The Elkins Estate is a estate located in

Elkins Park, Pennsylvania Elkins Park is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is split between Cheltenham and Abington Townships in the northern suburbs outside of Philadelphia, which it borders along Cheltenham Avenue roug ...

, United States. The estate contains seven buildings, the most notable being Elstowe Manor and Chelten House, which are historic mansions designed by

Horace Trumbauer Horace Trumbauer (December 28, 1868 – September 18, 1938) was a prominent American architect of the Gilded Age, known for designing residential manors for the wealthy. Later in his career he also designed hotels, office buildings, and much of t ...

. Elstowe Manor was built in 1898 for William L. Elkins at the location where "Needles", the former summer home of the Elkins family, had stood. Elkins was a

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

businessman who was integral in the formation of the

Pennsylvania Railroad Company The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its p ...

and the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company, the forerunner of

SEPTA SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly four million people througho ...

Elstowe Manor

The 45-room mansion was built in the style of the Italian High Renaissance. The unique interior features, such as the ornately carved wood and gilded molding, marble columns and accents, frescoed ceilings, gargoyles and the like, were crafted in Europe and shipped to the United States, where they were assembled on site. The interior was designed by renowned French interior-decor experts Allard et Fils, which accounts for the distinctly French feel in some of the rooms. The home is anchored on either side by a large library and a drawing room. Between these are two wings, one containing a breakfast room and dining room, and the other a billiard room and den, with a separate wing leading to a large gallery. These wings all lead to a grand staircase in the center of the house. The second floor has nine bedrooms, three dressing rooms, and seven bathrooms. The third floor and raised basement were servant quarters. Along with the mansion, Trumbauer also designed the wrought-iron gates at the entrance to the estate, as well as a small gatehouse, a powerhouse, and an eight-car garage. File: Elstowe Manor, Elkins Estate 01.JPG, Elstowe Manor File:Elkins Estate grand hall.jpg, Music room File:Main gallery at Elstowe Manor.jpg, Main gallery File:Main stair case at Elstowe Manor.jpg, Grand staircase File:Skylight in the staircase at the Elkins Estate.jpg, Skylight over staircase

Chelten House

In 1896, Elkins commissioned Trumbauer to design a home on the estate for his elder son, George W. Elkins. This mansion, named Chelten House, was built in the

Elizabethan style Elizabethan architecture refers to buildings in a local style of Renaissance architecture built during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England from 1558 to 1603. The style is very largely confined to secular buildings, especially the large ...

. The home was situated on a large,

balustraded A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its c ...

terrace, which allowed for outdoor living space. The first floor of the house is built of local

Wissahickon schist The Wissahickon Formation is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. It is named for the Wissahickon gorge in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. In Maryland formations, the term "Wissahickon" is no longer used. Rocks in this ...

, while the second and third floors are half-timbered, with panels of

pebbledash Roughcast and pebbledash are durable coarse plaster surfaces used on outside walls. They consists of lime and sometimes cement mixed with sand, small gravel and often pebbles or shells. The materials are mixed into a slurry and are then thrown ...

. The interior space is fashioned with

Tudor-style Tudor Revival architecture, also known as mock Tudor in the UK, first manifested in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture, in rea ...

paneling and a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

-tracery ceiling made of

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

. Stables are located directly behind the house. File:Chelten House, Elkins Estate 01.JPG, Chelten House File:Chelten House room.jpg, Interior room File:Elkins Estate Chelten House Main Hall.jpg, Main hall

Ownership after Elkins

In 1932, William H. Elkins, grandson of William L. Elkins, sold the Elstowe manor property to the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine de' Ricci. Chelten House was owned by Philadelphia cigarette manufacturer Stephen X. Stephano. After the death of his wife, Penelope, he sold Chelten House to the

Dominican Sisters The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilian priest named Dominic de Guzmán. It was approved by Pope Honorius II ...

in 1948. The Dominican Sisters operated both buildings (known as the Dominican Retreat House) as a women's religious retreat and preserved the grounds and historical integrity of the buildings. Thousands of women and men attended retreats, days of prayer, and other spiritual programs for 75 years. Women would come to pray, meditate and find a place of refuge and reflection. At its peak, as many as 14,000 women and men came to the Dominican Retreat House in one year. The dedication of the Sisters to preservation of the historic mansions on the estate was extraordinary and, as of 2013, the original features and architectural details remain intact. It was described as the most significant example of

Gilded Age In History of the United States, United States history, the Gilded Age is the period from about the late 1870s to the late 1890s, which occurred between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was named by 1920s historians after Mar ...

architecture in the region by John Gallery of the Philadelphia Preservation Alliance. Over time, the needs of people coming on retreat changed, and the economic challenges of operating the buildings became unsustainable for the Dominican Sisters. The Dominican Retreat House was at the time of its closing in 2006 the oldest retreat house for women in the United States. In February 2009, the Dominican Sisters sold the 42-acre property to the Land Conservancy of Elkins Park, PA, who intended to use the facility for group spiritual, health and wellness education retreats, and also as a venue for elegant special events. The property was reopened in September 2009 as Elkins Estate and has hosted a number of wedding receptions and events. But the conservancy could not keep up payments to the Sisters who held the mortgage. In November 2010, because of numerous missed payments, including a $250,000 payment on the principal, the Dominican congregation foreclosed on the property, and the conservancy filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

. The property was in bankruptcy reorganization until October 2012, when the case was dismissed. The congregation filed a motion to evict the conservancy in March 2012 after it defaulted on a revised settlement agreement. The agreement held that if the conservancy defaulted on its first payment of $300,000 it would vacate the premises, but the conservancy refused to leave and continued to hold events there until November 2012. The legal battle continued. ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'' ran an extensive story describing the legal dispute on October 31, 2012. On January 24, 2013, the Dominican Sisters and the conservancy reached an agreement in which the conservancy would vacate the premises and relinquish control to the Sisters by January 30, 2013. The Sisters regained possession of the property and sold the property to Landmark Developers in August 2019 for $6.5 million. Landmark Developers is using the Elkins Estate as an event venue and a boutique hotel.

References

* *

External links

Elstowe Manor event venue
– Landmark Hospitality
Overview of Elstowe Manor
– Landmark Developers * {{Cheltenham, state=collapsed Elkins Park, Pennsylvania Gilded Age mansions Historic American Landscapes Survey in Pennsylvania Horace Trumbauer buildings Houses completed in 1898 Houses in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

Elstowe Manor

Chelten House

Ownership after Elkins

See also

References

External links