The Kelly Family
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
This famous family lived in the home built here by John B. Kelly. A successful businessman active in city politics, Jack was a 3-time Olympic gold medal winner in the 1920s for rowing. Son John Jr. ("Kell") won the Diamond Scull at the 1947 British Henley Regatta and a bronze medal at the 1956 Olympics. Both father and son were named to US Rowing and Olympic Halls of Fame. Daughter Grace was an Academy Award-winning actress and Princess of Monaco.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
On this Philadelphia ground stood the home John B. Kelly built for a family that would become American royalty of a sort. "Jack" Kelly rose from a bricklaying trade to business success and city politics, and won three Olympic gold medals in rowing in the 1920s; his son "Kell" carried the sculling tradition to Henley and the 1956 Olympics. His daughter Grace became an Academy Award-winning actress and then, as Princess of Monaco, a genuine princess — turning a striving Irish-American clan into a mid-century legend.
Why it matters
The Kellys embody the twentieth-century American dream in miniature — immigrant roots to Olympic glory to Hollywood and a European throne — with Grace Kelly among the most iconic American women of her era.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- African American Museum in Philadelphia4.9 mi away · 701 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
- National Constitution Center4.9 mi away · 525 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Independence Visitor Center5.0 mi away · 599 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Betsy Ross House5.1 mi away · 239 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Liberty Bell Center5.1 mi away · 526 Market Street, Philadelphia
- Museum of Illusions Philadelphia5.1 mi away · 401 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
Attractions
- Discovery Center at East Park Reservoir2.4 mi away
- Pennsylvania Railroad, Connecting Railway Bridge2.9 mi away
- Philadelphia Zoo3.2 mi away
- Rocky Steps3.7 mi away
- Harbison's Dairy Milk Bottle3.9 mi away
- Philly Gun Range4.3 mi away · North Percy Street
Food & drink
- Burger King5.0 mi away
- Independence Mall Cafe5.0 mi away · 50 North Independence Mall East, Philadelphia
- Dunkin'5.0 mi away · 634 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Philly Pretzel Factory5.1 mi away
- La Colombe Coffee Roasters5.1 mi away
- Munchie’s Cafe5.1 mi away · 728 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
Places to stay
- Days Inn Philadelphia Convention Center - Philadelphia4.5 mi away · 1227 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Four Points by Sheraton Philadelphia City Center4.6 mi away · 1201 Race Street, Philadelphia
- Clarion Suites Philadelphia4.7 mi away · 1010 Race Street, Philadelphia
- Home2 Suites by Hilton Philadelphia - Convention Center, PA4.7 mi away · 1200 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Sleep Inn Center City4.7 mi away · 1020 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA
- The Notary Hotel4.7 mi away · 21 North Juniper Street, Philadelphia
Places data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hours and details change — call ahead.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · John B. Kelly
- · John B. Kelly Jr.
- · Grace Kelly
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Female Medical College of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1996
Founded in 1850, this was the first degree-granting medical school for women anywhere in the nation, opening the profession of medicine to a sex long barred from it. Under Dean Ann Preston it was renamed the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania and trained generations of pioneering physicians. It went coeducational in 1969 and evolved through later mergers into a modern medical institution.
Dr. Mary Davis Ridgway (1873-1927)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2001
Dr. Mary Davis Ridgway was a homeopathic physician and surgeon who moved between the operating room and the fight for women's rights in early 20th-century Philadelphia. In 1913 she chartered Providence General Hospital, an institution whose principal officers were women, and for several years it served the surrounding community. Political pressure eventually forced the hospital from its home, and it closed not long after Ridgway's death in 1927.
Louisa May Alcott
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1996
Louisa May Alcott, who would write the beloved "Little Women," was born at "Pine Place" on November 29, 1832, to the visionary educator Bronson Alcott and his wife Abigail. Her family lived in this county during her earliest years before moving on to New England. Beyond her enduring children's fiction, Alcott served as a Civil War nurse and threw herself into the great reform causes of abolition and women's suffrage.
Ora Washington (1899-1971)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2004
For nearly a decade Ora Washington reigned over Black women's tennis, claiming eight national singles titles from the American Tennis Association between 1929 and 1937. When she wasn't dominating the court she starred for the Philadelphia Tribunes, one of the era's great women's basketball teams, and she coached and competed here at the YWCA. Barred by segregation from the mainstream circuits, she built her legend within the parallel world of Black athletics.