Lynnewood Hall in Elkins Park has been purchased by the nonprofit Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation for an undisclosed amount.

The Foundation, a small group of preservationists, committed to buying and restoring the estate back in 2018. The 110-room Gilded Age mansion has been vacant and deteriorating for more than 30 years, and after rehabilitation the group plans to open it to the public.

Edward Thome, 24, his friend and partner Angie Van Scyoc, who created the Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation in 2019, spearheaded the purchasing efforts. Chestnut Hill resident George Coates, a business and public policy consultant, joined their foundation’s board and helped them get their nonprofit status, and investors Scott and Susan Bentley of Pottstown helped seal the deal. 

The group has so far raised $9.5 million for the long-awaited purchase. The seller, longtime owner Richard S. Yoon, is a pastor of the First Korean Church of New York and actively avoided handing the property over to developers.

Courtesy of Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation

Late Friday morning, the Lynnewood Hall Facebook page posted:

Everyday we strive to turn back the layers of time and breathe a little more life into this stately and significant piece of American history. Lynnewood Hall is an icon of our countries rich architectural history and we are dedicated to bringing it back from the brink so it may be enjoyed for many generations to come. A new dawn is rising at Lynnewood Hall and we look forward to sharing so much more very soon.

The official sale was announced later in the day by The Philadelphia Inquirer. Jennifer Robinson, a Foundation board member, said, “There’s a common misperception that the building is in very bad shape, and there’s a lot in the building that’s not.”

“This is going to be an extended process of restoration because the house is massive. And we want to use every component of it for education in the skilled trades,” Thome told The Inquirer. “Once we get past the major restoration, it’ll start morphing into more of a cultural art center and event space.”

Fund-raising efforts have included online donations as well as select invitations, such as the glitzy fashion shoot on June 11.

For the full article by The Inquirer, you can click here. For more on the Foundation, you can visit their website. You can also view their announcement video, which expected at 8:00pm on June 30:

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All photos courtesy of Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation