Construction and early years By the time Horace Trumbauer was commissioned by Peter A.B. Widener to build Lynnewood Hall, Trumbauer had already designed the Widener family's Philadelphia townhome and house in New York City. Trumbauer collaborated with the French firm Carlhian et Fils to design the mansion's interiors, utilizing large amounts of salvaged European furniture, tapestries, and rooms. The mansion's 18th-century ballroom, one of the largest on the eastern seaboard, had furniture imported from Italy. Construction began in 1897, and the mansion was opened after only two years of construction with a gala held on December 19, 1899. 400 guests, mostly members of
Philadelphia high society, attended, and the
New York Symphony and
Johanna Gadski provided musical accompaniment to the celebration. The mansion was built on a property of 300 acres, and its Italian-style ornamental gardens, covering 33 acres, were originally fashioned by head gardener William Kleinheinz. The gardens included a large fountain by
Henri-Léon Gréber, one of only two major surviving Gréber commissions in America.
After Peter A.B. Widener's death Upon Peter A.B. Widener's death in 1915, the property passed to his son,
Joseph. In 1916, the gardens were redesigned in the French style by
Jacques Gréber (son of Henri-Léon), also master designer of the
Benjamin Franklin Parkway and, later, the
1937 Paris Exhibition. Boasting stables, greenhouses, a polo field, and a reservoir, the estate employed a staff of 100 at its peak. Joseph's son,
Peter A.B. Widener II, was a passionate dog breeder, constructing extensive kennels on the property starting in 1920. As a result, the grounds were used for training
military dogs during
World War II. Joseph Widener donated the estate's massive art collection to the National Gallery of Art in 1942, and upon his death one year later, the southern part of the estate was sold for development in 1943. The house, its gardens, and its outlying buildings were sold shortly afterwards to a private buyer who hoped to turn the property into a Protestant seminary; when this buyer defaulted on his $99,000 mortgage, the property was temporarily repossessed by the Wideners.
Sale and seminary use Lynnewood Hall was purchased in 1952 by
Faith Theological Seminary, a Christian school of higher education headed by
Carl McIntire. The purchase price was . The Seminary trained hundreds of ministers and Christian leaders at Lynnewood Hall for over 40 years. As the Seminary began to experience financial difficulties, it dismantled large parts of the mansion's interior, selling off what was severable. After a final February 2012 ruling that First Korean Church did not qualify for a tax exemption, Dr. Richard S. Yoon, the church's president and pastor, gave an interview to the
Philadelphia Inquirer where he stated his intent to finally relocate the church and end the legal battle.
Further sale and restoration This property was on the market for $11,000,000 in May 2019. Despite multiple offers above the asking price, the home remained unsold. A historical restoration architect estimated in 2014 that it would take about $50 million to restore the mansion to its former glory. On July 5, 2022, it was announced that Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation was established with the goal of acquiring "the Trumbauer-designed Widener Family Estate, a true architectural masterpiece, and see it restored to its former breathtaking glory." On February 8, 2023, a purchase agreement was announced for the property by the foundation, with plans for the restored gardens to be open to the public as a park, and to fully restore the hall. The purchase was primarily funded by a $9.5 million donation from board chairman Scott Bentley (a founding partner of
Bentley Systems) and his wife Susan. A music video for the song "Come on Heartache" by the band
The Menzingers was filmed onsite at Lynnewood Hall in September 2023. ==See also==