The neighborhood of Queen Village in Philadelphia, PA, is fast becoming the most-desirable place to live in Philadelphia. Recently, Philadelphia Magazine praised the positive growth and development of the greater Center City area and for local residents, myself included, the neighborhood just gets better every year. Learn more about Queen Village.
Most residential properties in Queen Village are brick row houses from the 19th Century. 130 Queen Street is a very typical representation of this style and dates to the earlier part of the Century. Houses like 130 Queen were typically a single room in length, note the half roof, with one room per floor. It is likely that once the plumbing was added, an expansion was built to accommodate the interior bathrooms and kitchen. Although 130 Queen is a row house, it’s a corner property and has windows on three sides, which lets in lots of natural light.
Once inside, the renovated home retains several charming historic features. Each floor has a working fireplace with original hand-carved mantle and two of these have charming built-in cabinets.
Through the living room is a first floor kitchen that has been tastefully updated in a style sensitive to the age of the house. The placement of the appliances, all normal-sized, offers ample work space and, thanks to the high ceilings on the first floor, there is plenty of cabinet storage as well.
Beyond is a patio, realtor Carolyn Perlow at Space & Company describes as “private, with plenty of room for a barbecue, furniture, and a city garden – a lovely place to entertain or just sit and enjoy a cup of coffee.”
There is a bedroom and bathroom on each upper floor, with a few wonderful surprises. Both bathrooms feature marble tile but the second floor bathroom has French doors, opening to a Juliette balcony.
The second floor bedroom is a good size and can accommodate a twin bed without preventing the occupant from accessing the closet. It’s important to note that older homes were not designed to have closets and sometimes adding them in later creates some floor space challenges. So, it’s always nice to report a historic home that has the modern conveniences we’ve come to appreciate. Speaking of modern conveniences, back in the kitchen there is a dishwasher.
I imagine that originally, 130 Queen was a three-and-a-half story row home with a dormer. It will be a nice mystery for the new owner to solve because today the third floor bedroom ceiling extends to the roof. Overlooking the bedroom is a balcony, accessible via spiral staircase, that has French doors opening to the roof.
The ceiling fan, normally not possible in the short ceilings of historic homes, simply sends any hot air right out – fantastic – reducing the need for the central a/c to be running all the time! A roof deck is feasible and would be a nice addition.
A summary of the details includes:
- 1,300+ square feet
- Located within the Meredith School encatchment (locals know why this is awesome and this is a great house for a family of three, or cozy for four)
- Close to snazzy South Street/Head House shopping and restaurants
- Historic brick row house around 200 years old
- Gas heat, water heater, and range
- Lovely, new wood floors throughout that are a period appropriate width
- Washer/dryer in the third floor bathroom
- Wired for a security system
For more information, please contact Carolyn Perlow at Space & Company, 215.625.3650. I first met Carolyn, who provided background information and the photos for 130 Queen, at one of the Queen Village Annual Open House tours.
Row House Living 