Glen Foerd is a historic mansion and estate located in the Torresdale neighborhood of

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 ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, overlooking the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

near the mouth of

Poquessing Creek Poquessing Creek is a creek,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 a right tributary, right tributary of the Delaware River, that forms the boundary between Philad ...

History

The mansion, then named Glengarry, was built as a summer home about 1850 in the

Italianate style The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Ita ...

by Charles Macalester, Jr., a prosperous businessman and banker. Mr. Macalester became the trusted adviser of the eminent philanthropist

George Peabody George Peabody (; February 18, 1795 – November 4, 1869) was an American financier and philanthropist. He is often considered the father of modern philanthropy. Born into a poor family in Massachusetts, Peabody went into business in dry goods ...

, and afterwards a trustee of his magnificent bequest to the cause of education in the Southern States. Mr. Macalester held close personal relations with U.S. Presidents

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was the eighth president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as Attorney General o ...

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (; November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. A protégé of Andrew Jackson and a member of the Democratic Party, he was an advocate of Jacksonian democracy and ...

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. A northern Democratic Party (United States), Democrat who believed that the Abolitionism in the United States, abolitio ...

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was the 15th president of the United States, serving from 1857 to 1861. He also served as the United States Secretary of State, secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and represented Pennsylvan ...

, and

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

. From President Jackson, he received the appointment as one of the government directors of the

Second Bank of the United States The Second Bank of the United States was the second federally authorized Second Report on Public Credit, Hamiltonian national bank in the United States. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the bank was chartered from February 1816 to January ...

, and was serving in such capacity in 1836, when the charter of the bank expired (source needed). In 1893, it was purchased by

Robert H. Foerderer Robert Hermann Foerderer (May 16, 1860July 26, 1903) was an American businessman and politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's at-large congressional dis ...

, a U.S. congressman and industrialist, who gave it its present name. He enlarged the house in 1903 in the

Edwardian In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...

Classical Revival Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassic ...

style. In 1971, the estate was given to the

Lutheran Church Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

of America. In 1985, Glen Foerd Conservation Corporation and the Fairmount Park Commission assumed ownership of the property. Today, the estate is operated as a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that is preserved as a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a variety of ...

, whose grounds are a public park. Glen Foerd was listed on 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 ...

in 1979. In 2024, when Philadelphia was featured in the finale of Season 36 of ''

The Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality competition franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. ''The Amazing Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselv ...

'', Glen Feord Estate was featured as the season’s finish line.

References

External links

* * {{Philadelphia Houses completed in 1850 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia Historic American Landscapes Survey in Pennsylvania Historic house museums in Philadelphia Parks in Philadelphia Northeast Philadelphia

History

See also

References

External links