Breidenhart is a historic castle-like house built in 1894 by
Samuel Leeds Allen
Samuel Leeds Allen (May 5, 1841 – March 28, 1918) was the founder of S.L. Allen & Company in Philadelphia. He was the inventor of, and his company manufactured, both the Flexible Flyer sled and Planet Jr farm and garden equipment. For over one h ...
and located at 255 East Main Street in
Moorestown, New Jersey
Moorestown is a Township (New Jersey), township in Burlington County, New Jersey, Burlington County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is an eastern suburb of Philadelphia and geographically part of the South Jersey region of the state. As of ...
. It was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
on December 22, 1977, for its significance in art, architecture, commerce, and music.
[ With ] It was added as a
contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...
to the
Moorestown Historic District
Moorestown is a Township (New Jersey), township in Burlington County, New Jersey, Burlington County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is an eastern suburb of Philadelphia and geographically part of the South Jersey region of the state. As of ...
in 1990. The building is now owned by the Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey.
History
In 1894, Samuel Leeds Allen, inventor of the
Flexible Flyer
Flexible Flyer is a toy and recreational equipment brand, best known for the sled of the same name, a steerable wooden sled with steel runners.
Operation
Flexible Flyers are flexible both in design and usage. Riders may sit upright on the sl ...
sled, commissioned architect Walter Smedley to design his new residence. Allen named it Breidenhart, meaning "broad hearth stone". In 1918, after Allen's death, the house was sold to
Eldridge R. Johnson
Eldridge Reeves Johnson (February 6, 1867 in Wilmington, Delaware – November 14, 1945 in Moorestown, New Jersey) was an American businessman and engineer who founded the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1901 and built it into the leading ...
, founder and president of the
Victor Talking Machine Company
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer, incorporated in 1901. Victor was an independent enterprise until 1929 when it was purchased by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and became ...
. In 1947, after Johnson's death, it was sold to the Lutheran Home of New Jersey.
Description
The house is a two and one-half story stone building featuring
Queen Anne architecture
The Queen Anne style of British architecture refers to either the English Baroque architecture of the time of Queen Anne (who reigned from 1702 to 1714) or the British Queen Anne Revival form that became popular during the last quarter of th ...
and a polygonal corner
turret
Turret may refer to:
* Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building
* Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon
* Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...
. It is located on a landscaped lot.
See also
*
References
External links
*
{{NRHP in Burlington County, New Jersey
Moorestown, New Jersey
National Register of Historic Places in Burlington County, New Jersey
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey
Historic district contributing properties in New Jersey
Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in New Jersey
New Jersey Register of Historic Places
Houses in Burlington County, New Jersey
Queen Anne architecture in New Jersey
Stone houses in New Jersey
Houses completed in 1894