Description: Edwin Forrest Home records

Edwin Forrest Home records

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Bibliographic Details
Corporate Author:	Edwin Forrest Home (Creator)
Collection:	Edwin Forrest Home Records
Collection Number:	3068
Format:	Manuscript
Language:	English
Subjects and Genres:	Actors and Actresses > Nursing Homes.
Online Access:	Link to finding aid
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Physical Description:	27.0 Linear feet 59 boxes, 10 volumes, 10 flat files
Summary:	The Edwin Forrest Home was founded in 1873 under the provisions of the will of Edwin Forrest, a prominent nineteenth-century actor. The Philadelphia home was created to house up to twelve aging and infirm actors. Residents were welcomed after careful consideration of their health and their contributions to the profession. Admitted retirees were permitted to live at the home, free of charge, for the duration of their lives. The Edwin Forrest Home eliminated many of the burdens of old age, including those financial strains related to necessary medical treatment and burial expenses. The institution initially operated in Forrest’s country estate, “Springbrook,” in the Holmesburg section of North Philadelphia. In the 1920s, it was relocated to a manor house in Fairmount Park. Here, it continued to serve retired actors until 1986 when it was closed for financial reasons. The institution then merged with a similar retirement facility; the Lillian Booth Actors' Home of the Actors' Fund of America in Englewood, New Jersey. This collection documents the entire institutional history of the Edwin Forrest Home, although it is especially rich in twentieth century records. The records provide for the general business activities of the institution, including its founding, finances, admissions, and its dissolution. They also illustrate day to day life at the home through correspondence, guests’ records, and other materials. The collection does not offer much in the way of personal information on Edwin Forrest, save copies of his will and scant memorabilia. It does, however, house an assortment of portraits of the actor as well as other works of art that belonged to Forrest, which adorned the walls of the retirement facility.

Physical Description:

27.0 Linear feet 59 boxes, 10 volumes, 10 flat files

Summary:

The Edwin Forrest Home was founded in 1873 under the provisions of the will of Edwin Forrest, a prominent nineteenth-century actor. The Philadelphia home was created to house up to twelve aging and infirm actors. Residents were welcomed after careful consideration of their health and their contributions to the profession. Admitted retirees were permitted to live at the home, free of charge, for the duration of their lives. The Edwin Forrest Home eliminated many of the burdens of old age, including those financial strains related to necessary medical treatment and burial expenses. The institution initially operated in Forrest’s country estate, “Springbrook,” in the Holmesburg section of North Philadelphia. In the 1920s, it was relocated to a manor house in Fairmount Park. Here, it continued to serve retired actors until 1986 when it was closed for financial reasons. The institution then merged with a similar retirement facility; the Lillian Booth Actors' Home of the Actors' Fund of America in Englewood, New Jersey. This collection documents the entire institutional history of the Edwin Forrest Home, although it is especially rich in twentieth century records. The records provide for the general business activities of the institution, including its founding, finances, admissions, and its dissolution. They also illustrate day to day life at the home through correspondence, guests’ records, and other materials. The collection does not offer much in the way of personal information on Edwin Forrest, save copies of his will and scant memorabilia. It does, however, house an assortment of portraits of the actor as well as other works of art that belonged to Forrest, which adorned the walls of the retirement facility.

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Edwin Forrest Home records

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