This is the story of the Caroline Karsner House at Tulpehocken Street in Germantown Philadelphia, PA USA–a 15,000 square feet 1890 mansion that housed ten apartments, two basements, and a carriage house. We called it the BuildaBridge House where we lived and hosted our non-profit BuildaBridge International, February 2003-August 2016. A labor of love, the blog linked below, describes the restoration process with the help of friends, students, family and professionals.

Built in 1890 by the Karsners, the Karsner House as it is called on the National Historic Registry has gone through a variety of owners.  We purchased the house in 2003, and worked on renovations until we sold in 2016, upon our retirement.

This is the renovation chronicle for the BuildaBridge International House (BI House).  Vickie and I occupied Apartment #3 on May 2003.

*The name Tulpehocken is attributed both to the Lenape Indians (Tulpewikaki) and the Germans (“tulip squatting” in German).

Big Place–Small Place Blog

Click on the link above to read about the renovation of the house on Tulpehocken Street. Too much to transfer.