Philadelphia Houses of Moderate Cost

The homes comprising the 4200 block of Spruce Street, designed by Kimball, Hewitt, and Hewitt Architects in the late 1800s, were describes as "Philadelphia Houses of Moderate Cost." Built at the height of America's Gilded Age, it's hard to say if that label was used to sell Philadelphia as a place where those with moderate means could live in the lap of luxury, or if at that time, these homes were truly considered "moderate" by comparison. West Philadelphia's streetcar suburbs are some of the country's most complete and preserved examples of American Victorian architecture, and the 4200 block of Spruce is no exception.