Our project will support the stabilization of the Tanner House, a National Historic Landmark. With your contribution, we can secure its future for generations of Philadelphia artists, intellectuals, and changemakers.
Leader
Tanner House Friends
Location
2908 W. Diamond St. Philadelphia, PA 19121
The Henry O. Tanner House, located at 2908 W. Diamond Street in North Central Philadelphia, is in immediate need of support to repair and restore the family home of the internationally renowned artist. Recently, L&I labeled the property an unsafe structure though they believe it can be saved, jump-starting a local community of African-American preservation advocates to establish an intermediary strategy. We are working with its owner to strategize for the extensive restoration work that is needed to stabilize the structure and he will be approving all activity. We call ourselves the Friends of The Henry O. Tanner House. Without these urgent and necessary repairs, this National Historic Landmark (registered in 1976) may be lost forever. There’s many possibilities for its future as a valued community asset, but all this is not realizable without first achieving these initial goal of raising $300K for its restoration. Our commitment within this all-volunteer effort is that every dollar raised will be invested into sustaining the property. The fundraiser will conclude on a very special June 21, 2022 in commemoration of Tanner's 163rd birthday.
Recognized as “the most distinguished African-American artist of the nineteenth century”, Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937) forged a path to international success, powerfully influencing younger black artists who came after him. Henry O. Tanner was 13 when his father moved the family to the house at 2908 W. Diamond Street, not far from East Fairmount Park. Tanner professed his origin story as an artist by recounting walking around Fairmount Park with his father, Benjamin Tucker Tanner, and seeing someone painting a landscape. He decided at that moment to become an artist. In his own words: “But, after seeing this artist at work for an hour, it was decided on the spot, by me at least, that I would become one, and I assure you it was no ordinary one I had in mind.”
As initially reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer, there’s more to the history of the House that surrounds Henry O. Tanner. His father, Benjamin Tucker Tanner, moved to 2908 W. Diamond St. after being appointed to lead the founding church of the African Episcopal Methodist faith—Mother Bethel AME —in 1872. He would eventually retire from ministerial duty to run the nationally heralded Christian Recorder. Henry also had to live in the proverbial shadow of his brilliant older sister, Dr. Halle Tanner Dillon Johnson. She earned an MD with high honors in 1891, becoming one of the first black women physicians in the United States. She then became the first woman of any race to be licensed to practice medicine in Alabama, personally invited by Booker T. Washington to serve at Tuskegee Institute. Henry O. Tanner’s niece, Sadie T. M. Alexander, for whom the Penn Alexander School in West Philadelphia is named, was born in the house and returned to live there while pursuing her doctorate degree at the University of Pennsylvania. It’s no surprise that descendant Rae Alexander-Minter recalled that historian Carter G. Woodson dubbed Tanner’s house, “the center of the Black intellectual community in Philadelphia” during its time.
The Friends of the Henry O. Tanner House have utilized a recent (August 2021) engineer's report of 2908 Diamond St. alongside more current physical surveys, with estimates sourced from several licensed contractors to determine the budget for the extensive repairs needed. We've projected the costs ($300K) in alignment with the more stringent standards required for rehabbing historic properties.
Philadelphia's Historic Commission and L&I (Licenses & Inspection) have both agreed that this property, although currently deteriorating, can be salvaged. Long term water damage has severely impacted the property. In direct dialogue with experts, we've identified priorities: The immediate focus will be revitalizing the foundation, then followed closely by rehabbing the exterior wall which has bowed, and then the complete replacement of the roof to ensure the structural integrity of the Henry O. Tanner House. Once these urgent needs of stabilization have been addressed, we've identified a subsection of the budget to attend to restoring the interior of the home.
Our goal is to fundraise from the end of Black History Month to Henry O. Tanner’s 163rd birthday on June 21, 2022. All funds raised will be used in service of repairing the property. We’re in consistent communication with the owner and if this project is successful, we see on the horizon a potential opportunity for strategizing its public reuse. Yet for now, the focus is on safety and stabilization of the property.
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We’ve established the Friends of the Henry O. Tanner House on the shared importance of supporting 2908 W. Diamond St. as it represents the preservation of significant Black Philadelphia legacies and globally-applauded historic accomplishments. With the investment of the proper resources, we believe that it can serve various community-centered possibilities for present and future generations of Philadelphia artists, intellectuals, changemakers, tourists, and visitors.
Some of our individual members are listed here (in alphabetical order):
Organizational endorsements:
We are more than interested for others (locally, nationally, and internationally) to join us in the work to restore this national historic landmark. You can email us directly at [email protected]
