Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site, in Philadelphia, includes the former home of Poe, an American poet, short-story writer, and literary critic. He wrote many of his best-known works from 1838 to 1844, the years he lived in Philadelphia. These works include the short stories “The Gold Bug,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” and “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” During his years in the city, Poe also worked as a magazine editor and critic.
The Poe house stands near downtown Philadelphia in the Spring Green district. It is the only one of his several Philadelphia residences that survived to the present day. Poe rented the house in 1843 and 1844. He then left Philadelphia for New York City, where he started his own literary magazine. Poe died in 1849 at the age of 40. He is buried in Baltimore.
The National Park Service maintains the Poe house. The house is unfurnished. Two other buildings at the historic site have displays about the author’s life. The United States Congress established the Poe historic site in 1978.
