Editor’s note

Due to space constraints, the following article was not included in last week’s issue dedicated to highlighting local institutions and their plans for 2024.

Architecture is our most public form of art. Often landmark buildings become forgotten when the community members lose hope for a future of any purpose. Unfortunately, we have experienced this at an alarming rate with our historic buildings in the greater Philadelphia area. 

Lynnewood Hall has long been Philadelphia’s nearly forgotten, and dare I say, lost “white elephant” that was a seemingly hopeless cause. Within the past year, however, her prospects have completely changed for the better, because we were able to raise the funds needed to buy her. 

And to kick off 2024, this month we will be announcing LHPF’s first membership program, which will be focused on celebrating Lynnewood Hall’s 125th anniversary.  We will also be launching a volunteer program this coming Spring. 

We formed the Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation (LHPF) in 2019 to raise funds to purchase the estate, restore it and open it to the public as a cultural center, museum and educational incubator. After several years of grassroots efforts and the generosity of angel donors, Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation Inc. became the new owner and steward of this beautiful estate at the end of June 2023. 

When dealing with historic buildings, one’s most formidable foe tends to be water, and I can say we have had a great measure of that to contend with. We invested a lot of time and money into the Hall before settlement. After years of neglect, the immediate needs were dire, including water infiltration, vandalism and an unwelcome intrusion from the elements through more than 60 broken windows. Sealing the weather envelope is paramount in ensuring the home is secured from further damage. Much preliminary work has been done to stabilize the home throughout this year. 

LHPF will soon have a completed conditions assessment and continues to delve further into stabilization and ongoing maintenance. Fundraising efforts will be key to providing critical systems upgrades and completing the master plan for preservation and restoration. 

LHPF is committed to making it possible for Lynnewood Hall’s grounds to be a safe environment that is open to the public as soon as possible. Continued cleanup of the estate and asbestos remediation are necessary steps to making this possible. 

Education, sustainability and art preservation are all integral parts of this multi-phased restoration project. Over the past year, LHPF has been able to interact with students from local trade schools and universities for workdays and internships. 

With 110 rooms on 34 acres, Lynnewood Hall was envisioned by entrepreneur, philanthropist, and collector Peter A. B. Widener and designed by American architect Horace Trumbauer. It was built between 1897 and 1900 to keep close the things that mattered most to Widener – his family and his art. Lynnewood Hall was dubbed by the family, “The House that Art Built”, and so it was. While the house will never again be a private home to one family, we envision the Hall being a home for the community both near and far. 

Peter R. Widener, a family descendant and LHPF Board Chair, echoes this sentiment in his own words.

“I am pleased and humbled to be involved with this project which endeavors to restore the home of my namesake and 3rd great-grandfather, Peter A.B. Widener,” he said. “It is rare that one has personal ties to something so significant in history and for that I am grateful. The preservation of Lynnewood Hall needs to not only illustrate the decadence of living in the Gilded Age and the unique qualities of that era, but to realize that with extreme success, one must not lose sight of family. Though Lynnewood Hall has been a home to my ancestors, I am committed to seeing her be a home for the greater community and the budding generations of the future.”  

With gratitude, we reflect on the accomplishments in this pivotal year and look forward to a new era for Lynnewood Hall. In the past few months, we launched the Lynnewood Hall Patreon account to bring exclusive content of our ongoing work to subscribers for $10 a month. For more information visit patreon.com/lynnewoodhall

We cannot do this without your support, and I hope that you will join us in our stewardship journey.