The Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation (LHPF) has been featured in the Spring 2024 issue of Saving Places Preservation Magazine, a publication which highlights places of local and national importance that have recently been restored, are currently threatened, have been saved from demolition or neglect, or have been lost.

The article, which profiles five properties from around the country, identifies the 110-room Gilded Age mansion as an at-risk property that has been saved. An excerpt:

One of the largest residences in the United States, Lynnewood Hall in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, remains shrouded in an “aura of mystery,” says Edward Thome, executive director of nonprofit Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation. “Most people have no idea that this house is even here.” Noted architect Horace Trumbauer designed the 100,000-square-foot building. It was constructed by 1899 for Peter A.B. Widener, an investor in the White Star Line, which operated the ill-fated Titanic. (Widener’s son and grandson were passengers on the ship and died when it sank in 1912.) The residence was eventually put up for auction and purchased by a developer, and then sold again to Faith Theological Seminary in 1952.

“It wasn’t until the 1980s that things really started to go south,” Thome says. “The [seminary] director at that point started selling assets from the property to make ends meet.” In 1996, First Korean Church of New York assumed ownership, and by 2012, Lynnewood’s condition worsened as broken windows and leaking downspouts allowed the elements to infiltrate. The owners were steadfast in their desire to see it remain standing, though, turning down offers from developers. After years of building rapport and proving its preservation intentions, Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation purchased the home last year, thanks to a pair of private donors. While the restoration is expected to take at least 25 years, the Foundation plans to open the grounds to the public as soon as possible and offer educational opportunities to people learning skilled trades.

“It’s been a long road but we couldn’t be more thankful to be in the position we are. Thank you to all for your support. We look forward to continuing our hard work and sharing this project with you as we progress forward!” the foundation said in a post.

For more on the LHPF, you can visit their Facebook page and website.

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Photos: LHPF