combined residential and commercial use around the market area on Second Street. The largest building is the John Ross House at 401 S. Second Street, a three and a half story brick town house with double chimneys and a curtain wall. It was refaced in the early nineteenth century with pressed brick, with architect John Haviland overseeing the work when the house was converted into legal offices. The house is said to have been furnished lavishly and visited at least once by George Washington. Other businesses in the area have included bakeries, dry goods shops, glass and china stores, and a druggist. Restoration in 1965 and 1966 recovered nineteenth century storefronts on many buildings, and the district remains a mixed commercial and residential neighborhood.