Philadelphia's grand mansions and architectural treasures reflect its iconic status in American history, for each Greek Revival home and Corinthian column tells a compelling story of the people behind it. Historic Strawberry Mansion in North Philadelphia was home to Judge William Lewis, a Patriot who defended colonists accused of treason and was Aaron Burr's defense lawyer. Socialite, millionaire and world-renowned art collector Henry McIlhenny made his home at Rittenhouse Square and left his art collection to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Famed architect Addison Mizner's Spanish Colonial Revival house La Ronda brought the stark contrast of South Florida to Philadelphia. Author Thom Nickels presents the city's most iconic homes and the stories behind them.

Thom Nickels is a Philadelphia journalist and the author of twelve books, including Literary Philadelphia: A History of Prose & Poetry in the City of Brotherly Love. He was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award in 1990 and awarded the Philadelphia AIA Lewis Mumford Award for Architectural Journalism in 2005. He is a weekly columnist for Philadelphia magazine, the theater critic for ICON magazine and a regular Huff Post contributor. He has written for the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News, Metro Philadelphia, Travel Weekly, the New Oxford Review and the Broad Street Review. His essay on Agnes Repplier was the featured essay in the winter issue of the American Catholic Studies Journal (Villanova University), 2015.