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February 13-19, 2003 political notebook The Race to Restore BelmontThe much-needed restoration of Belmont Mansion is on hold until Mayor John Street conducts an emergency meeting on the matter. Belmont, the oldest historic mansion in Fairmount Park, situated on Belmont Plateau, has been embroiled in controversy about whether repairs should include removal of the third floor, which has a possible Underground Railroad connection. The American Women's Heritage Society (AWHS), a nonprofit group of mainly African-American women that operates the mansion on a volunteer basis, is vehemently opposed to removal of the third floor. The Fairmount Park and Historical commissions say, however, that the AWHS has failed to prove the historical importance, and have approved a proposal that includes third-floor demolition. For many years, AWHS has been trying to get the city to begin the work that the main part of the mansion desperately needs. Four years ago, the city appropriated $1.5 million for the project and the William Penn Foundation granted additional funds. Another $1.3 million was later appropriated by City Council. Now, because of the present disagreement, the repairs have been delayed. The dispute boiled over when, last week and earlier this week, contractors sent by the city's Capitol Improvement Program arrived at Belmont to examine the scope of the work and submit bids on the commissions' plans. The visits caused an uproar among AWHS volunteers, who were at the mansion when the contractors arrived and learned that the proposed plan was to remove the third floor. Then Street became involved. "The mayor has recognized that this is an extremely important issue and he will work with all sides to resolve the matter," said Street's spokesperson, Joel Avery. The Historical Commission held a special hearing on the matter in September 2001. The Historical Commission voted, on a recommendation from the Fairmount Park Commission, to restore the mansion to its appearance from 1816. (The earliest records of the mansion show that it was owned by Dutch and Swedish settlers in 1678.) In the meeting's minutes, Historic Preservation Officer Richard Tyler says that an archival 1816 watercolor, which he believes does not include a third floor, best interprets the house known to the Peters family, who inhabited the mansion. Michael Sklaroff, then a member of the Historical Commission, now the chair, noted in the minutes that the Architectural Committee (within the Historical Commission) recommended removing the third floor and that the burden of proof was on the AWHS. Audrey R. Johnson-Thornton, the president of AWHS and a longtime community activist, said during the September 2001 hearing that extensive research through numerous archives had shown that the third floor was used to hide slaves and was part of the Underground Railroad. Johnson-Thornton told Commission members that UCLA historian Gary Nash had offered to work with AWHS to determine how the third floor may have played a part in the antislavery movement. Nash recently gained national recognition when he revealed the substantial number of black slaves and free blacks residing in the city during the antebellum period. The AWHS had also retained Richard Ortega, a structural engineer, to issue a report stating that retention of the third floor was entirely possible. Johnson-Thornton and other AWHS members asked for more time to prove their case. However, that day the Historical Commission members voted 8-2 in favor of the Architectural Committee's recommendations to remove the third floor. Richard Tyler did not return calls for further comment. "What period are they [the Historical Commission] trying to interpret?" asked Ursula Reed, a vice president of the Fairmount Park Council for Historic Sites. "To focus on 1816 excludes much of the rich 19th- and 20th-century history of Belmont Mansion and precludes the possibilities for a more inclusive historical interpretation -- similar to what is now taking place at Independence Park, Liberty Bell and Constitution Center sites," she said. In the midst of all this, the delay in construction has caused further deterioration of the mansion. Frustrated, AWHS has continued to research the third-floor slave connection. Its plight came to the attention of Julie Winch, a historian at the University of Massachusetts who gave a lecture at Belmont about her recently published book, A Gentleman of Color. The book tells the story of James Forten, a free black gentleman in Philadelphia who had a business relationship with Belmont owner Richard Peters Jr. Like Nash, Winch believes that further research to determine the Underground connection is necessary. In the 1700s, William Peters came from England and built Belmont as a summer retreat. His son Richard used the house as a place to meet George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Peters supported the abolition of slavery publicly and privately and freed his slave Cornelia Wells. "The mayor is a staunch cheerleader of African-American history and tourism," said Joel Avery. "He will be actively involved at this point and wants to resolve the issue quickly." Avery noted that Johnson-Thornton had "widespread support for her efforts at Belmont." 
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