Community Corner

Chestnut Hill Realtors Selling Architectural History

The square-shaped Fisher-Kahn house in Hatboro is for sale.

Since it was built, people have traveled near and far to take in the sights of the one-of-a-kind residence situated on East Mill Road in Hatboro.

Now, the home, which was designed by University of Penn architecture professor Louis I. Kahn for Dr. Norman Fisher and his family between 1960 and 1964 and finally constructed in 1967, is open for public view – and sale. Two Chestnut Hill Realtors, Louise D’Alessandro or Janice Manzi of Elfant Wissahickon Realtors, have won the bid to sell the property.

Upon Dr. Fisher’s death in 2007, he had deeded his family’s home to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, according to his daughter, Nina Fisher. to part with some of the décor and other items and Nina Fisher told Patch then that its sale was imminent.

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“We knew we’d have to give it up at some point,” Fisher had said, referring to herself and her sister, Claudia Gohl, who now lives in Vermont. “It was a slow process.”  

Through the National Trust, the 1,891-square-foot home, which is situated on 2.69 acres, will be sold and “perpetually” preserved, according to Shantia Anderheggen, an easement administrator in the law department for the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

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The National Trust will place a preservation easement on the interior and exterior of the house, the storage shed, bridge across Pennypack Creek, and aspects of the landscape; and will administer its protection into the future, according to a press release issued recently pertaining to the home’s sale.

The goal of the National Trust, in the sale and the accompanying easement, is to allow continued private family-living for which the house was intended, while maintaining its architectural and historic value. 

“We have a responsibility to the Fishers and to future generations to preserve the historic character and public access of a house of this stature, one that retains a very high degree of architectural integrity,” said Anderheggen in the release.

Home repairs and upgrades are possible, Anderheggen told Patch previously, but, “owners are going to have to get our review and approval.”

Anderheggen said previously that “nearly every feature is intact” and that the building had been “well-preserved.”

Hatboro Main Street Manager Stephen Barth, who stopped by last week, would seem to agree.

“It is a borough attraction,” Barth said. “Fascinating building.”

The home cost $45,000 to build, but would likely generate more from its sale, which is being sold through sealed bids, according to Barth.

Kahn, an internationally acclaimed architect with a particularly close relationship to Philadelphia, designed significant public buildings, such as the National Assembly Building in Bangladesh, the Salk Institute, the Yale Museum for British Art, and the library at Phillips-Exeter.  He also designed several single-family homes, all in the Philadelphia area.  The Fisher-Kahn House is the third of Kahn’s designs to come onto the market in the past decade.  The first was the Oser House, in Elkins Park, which sold in 2006, and the second, the Esherick House, is currently for sale in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia.

To learn more

The sale of the Fisher-Kahn house, 197 E. Mill Road in Hatboro, will take place from July 18 to Aug. 21.  All who are interested are invited to an open house on July 18, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Registration is required. Prospective buyers can also visit the property by appointment through the listing agents, Louise D’Alessandro or Janice Manzi of Elfant Wissahickon Realtors; or through their own buyer agents.

For more information about the sale or to make a reservation to attend the open house on July 18 please contact: jmanzi@elfantwissahickon.com or louise@elfantwissahickon.com.


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