UPDATE (7/20/2022): We are incredibly grateful to the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia for partnering with the Friends of the Tanner House to serve as the temporary local fiduciary to ensure swift repairs on the Henry O. Tanner House until a long-term non-profit steward has been identified. Moving forward, donations for this campaign are preferred via check and can be mailed to: 1608 Walnut Street, Suite 1702, Philadelphia, PA 19103. Please explicitly name "Tanner House Campaign" within the memo. For additional payment methods, please reach out to Jennifer Robinson, Director of Preservation Services, at jrobinson@preservationalliance.com or 215-546-1146 x8

The Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia is officially licensed as a charitable nonprofit organization in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling 1-800-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement. All contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

Summary

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.

About Henry O. Tanner

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.”

Henry Ossawa Tanner; His Boyhood Dream Comes True / Faith Ringgold

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.

Henry O. Tanner’s father, Benjamin Tucker Tanner outside 2908 W. Diamond St., Early 1900s