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History of International House of Philadelphia
The story of International House began in 1908 when Edward Cope Wood, a director of the University of Pennsylvania Christian Association, and The Reverend A. Waldo Stevenson, a missionary recently returned from Cuba, chanced upon a group of Chinese students on the University of Pennsylvania Campus. Striking up a conversation with them, they learned that they were the first persons to befriend them since their arrival in the United States. Touched by their evident loneliness and the prejudice and discrimination they and their friends experienced, the Reverend and Mrs. Stevenson opened their small Larchwood Avenue apartment to them and to other foreign students studying in the area.
By 1910 however, the Stevenson family found that the students’ needs were more than they could handle alone, and Edward Cope Wood persuaded the Christian Association to sponsor this service and appoint Stevenson Foreign Student Secretary. For several years, a variety of programs including lectures, teas, musical and literary entertainment and social affairs were organized under the Association’s auspices. Mr. and Mrs. James W. Fry, associate members of the Christian Association, joined the Stevenson’s in extending the hospitality of their West Philadelphia home to foreign visitors.
 By 1917, the tremendous growth of activities for foreign students made clear the need for an identifiable home and center to meet their needs. The Pott’s mansion at 3905 Spruce Street, designed by Frank Furness, was soon acquired and dedicated on January 1, 1918 as the International Students’ House “… for the cultivation of friendly relations among the students of the world.” In addition to providing residential space for twelve students, the new facility rapidly became a community center for more than 250 foreign students and their American friends.
In 1925, Dr. Elmer T. Thompson succeeded Stevenson as Director,
and under his leadership the House’s work continued to expand.
This lead to a separation from the Christian Association in
1943 and the establishment of an independent organization, International
House of Philadelphia. An Annual Chamber of Commerce Dinner
(first held in 1921), the Host Family Program, open houses,
language classes, spring weekends at Green Lane Camp, corporate
visits, nationality clubs, lectures, dances the publication
of the first Foreign Student Directory, and an annual Candlelight
Ceremony to conclude the academic year were among Dr. Thompson’s
legacies.
In 1950, Giles L. Zimmerman succeeded Dr. Thompson as Director, and it was he who would lead International House to its next level of accomplishment as a major cultural institution in the Delaware Valley. Through the generosity of the Religious Society Friends, the former Whittier Hotel at 15th and Cherry Streets was loaned to the House in 1959. This new space became home to more than 100 students each year and established, beyond a doubt, the value of International House as an institution dedicated to international understanding.
It was also during this period that the first Annual Festival of Nations was held at Houston Hall on the Penn campus. This entertainment was a great success, and was soon established as a major occasion on the Philadelphia social calendar with its move in subsequent years to the Bellevue Stratford Ballroom. In 1926, the Festival format was significantly enhanced by the addition of a dinner-dance known as the International Festival Ball, a tradition which endures this day as the Annual Global Gala.
In the early ‘60’s the City of Philadelphia announced that 15th Street was to be widened and that the Whittier Hotel was scheduled for demolition. The question of a new facility was again at hand. In 1965, the Board of trustees, backed by a $5 million grant from the Haas Community Funds, raised $8.5 million to build a modern facility for all International House services. Friends, students, and supporters met the challenge, and the House’s new 14 story building at 37th and Chestnut Street was dedicated in 1970.
The transition from the closely-knit family-style operation
of the Cherry Street House to the much larger,
and uncompleted, facility was extremely complex, and 1970 was
a difficult year for the newly appointed F. Markoe Rivinus -
the House’s first paid President. He was succeeded by Ross Pritchard
in 1971 and David L. Murphy in 1972, and the Board concentrated
on building an effective management team to carry on the House’s
proud record of community service.
With Charles H. Rannells’ appointment as President in 1976, International House began to realize the full potential of its elaborate new facility. With Rannells’ leadership through 1981, and that of Ellen B. Davis starting in 1986, the house renewed its commitment of service to its residents and the region’s foreign students, while simultaneously creating distinguished arts center program and developing conference center facilities was used throughout the year by hundreds of educational and non-profit organizations. The Folklife Center developed model projects which helped preserve and present international folk traditions. The Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema and the Neighborhood Film and Video Project offered regular exhibitions of challenging and important films by international and American independent filmmakers.
John Tenhula, a lawyer and former CEO of the Balch Institute,
served as President from early 2002 to January 1, 2003.
John drove efforts to restructure and streamline operations.
In addition, he was intricately involved in the process
of reviewing and clarifying the House's mission and the variety
of ways to achieve that mission in the changing world of the
21st Century. Oliver St. Clair Franklin
took over leadership on July 1, 2003, and continues to expand
and enhance the House's mission through new residential and
public programs. He has also made International House
the nexus between international culture and international business
with the Ambassador Program and the World Economic Lecture Series.
 Today, more than 350 residents from over 80
countries, including the U.S., call International House “home”. From cultural, social and educational programs for residents, to the acclaimed Film @ International House, to the Spoken English Program, to events like the annual Global Gala, the incredible mosaic of people and perspectives that come together at International House simply can’t be found any place else.
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