3812 Walnut
What it looks like: Remember that one rich girl from high school who had the super nice house and a private steel gate that looked completely out of place? Kinda like that.
What you think it is: Okay, this is clearly the house of someone important who wants nothing to do with campus life. That, or a meeting center for some Wharton leadership group.
What it actually is: Amy Gutmann’s house. That explains a lot. Maybe if you read all her emails instead of just deleting them you would’ve known.
What it looks like: An abandoned white house shoe–horned next to the Kelly Writers House.
What you think it is: Oh, it’s haunted. It has to be. There are never any lights on, the paint is chipping, no one ever acknowledges its existence… Definitely haunted.
What it actually is: It’s called the Westminster House and has quite an illustrious history. Designed in 1851, it's one of the first buildings in West Philadelphia and is home to the Kappa Alpha Society (the oldest fraternity in America). Pretty good for a house that is probably inhabited by the undead.
3701 Locust
What it looks like: A typical 1970s–style concrete structure. With blue laser lights. Awesome.
What you think it is: Some branch of Huntsman. Or maybe Annenberg? Seriously, though, what does it matter? Have you seen the blue lights?
What it actually is: The Penn School of Social Policy and Practice has an incredibly rich history, dating all the way back to 1908. It evolved from a single course of “Training in Child–Helping” to an entire graduate school with eminence in the field of social work, from domestic violence issues to criminal justice. The blue lights? Just an added bonus.
