Glass negative showing a view of the Women's Christian Association in the Fromberger-Harkness House at 5501 Germantown Avenue from a high vantage point. A lamppost marks the corner of two brick roads and the corner of Market Square. A metal fence borders the square, separating it from the surrounding sidewalk. The Association tenanted here from 1873 to 1915. First called The Green, Market Square was established from land originally owned by James De la Plaine as early as 1703. As a center of community activity, Market Square contained not only market stalls but also the prison and stocks. Samuel B. Morris planted many of the Square’s original trees. Named for John Fromberger and Mary Warden Harkness, the Fromberger-Harkness House was built as late as 1795. It was occupied variously by St. Luke’s Protestant Episcopal Church (1813-1837), the Young Women’s Christian Association of Germantown (1873-1915), Mary Warden Harkness Boarding Home for Girls (1917-1941), the Germantown Fire Insurance Company (1954-1964), and the Germantown Insurance Co. (1964)., Digitization and cataloging has been made possible through the generosity of David Marriott Morris, Eleanor Rhoads Morris Cox, and William Perot Morris in memory of Marriott Canby Morris and his children: Elliston Perot Morris, Marriott Canby Morris Jr., and Janet Morris and in acknowledgment of his grandchildren: William Perot Morris, Eleanor Rhoads Morris Cox, Jonathan White Morris, and David Marriott Morris., Edited.
Creator
Morris, Marriott Canby, 1863-1948, photographer
Date
ca. 1880-ca. 1900
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Marriott C. Morris Collection [P.9895.99.6]
