aThe Edwin Forrest Home was founded in 1873 under the provisions of the will of Edwin Forrest, a prominent nineteenth-century actor. The home's benefactor, Edwin Forrest, "was the first native-born, native-trained actor to become a star." After a brilliant career, debilitating arthritis forced Forrest into retirement. A short time later, on December 10, 1872, Edwin Forrest died, devoid of any heirs, with the exception of two surviving sisters and his former wife. In anticipation, the actor had devised a plan to pass his fortune on to the future residents of a retirement home. In the final printed version of his will he wrote, "I would make my fortune the means to elevate the education of others and promote their success, and to alleviate their sufferings and smooth the pillows of the unfortunate, in sickness or other disability, or the decay of declining years." The Edwin Forrest Home was founded the following year, receiving its charter from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on April 7, 1873. The first guests were admitted in 1876.

Residents were welcomed after careful consideration of their health and their contributions to the profession. Admitted retirees were permitted to live at the home, free of charge, for the duration of their lives. The Edwin Forrest Home eliminated many of the burdens of old age, including those Financial strains related to necessary medical treatment and burial expenses. The home initially maintained a burial ground on its small estate for its deceased actors, the first burials occurring around 1880. Within a few years, however, they purchased a burial lot in Section U of North Cedar Hill Cemetery and relocated those few burials on the home's ground there. Later, they purchased a lot in West Laurel Hill Cemetery Section Rockland, Lot 188, for additional burials.

The institution initially operated in Forrest's country estate, "Springbrook," in the Holmesburg section of North Philadelphia. The institution operated there for over fifty years. During that time, northern Philadelphia was not yet developed and the house at Springbrook was surrounded by beautiful, rural scenery. By the 1920s, however, the city's landscape had begun to change and the retirement home was moved. After a brief stint in a leased "Castor Mansion" in neighboring Torresdale, the home was permanently relocated to Fairmount Park. Here, it continued to serve retired actors until 1986 when it was closed for financial reasons. The institution then merged with a similar retirement facility -- the Lillian Booth Actors' Home of the Actors' Fund of America in Englewood, New Jersey.