Sylvan Heights Mansion, a Greek Revival, temple-like house on Allison Hill in Harrisburg, was originally built by John H. Brant, who came to Harrisburg around 1830 and operated a successful wholesale business selling coal, iron, nails and oil to the Pennsylvania Canal and the Pennsylvania Railroad. Appointed Postmaster of Harrisburg by U.S. President Pierce in 1853, Brant also erected Brant's City Hall on Market Street in 1856 for use as a hotel, restaurant, and meeting hall. About the same time he began building his house on the bluff, a project that took about ten years while he also served on the Union side in the Civil War and attained the rank of colonel. Because construction lasted so long, the house acquired the nickname "Brant's Folly." Brant sold the property in 1871, only several years after it was completed, to the Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg, which named it Sylvan Heights and used it for a variety of religious purposes. In 1901 the diocese established an orphanage there, expanded the building, added a gabled roof to enhance its Greek temple-like appearance, and extended its columned portico. The orphanage remained in operation until the 1970s, after which the building was vacated. The City later acquired the site and assisted the Harrisburg YWCA in restoring the property, renaming it the John Crain Kunkel Center and adding a new residential wing, and the Harrisburg YWCA at Sylvan Heights continues to serve women and children.
