In 1860 Thomas Ustick Walter purchased a lot at the corner of High and Morton Streets, in Germantown, one of Philadelphia’s most attractive suburbs. He designed a substantial Italianate-style villa and began supervising construction long-distance from his home in Washington. His plan was to retire to Germantown after his work at the Capitol was complete. The coming of the war and the cessation of the public works in Washington altered those plans. After hastily getting his wife and six-year old son, Gardiner, out of Washington in April 1861, he rented a house in Germantown where he could oversee the construction of his residence himself.  To outfit his own home, Walter employed several of the (now unemployed) contractors with whom he had worked on the Capitol. These included marble suppliers Rice, Heebner & Co.; stained glass artist, John Gibson, iron suppliers, Janes, Fowler, Kirtland & Co., and decorative artist, Constantino Brumidi. Walter moved his family into the new house in December 1861.
	Walter Residence in Germantown, Morton & High Streets Mounted Albumen Photograph c. 1865   Walter Collection, The Athenaeum of Philadelphia
Walter Residence in Germantown, Morton & High Streets Side Elevation Thomas U. Walter, Architect Watercolor Rendering on Whatman Paper October 27, 1860   Walter Collection, The Athenaeum of Philadelphia

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