In 1897, street car magnate Peter Arrell Brown Widener hired renowned architect Horace Trumbauer to design a 110-room mansion that was meant to be both a home and an opulent showcase for his art collection. Lynnewood Hall would be the first of several buildings that Trumbauer built for the Widener family on their 480-acre estate in Elkins Park, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
The palatial 69-875-square foot mansion was completed in 1900 for Peter Arrell Brown Widener and his two sons. It is one of the largest and most recognizable surviving Gilded Age mansions in the Philadelphia region.
While the imposing Neoclassical Revival structure is currently undergoing restoration, it is a popular destination for travelers visiting Jenkintown PA and wishing to see a classic example of Beaux-Arts architecture in a rural setting. The mansion features an opulent ballroom, an elegant entrance hall, and a spectacular terraced garden.
When it was completed in 1900, Widener lived in the main house and had a large wing given over to his art collection. The artworks included European paintings, oriental carpets, and Chinese porcelain.
After Widener’s death in 1915, the mansion was inherited by his youngest son, Joseph Early Widener. Joseph continued to add to the art collection and ultimately gave it to the National Gallery of Art in 1940.
A large number of the paintings featured in the Widener Mansion are European masterpieces such as Raphael’s The Little Cowper Madonna and Rembrandt’s The Mill. These were purchased by Peter Widener in the 19th century and are considered to be some of the best examples of Renaissance art in America today.
In addition to the mansion, Lynnewood Hall also contains an extensive collection of outbuildings and gardens that surround it. These include a chicken house, stock barns, greenhouses, a half-mile race track with a polo field in the middle, and stables for thoroughbred horses.
The property also features a power plant, water pumps, laundry, carpentry shop, and bakery, making it virtually self-sustaining. The property is in a rural setting but also within easy reach of Philadelphia and other urban centers.
Widener was a self-taught collector of art and antiquities who amassed a collection of 2,000 sculptures, paintings, and decorative arts. He purchased pieces from across Europe, including works by Rubens, Bellini, and Rembrandt.
He also accumulated pieces from China and Japan. These are found throughout the mansion, along with other items from around the world.
After spending many years in the townhouse he had purchased, Widener decided to move into his newly-built mansion on a 300-acre estate. He called it Lynnewood Hall and hired Angus Wade, who carried out alterations to the house.
During the summer months, Widener would spend his time at Linwood Hall with his wife and family. He later sold this property to a developer who turned it into a housing complex in the 1950s.
The house is surrounded by 117 acres of rolling hills and a stream that runs through the property. There are many historical markers, including a statue of Hannah Widener and an ancient stone arch.
