Eleanor Houston Smith HouseEleanor Houston Smith House

Now part of the campus of Philadelphia University, the Victorian home of Lawrence M.C. Smith and Eleanor Houston Smith, was built in 1895, and now serves the university as an office and research facility. In 1988 it was used to display period furnishings and room settings. The parlor, still resplendent in its original architectural detail, was transformed into an English country sitting room, complete with 19th Century antiques, which included a mahogony bow front chest and gentleman's dressing armoir, historic wall and window treatments, and floral, English chintz fabrics. The kidney shaped love seat and side chairs were custom designed to complete the period look and feel.

photos: Paul Facenda