Skip to content
News
Link copied to clipboard

Effort underway to preserve historic mansion in Tioga

Even with its boarded-up windows and doors and "No Trespassing" signs, the massive twin mansion in Philadelphia's Tioga section is stunning, its elaborate terra-cotta trim reflecting the elegance of a long-ago time.

Diana Denson, left, and Jennifer Robinson are trying to organize restoration effort for the Conkling-Armstrong House on West Tioga Street in North Philadelphia. The house once belonged to the owners of a local terra cotta manufacturing plant, and was where Denson grew up as a foster child. ( MATTHEW HALL / Staff Photographer )
Diana Denson, left, and Jennifer Robinson are trying to organize restoration effort for the Conkling-Armstrong House on West Tioga Street in North Philadelphia. The house once belonged to the owners of a local terra cotta manufacturing plant, and was where Denson grew up as a foster child. ( MATTHEW HALL / Staff Photographer )Read more

Even with its boarded-up windows and doors and "No Trespassing" signs, the massive twin mansion in Philadelphia's Tioga section is stunning, its elaborate terra-cotta trim reflecting the elegance of a long-ago time.

The 4,125-square-foot house in the 2200 block of Tioga Street has been vacant for years, but a graduate student from California and the owner, who lived in the house for decades, are trying to save it.

Jennifer Robinson, a student at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Design in the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation, is working with owner Dianna Denson, who was raised in the three-story house.

"I love this house," Robinson said, "and I love her," referring to Denson, who has become her friend over the last few months.

The two have organized an effort to seal holes in the roof and other parts of the building to keep the weather from causing further deterioration.

Robinson said she was writing a nomination to get the house on the Philadelphia and national historic registers.

She said she heard about the house from a professor at Penn and learned more about it while working as an intern at the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, which works to preserve historic buildings.

"Right now we're working on intervention treatments to help protect the house for the coming winter while we develop and analyze long-term plans," Robinson said.

On Saturday, volunteers will work to seal any holes in the roof and windows, she said. Robinson said that project would cost about $2,000, for which she and Denson are seeking donations.

The house, which Robinson described as Chateauesque style, was built in 1898 for Ira Conkling and Thomas Armstrong, who owned a terra-cotta manufacturing company a few blocks away on Wissahickon Avenue.

Its exterior columns and trim have detailed patterns and designs, to showcase the materials the Conkling-Armstrong Terra Cotta Co. made and sold to builders in cities along the East Coast, Robinson said.

Theodore and Naomi Turner Riley purchased the home in 1942. Denson said the couple adopted her at age 6.

"I lived in the house for 46 years and raised five children here," said Denson, who still lives in the area.

The block has other large homes, but none with the elaborate detail of the Conkling-Armstrong house. The Tioga neighborhood consists of mostly rowhouses. The population is more than 90 percent African American and the median income in 2010 was $20,000, according to city records.

Denson said historical photos show the house was the first on the block. The house had at least three or four fireplaces on each floor, she said.

Robinson and Denson said they realize that their goal of fully restoring the house would cost more than $1 million, and they are determined to try to raise money from foundations and others.

"We're thinking short term and long term," said Robinson. "We're trying to see how much we can get done in our one workday in September."

Denson said she would like to see the one-of-a-kind house become a home again.

"I hope to have families in there with mothers and children," Denson said. "I know there is a great need for housing for families in Philadelphia, and that is where my heart is."

Robinson said donations to the stabilization effort may be made at www.conklingarmstronghouse.com.