Lynnewood Hall

Lynnewood Hall, a 110-room Neoclassical Revival mansion in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, has been vacant for several years and is currently undergoing stabilization and renovations.

---

---

Lynnewood Hall, a 110-room Neoclassical Revival mansion in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, has been vacant for several years and is currently undergoing stabilization and renovations.

History

Wideners

Peter A. B. Widener began his career as a butcher, amassing his initial wealth by selling mutton to the Army during the Civil War. ^{19 27} His fortune grew significantly when he became known as the “Traction King” after acquiring all of the streetcar lines in Philadelphia and investing in railroads, steel, tobacco, and oil. ^{16 19 27} He later expanded his transportation holdings to other cities, engaged in real estate transactions, and was appointed Philadelphia’s treasurer.

When Widener commissioned architect Horace Trumbauer to build Lynnewood Hall, he had already designed the Widener family’s townhome at Broad Street and Girard Avenue in Philadelphia and their house in New York City. For Lynnewood Hall’s interiors, Trumbauer collaborated with the French firm Carlhian et Fils, incorporating salvaged European furniture, tapestries, and entire rooms. The mansion’s 18th-century ballroom, one of the largest on the eastern seaboard, was imported from Italy.

Construction of Lynnewood Hall began in 1897 and was completed at the cost of $8 million, ^{19 27} with a grand opening gala held on December 19, 1899.

Built from Indiana limestone, the mansion measured 325 feet in length and 215 feet in depth. ¹ It included 55 bedrooms, a large art gallery, a library for Widener’s grandsons’ book collection, a swimming pool, wine cellars, a farm, carpentry and upholstery studios, a bakery, and a small electrical power plant. ^{1 27} The estate initially covered 800 acres, including a horse track and stables, a gatehouse, and a smaller residence known as Lynnewood Lodge (Conklin Hall). ^{19 27} The Wideners employed 100 servants to operate the facility.

The mansion’s 33-acre ornamental gardens, originally designed by head gardener William Kleinheinz, featured a large fountain by Henri-Léon Gréber, one of only two major surviving Gréber commissions in America.

Lynnewood Hall housed one of the largest private art collections of the Gilded Age, comprising European masterpieces and decorative arts assembled by Widener and his younger son, Joseph E. Widener. The collection included works by Raphael, Rembrandt, El Greco, Van Dyck, Titians, Rubens, Manets, and Donatello. ^{2 19} Between 1915 and 1940, the art gallery was open to the public by appointment between June and October.

Peter A. B. Widener died on November 6, 1915. ³ He was predeceased by his elder son, George Dunton Widener, and his grandson, Harry Elkins Widener, both of whom perished in the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912. Afterward, ownership of Lynnewood Hall passed to his son, Joseph, who converted the library into a ballroom accommodating 1,000 guests. ^{3 27}

In 1916, the gardens were redesigned in the French style by Jacques Gréber, who also designed the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and later the 1937 Paris Exhibition. At its peak, the estate included stables, greenhouses, a polo field, and a reservoir and employed a staff of 100. ⁴

Joseph’s son, Peter A. B. Widener II, was an avid dog breeder and built extensive kennels on the property in 1920. During World War II, the grounds were used to train military dogs.

In 1942, Joseph donated over 2,000 sculptures, paintings, decorative artworks, and porcelains to the National Gallery of Art. ¹⁹ The donation included Raphael’s Small Cowper Madonna, Bellini’s The Feast of the Gods, eight van Dycks, two Vermeers, fourteen Rembrandts, and portraits by Gainsborough and Reynolds. ⁵ The sculptures included Donatello’s David and Desiderio da Settignano’s St. John the Baptist. ^{5 6}

Following Joseph’s death in 1943, the southern part of the estate was sold for development. ⁷ In 1944, a week-long auction of the mansion’s furnishings and antiques was held. ¹⁹

In 1948, developer Harry Robinson purchased the mansion and its surrounding 34 acres for $130,000, with plans to convert it into a country club. ¹⁹ However, that development never materialized. The state later considered using the property for a mental hospital, and a college mused about using the buildings for a campus. Robinson allowed the property to be used as a nonprofit day camp one summer.

However, after Robinson defaulted on a $99,000 mortgage, the Wideners temporarily repossessed the property. ⁸

Faith Theological Seminary

In 1952, Faith Theological Seminary, led by the radio evangelist Rev. Carl McIntire, acquired Lynnewood Hall for $250,000. ^{9 18 19}

The Seminary trained hundreds of ministers and Christian leaders at Lynnewood Hall. At the height of its influence, McIntire hosted a radio program broadcast to 600 stations, attracting up to 4,000 listeners daily. ²³ Donations reached as much as $4 million annually, enabling McIntire to purchase old hotels and mansions nationwide and establish branch campuses in California and South Korea.

However, McIntire’s authoritarian and controversial approach led to waves of faculty and student departures. ²³ He opposed evolution, sex education, the civil rights movement, and fluoridated water. In 1973, federal regulators shut down his radio station for violating the Fairness Doctrine, and other stations began dropping his show. As donations dwindled, McIntire briefly broadcast from a rented minesweeper in Cape May, but only for 16 hours. In 1977, when he led 300 supporters through Cape May demanding tax-exempt status for his three oceanfront hotels, onlookers jeered, calling him a “freeloader” and a “tax cheat.”

As financial difficulties arose, the Seminary began dismantling portions of the mansion’s interior, and the building was in poor condition by the 1980s. ^{9 16} In 1988, McIntire sold off seven bronze and marble fountains that graced the exterior for a fraction of their estimated worth. ¹⁸ By 1992, McIntire began selling off woodwork and fixtures. ¹⁹

In January 1993, Lynnewood Hall was listed for salvage, with individual items, including the fountains by Gréber—put up for sale. ¹⁶ However, on January 8, a federal judge halted the sale at the request of the Resolution Trust Corp., which held the mortgage. A follow-up hearing was held on January 27, and the judge put off a hearing of the matter, thereby giving the participants until February 26 to devise a way to save the mansion. ¹⁸ It includes whether preservation could find and help fund a private use for the building and its estate that satisfied Resolution Trust Corp., the Seminary, and the township.

Further delays postponed the sale until April 20, ¹⁹ when the mortgage was scheduled to be auctioned as part of a pool of non-performing loans. ²⁰ On April 22, an agreement between the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Resolution Trust Corp. granted the National Trust an option to purchase the mortgage, which had $1 million outstanding. Although the National Trust did not intend to buy the mortgage, the agreement provided time until July for the organization to find a buyer.

On September 27, the Seminary made its final mortgage payment, including interest and penalties, and moved back into Lynnewood Hall. ¹⁷ This was made possible with assistance from its new chancellor, Rev. Richard Sei-Oung Yoon, and a group of at least five physicians who helped avert a sheriff’s sale. Despite significant water damage and deterioration, classes quickly resumed. The move was a setback for local preservationists who had spent nearly a year trying to prevent the Seminary from dismantling the building to pay off its debts.

However, financial problems worsened, and by the mid-1990s, the Seminary had dwindled to only a dozen students. ²¹ Over the years, Rev. Richard S. Yoon, a New York urologist and member of the Seminary’s board of directors, attempted to revitalize the institution and repair the mansion. Yoon advocated for forming a corporation to manage the Seminary, with McIntire serving as honorary president, but the proposal was rejected.

In 1995, the Seminary filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, temporarily blocking a scheduled sheriff’s sale of Lynnewood Hall. ^{21 22} However, a federal judge later dismissed the bankruptcy petition.

On February 21, 1996, Lynnewood Hall was awarded to a lone bidder, Yoon, at a sheriff’s sale, ²² but the sale was voided due to improper paperwork. ²¹ Owing $2.2 million to creditors, including Yoon, McIntire filed for bankruptcy again on May 15, 1996, preventing another scheduled sheriff’s property sale.

On December 9, the property was sold at a Sheriff’s Sale to the First Korean Church of New York, a Presbyterian-affiliated church with ties to the Seminary headed by Yoon. ²⁴ By then, Lynnewood Hall, Lynnewood Lodge, and the gatehouse were in various states of disrepair, with the gatehouse completely abandoned. Yoon began emergency repairs, including repairing the roof and electrical systems and installing heating equipment. The First Korean Church then made several unsuccessful attempts to convert the property back into a seminary and church.

In February 1997, the Seminary was evicted from Lynnewood Hall. ²⁵ Following the eviction, McIntire and Yoon accused each other of slander and misappropriation of funds. The Seminary’s authority to confer degrees was also questioned by the state Department of Education and local politicians, federal immigration officials, and former students, who doubted its legitimacy as an institution. ²⁶ In 2003, the township disallowed educational and religious institutions to operate in residential-zoned areas. ²⁷

Cheltenham Township officials further complicated the situation, arguing that there was insufficient religious activity at Lynnewood Hall to classify it as a church. ²⁵ Although one hall in the mansion was set up as a chapel, the congregation had only 20 or fewer members by 2012, and the Seminary had an indeterminate number of students. The Zoning Hearing Board found the church in violation of township ordinances. Despite this, Yoon appealed the decision and continued holding religious services during the appeal process.

In the 2006 court case First Korean Church of N.Y., Inc. v. Montgomery County Board of Assessment Appeals, the court determined that the property had not been used for religious or educational purposes since 1998. ⁴ Faced with steep tax bills, the church began selling off the remaining portions of the property. In 2006, Lynnewood Hall’s Gréber fountain was sold at auction. After a final ruling on February 29, 2012, that the First Korean Church did not qualify for a tax exemption and that the township’s zoning laws did not violate the church’s civil rights, ²⁷ Yoon, the church’s president and pastor, announced in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer his intention to relocate the church and end the legal battle. ^{10 11}

Lynnewood Hall was listed for sale at $11 million in May 2019. Despite multiple offers exceeding the asking price, the mansion remained unsold. ¹²

Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation

On July 5, 2022, the establishment of the Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation was announced to acquire and restore Lynnewood Hall. ¹³ On February 8, 2023, the foundation revealed that a purchase agreement had been made for the property, with plans to fully restore the mansion and open the gardens to the public as a park. ¹⁴ The mansion’s sale was finalized on June 27 for $9 million, transferring ownership to the nonprofit Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation. ^{15 28}

---

Popular Culture

Lynnewood Hall was featured in the 1950 film The Great Gatsby, serving as a stand-in for the doomed tycoon’s East Egg mansion on Long Island Sound. ¹⁸

---

Gallery

Exterior

Great Hall, West and East Halls

Galleries

Common Rooms

Private Chambers and Guest Rooms

---

Share

---

---

Further Reading

• Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation

---

Sources

1. “Peter A.B. Widener Dead.” Boston Evening Transcript, 6 Nov. 1915.
2. Parks, Jessica. “The clock is ticking for Lynnewood Hall.” Philadelphia Inquirer, 11 Aug. 2014.
3. “P.A.B. Widener, Capitalist, Dies.” New York Times, 7 Nov. 1915.
4. “The magnificent and important Widener French patinated bronze figural fountain depicting Tritons and Nereids.” Bonhams.
5. Quodbach, Esmée. “”The Last of the American Versailles”: The Widener Collection at Lynnewood Hall.” Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art, 2002, pp. 42–96.
6. “Provenance.” National Gallery of Art.
7. “Magnificent Fountain to be Featured During Second Annual Garden Sale at Bonhams & Butterfields in San Francisco.” Bonhams.
8. “History.” Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation, Inc.
9. “Want to buy a haunted house? ‘World’s biggest ghost house’ is up for sale in Pa. for $16M: report.” Patriot-News, 26 Oct. 2020.
10. First Korean Church of New York, Inc. v. Cheltenham Township Zoning Hearing Board and Cheltenham Township, Doc. No. 65-6389, 29 Feb. 2012.
11. Lin, Jennifer. “‘Last hope’ for pastor’s grand estate.” Philadelphia Inquirer, 20 Jul. 2013.
12. Andriotis, Mary Elizabeth. “Inside Lynnewood Hall, an Abandoned Mansion With Ties to the Titanic.” House Beautiful, 9 Sept. 2021.
13. Hass, Kimberly. “Preservation Group Mobilizes to Save Lynnewood Hall.” Hidden City Philadelphia, 5 Jul. 2022.
14. Robinson, Carla. “Purchase agreement reached for historic Lynnewood Hall: Pottstown investor funds Gilded Age mansion’s preservation foundation.” Chestnut Hill Local, 8 Feb. 2023.
15. Ladd, Jenn. “After almost a decade on the market, Lynnewood Hall in Elkins Park has been sold — and saved.” Philadelphia Inquirer, 30 Jun. 2023.
16. Hine, Thomas. “Lynnewood Hall: A Mansion may end up in bits and pieces.” Philadelphia Inquirer, 17 Jan. 1993, pp. M1-M5.
17. Lim, Paul J. “Seminary pays debt on its estate.” Philadelphia Inquirer, 30 Sept. 1993, pp. MC1-MC13.
18. Dilanian, Ken. “At age 95, Lynnewood Hall may be running out of lives.” Philadelphia Inquirer, 4 Feb. 1993, p. B3.
19. Avery, Ron. “A mansion loses its charm.” Philadelphia Daily News, p. 8.
20. Dilanian, Ken. “A grand mansion gets a reprieve.” Philadelphia Inquirer, 23 Apr. 1993, p. B1.
21. Shah, Allie. “Seminary averts sale by filing for bankruptcy.” Philadelphia Inquirer, 16 May 1996, pp. B1-B5.
22. Metz, Andrew. “Mansion sold to creditor.” Philadelphia Inquirer, 22 Feb. 1996, p. B3.
23. Holmes, Kristin E., Julia C. Martinez, and Karl Stark. “A fiery preacher’s flock has faded, but he burns on.” Philadelphia Inquirer, 15 Dec. 1996, pp. A1-A22-A23.
24. Baughn, Kristin. “Improvements under way at Elkins Park mansion.” Philadelphia Inquirer, 11 Dec. 1996, p. B4.
25. Campbell, Kate. “Owner of mansion fights Cheltenham over church status.” Philadelphia Inquirer, 18 Oct. 1999, p. B1.
26. Barnhardt, Laura. “Lynnewood Hall legal battle flares.” Philadelphia Inquirer, 26 Sept. 1997, p. B3.
27. Lin, Jennifer and Jeremy Roebuck. “In elkins Park, gilded mansions lie vacant.” Philadelphia Inquirer, 9 Apr. 2012, pp. A1-A8.
28. Ladd, Jenn. “Lynnewood Hall is sold after nearly decade on the market.” Philadelphia Inquirer, 2 Jul. 2023, p. B4.