From the Archives: Photos from the 1974 National Historic Landmark Application
These photographs were among those submitted with the application to make Graeme Park a National Historic Landmark, back in 1974. The the landscape photos in particular are interesting, as they show the most change! The first photo below shows what is now our parking lot, back when it was nothing more than a driveway with a few parking spaces. Since that time, the lot has been expanded to include the area in front of the black walnut tree (tree on the left), which is still extant, and the area beyond the fence, creating space for about 40 cars. The tree on the right was an ash and removed several years ago due to Emerald Ash Borer. Note too, the stone barnyard wall had a wooden cap on it! The second photo shows the back of the Pennsylvania bank barn, which is currently used as our Visitors’ Center. The sheep hurdle fencing probably dates to the Strawbridges’ ownership, as they kept sheep on the property. The third photo depicts white picket fencing around what is now the herb garden – it was not original and removed, I believe, some time in the 1980s. The vine growing up the façade of the house is also no longer there, but there are some metal “loops” in the stone work that were allegedly to support the vine. The fourth photo shows the front façade of the house and remains largely unchanged except for the trim color, which has been restored to its mid-18th century turquoise blue. And finally, the interior shots feature the fireplace wall in the main bedroom and the fireplace wall and false door in the formal parlor – all of which look pretty much the same today as they did when they were photographed nearly 50 years ago.