The Pennsylvania Historical and Museums Commission designated the Crystal Bird Fauset House a historic landmark in 1991. The three story brick townhouse was built as a single home in the Victorian Italianate style at 54th and Vine Streets in the Haddington section of West Philadelphia between 1872 and 1878. The house was built at the southwest corner of a trapezium shaped
double corner lot (5401 and 5403 Vine St.) The Front entrance faces Vine Street, and the porch, typically in the front, was placed facing the side fronting on 54th street. The property was large enough to include a stable or garage on the narrower northern portion of the lot also facing 54thSt. The lot size was also decreased to accommodate the widening of 54th Street. The house had the typical features of the Victorian Italianate style that was popular between 1850 and 1890: flat roofs, wide cornices with single and paired decorative brackets, and narrow two-over-two double-hung shuttered windows with curved window caps.The bay window was built styled with inset wooden panels, corner boards, bracket details similar to the main roof cornice and a skirt of shaped shingles. The porch that overlooks the garden would have had elaborate moldings and brackets complimenting the style of the period. Over the years the decorative elements have been lost through lack of maintenance or remodeling from the cornice, the porch and the rear section of the home. –The shaped shingles on the lower half of the bay window was covered with stucco in a quick-fix effort. A carriage house was at the rear of the property but has since been demolished. The exterior renovation of the Vine Street property that will return it to its former Victorian splendor will consist of reinstating the cornice and decorative brackets; rebuilding the bay window; recreating the porch and adjusting the addition to conform with the overall improvements; as well as reframing the windows in period style. The entire lot will be fenced in with an appropriately style and design to replace the current chain-link fence. The side garden will contain the Political Black women's Memorial of Pennsylvania. The interior consist of eight rooms and two bathrooms, full basement and eat-in kitchen. The interior renovation consisted of two new bathrooms, new custom ceramic tile kitchen and new wood grained vinyl flooring throughout. The parlor and library on the first floor will contain the Political Black Women's Memorial of Pennsylvania to celebrate the work and lives of black women elected or appointed to positions in the three branches of government of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It will be a small museum exhibiting portraits, political and personal memorabilia. The remaining areas of the house will be used for functions of the Crystal Bird Fauset Institute for Civic Engagement. The CBF Institute promotes the involvement of African American in the democratic process, is a resource center to encourage black women to run for public office and promote civics education.
