According to local historian Michael Leibrandt, it’s been 80 years since the last members of the Widener family left Lynnewood Hall.
Peter A.B. Widener was an industrialist, investor, Philadelphia City Treasurer, and a founding member of companies such as US Steel, American Tobacco Company and Standard Oil. He also co-founded the Philadelphia Traction Company which electrified Trolley Lines both in Philadelphia as well as other American cities.
After the death of Widener’s wife in 1896, he employed renowned architect Horace Trumbauer to design Lynnewood Hall. The mansion housed one of the of the finest private art collections in the country, including works by Cellini and Rembrandt. The exterior of the sprawling house comprises almost 500 acres of lush gardens and exquisite fountains and garden statuary.
Tragedy struck the Wideners when Harry Elkins Widener and grandson George D. Widener were killed aboard the Titanic in April 1912. Eleanor Elkins Widener survived the disaster. Peter Widener died at Lynnewood Hall in 1915 at the age of 80.
His son, Joseph Early Widener, lived in the house until his death in 1943. The land surrounding the mansion was utilized for training of dogs for shore patrols by the US Coast Guard during World War II. In 1952, the property was sold to Faith Theological Seminary for $192,000. Through the years, over 350 acres of the grounds were sold as well as interior decorations and a French bronze figural fountain.
In 1996, Dr. Richard Yoon of the Korean Presbyterian Church of New York purchased Lynnewood Hall. Dr. Yoon had attended the Faith Theological Seminary years before and operated the mansion’s church.
Peter A.B. Widener II called the estate the “Last of the American Versailles.”
According to photojournalist Todd Haas, Lynnewood Hall is the largest private residence in Pennsylvania, and among the largest in the entire country. Haas offers more historical information during this on-site mini-documentary by 6ABC News:
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