{{Short description|Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States}} {{Other uses|Sweet briar (disambiguation){{!}}Sweet briar}} {{Use American English|date=September 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox historic site | name = Sweetbriar | image = A582, Sweetbriar Mansion, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 2017.jpg | image_size = 250 | caption = Sweetbriar Mansion | locmapin = Pennsylvania#USA | coordinates = {{Coord|39.9769833|-75.2008667|region:US-PA_type:landmark|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | location = West Fairmount Park, Philadelphia<ref name=location>[http://www.fairmountparkhistoricsites.org/houses_west_park_2.html Fairmount Park Historic Sites - West Fairmount Park]</ref> | area = | built = 1797<ref name=history>[http://www.fairmountparkhistoricsites.org/sweetbriar_mansion_history.html Fairmount Park Historic Sites - History Of Sweetbriar Mansion]</ref> | architect = | architecture = Federal<ref name=history/> | governing_body = | owner = | designation1 = Philadelphia Register of Historic Places | designation1_offname = | designation1_date = | designation1_number = }}
'''Sweetbriar''' is a Neoclassical mansion in the Federal style built in 1797<ref name=history/> in West Fairmount Park, Philadelphia.<ref name=location/> The mansion was built by Samuel Breck and named for the roses that grew on the property.<ref name=hsp>[https://hsp.org/blogs/question-of-the-week/who-built-sweetbriar-mansion-in-1797 Historical Society of Pennsylvania - Who built Sweetbriar Mansion in 1797?]</ref> The interior includes a double parlor and floor-to-ceiling windows with sweeping views of the Schuylkill River.<ref name=history/> Period pieces include Chinese armorial porcelain, Hepplewhite and Sheraton style chairs, and Adam style furniture.<ref name=history/> Wedgwood jasperware and fireplaces with delicate plaster decorations were influenced by discoveries in the ancient houses of Pompeii.<ref name=history/> Bird prints by John James Audubon and paintings by William Birch decorate the walls.<ref name=history/>
The house was operated by the Modern Club of Philadelphia from 1939 to 2014. It has been closed while undergoing renovations as the city looks for a new organization to maintain it.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/The_mansions_of_Fairmount_Park_Phillys_hidden_gems.html |title=The mansions of Fairmount Park: Historic houses have rich pasts and new uses |author=Emily Babay |date=October 19, 2015 |website=philly.com |publisher=Philadelphia Media Network (Digital), LLC |accessdate=December 3, 2017 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107023419/http://www.philly.com/philly/news/The_mansions_of_Fairmount_Park_Phillys_hidden_gems.html |archivedate=November 7, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>
==See also== *List of houses in Fairmount Park
==References== {{Reflist}}
===Bibliography=== *{{Citation |last=Moss |first=Roger W. |last2=Crane |first2=Tom |title=Historic Houses of Philadelphia: A Tour of the Region's Museum Homes |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |year=1998}}
==External links== *[http://www.fairmountparkhistoricsites.org/sweetbriar_mansion_history.html Official Fairmount Park website], History of Sweetbriar Mansion *Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) documentation: **{{HABS |survey=PA-1670 |id=pa0924 |title=Sweetbriar |photos=21 |color=2 |data=6 |cap=4 |link=no}} **{{HABS |survey=PA-6184 |id=pa3427 |title=Schuylkill River Villas |data=18 |link=no}} of historical context *[http://www.phillyhistory.org/PhotoArchive/Search.aspx?type=area&address=Sweetbriar Historic Photographs of Sweetbriar], ''Philly''History.org
Category:Philadelphia Register of Historic Places Category:Houses completed in 1797 Category:Federal architecture in Pennsylvania Category:Houses in Fairmount Park Category:Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia Category:Historic American Buildings Survey in Philadelphia Category:West Fairmount Park