Fairmount Park Proper
| Fairmount Park | |
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| U.S. Historic district | |
| Fairmount Park. | |
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| Location: | Both banks of Schuylkill River and Wissahickon Creek, from Spring Garden St. to Northwestern Ave., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
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| Coordinates: | 40°1′15″N 75°12′46″W / 40.02083°N 75.21278°W / 40.02083; -75.21278Coordinates: 40°1′15″N 75°12′46″W / 40.02083°N 75.21278°W / 40.02083; -75.21278 |
| Area: | 4,100 acres (1,700 ha) |
| Built: | 1812 |
| Architect: | Robert Morris Copeland; Olmsted & Vaux et al. |
| Architectural style: | Colonial Revival, Georgian, Federal |
| Governing body: | Local |
| NRHP Reference#: | 72001151 |
| Added to NRHP: | February 07, 1972 |
The park system is named after its first park, Fairmount Park, which occupies nearly half the area of the whole system, at over 4,100 acres (1,700 ha). Today, the commission divides the original park into East and West Fairmount parks. The original domain of Fairmount Park consisted of three areas: "South Park" or the South Garden immediately below the Fairmount Water Works extending to the Callowhill Street Bridge; East or "Old Park" which encompassed the former estates of Lemon Hill and Sedgeley; and West Park, the area now comprising the Philadelphia Zoo and the Centennial Exposition grounds. The South Garden predated the establishment of the Park Commission in 1867 and Lemon Hill and Sedgley were added in 1855–56. After the Civil War, work progressed on acquiring and laying out West Park. In the 1870s, the Fairmount Park Commission acquired industrial properties along the Wissahickon Creek although this is not considered Fairmount Park proper. Likewise the Schuylkill River Trail is a modern addition and was not included in 19th-century acquisitions.
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