Chestnut Hill is a residential neighborhood in the northwestern part of Philadelphia.
 It was settled in the early eighteenth century and still has many stone buildings from that period.
 In the second half of the nineteenth century many Victorian mansions were built in the area.
 Several residences within a few blocks of the Vanna Venturi House were designed by well-known architects.
 The entire neighborhood is part of the Chestnut Hill Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Houston-Sauveur House, built in 1885 by architects G. W. & W. D. Hewitt, is one of many Victorian mansions in the immediate neighborhood.
 Nearby modern architecture includes Louis Kahn's Esherick House and a house in the International Style designed by Kenneth Day.
 A bit further away is Cherokee Village, a 104-unit apartment complex designed by Oscar Stonorov in the 1950s.
 Venturi worked on this project as a draftsman.
Two other houses designed by Stonorov, and the house of Venturi's long-time partner, John Rauch, are near the apartment complex.

The Esherick and Vanna Venturi Houses invite comparison, having been built within two years and one block of each other by Philadelphia's best-known 20th century architects.
In Kahn's building, proportion and symmetry bind the building together; in Venturi's the building's elements appear as fragments of the whole.
The Esherick House seems devoid of ornament, while the Venturi House has a large, purely ornamental arch on its facade.
The Esherick House is essentially symmetric, but the Venturi House contradicts its basic symmetry with asymmetric windows.
Chestnut Hill is a residential neighborhood in the northwestern part of Philadelphia.  It was settled in the early eighteenth century and still has many stone buildings from that period.  In the second half of the nineteenth century many Victorian mansions were built in the area.  Several residences within a few blocks of the Vanna Venturi House were designed by well-known architects.  The entire neighborhood is part of the Chestnut Hill Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Houston-Sauveur House, built in 1885 by architects G. W. & W. D. Hewitt, is one of many Victorian mansions in the immediate neighborhood.  Nearby modern architecture includes Louis Kahn's Esherick House and a house in the International Style designed by Kenneth Day.  A bit further away is Cherokee Village, a 104-unit apartment complex designed by Oscar Stonorov in the 1950s.  Venturi worked on this project as a draftsman. Two other houses designed by Stonorov, and the house of Venturi's long-time partner, John Rauch, are near the apartment complex.
The Esherick and Vanna Venturi Houses invite comparison, having been built within two years and one block of each other by Philadelphia's best-known 20th century architects. In Kahn's building, proportion and symmetry bind the building together; in Venturi's the building's elements appear as fragments of the whole. The Esherick House seems devoid of ornament, while the Venturi House has a large, purely ornamental arch on its facade. The Esherick House is essentially symmetric, but the Venturi House contradicts its basic symmetry with asymmetric windows.
Vanna Venturi House