Philadelphia Museum of Art - Information : Press Room : Press Releases : 1997

June 24th, 1997

Park House Christmas Tours' Silver Anniversary

Twenty-five years of Philadelphia's most elegant and distinctive holiday tradition will be celebrated when the Park House Guides of the Philadelphia Museum of Art present the Park House Christmas Tours from Friday, December 5, through Wednesday, December 10, 1997. Seven Fairmount Park Houses as well as the Horticulture Center will be open for general admission from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day of the Park House Christmas Tours, and will be specially decorated by area garden clubs to celebrate the following festive themes:

"Country Luncheon" at Cedar Grove
"Wedding Reception" at Sweetbriar
"Winter Wonderland" at the Horticulture Center
"Holiday Tea Dance" at Lemon Hill
"Weekend House Party" at Mount Pleasant
"Christmas Musicale" at Laurel Hill
"Anniversary Dinner" at Woodford
"Candlelight Ball" at Strawberry Mansion

Daytime general admission tickets for the Park House Christmas Tours are $12.00 for adults, $5.00 for children, and can be purchased at any of the Park Houses, the Horticulture Center and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. General admission tickets may also be purchased in advance at the Philadelphia Museum of Art beginning in November. Call (215) 235-SHOW.

Groups of 15 or more may tour with a Park House Guide for $20.00 per person; guided group tours that include a box lunch are $30.00 per person. Restaurant packages are also available. Call (215) 684-7926 to arrange group tour reservations.

Romantic evening Candlelight Tours, featuring three of the Park Houses decorated and lighted as they were in the 18th- and 19th-centuries, will take place from 5:30 to 9:00 p.m. on December 4, 5, 6, 7 and 10. Trolleys will depart from the Horticulture Center, and wine and a light supper will be served. Tickets are $35.00 per person. Call (215) 235-SHOW for reservations.

Fairmount Park is the largest municipal park in the United States, and the Fairmount Park Houses are considered to be the most significant group of 18th- and early 19th-century examples of domestic architecture in the United States. The Park House Christmas Tours were inaugurated in 1972 with the assistance of a single garden club; this year's activities will reflect the enthusiastic efforts of 15 clubs and hundreds of volunteers. The proceeds from the Park House Christmas Tours benefit the ongoing preservation and restoration of the seven participating houses.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest museums in the United States, with a collection of more than 227,000 works of art and more than 200 galleries presenting painting, sculpture, works on paper, photography, decorative arts, textiles, and architectural settings from Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the United States. Its facilities include its landmark Main Building on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, the Perelman Building, located nearby on Pennsylvania Avenue, the Rodin Museum on the 2200 block of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, and two 18th-century houses in Fairmount Park, Mount Pleasant and Cedar Grove. The Museum offers a wide variety of activities for public audiences, including special exhibitions, programs for children and families, lectures, concerts and films.

For additional information, contact the Marketing and Communications Department of the Philadelphia Museum of Art at (215) 684-7860. The Philadelphia Museum of Art is located on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street. For general information, call (215) 763-8100, or visit the Museum's website at www.philamuseum.org.