The Elkins Estate is an American estate located in

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

Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Montgomery County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the third-most populous county in Pennsylvania and the 73rd-most populous county in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the county was 856,55 ...

. The estate contains seven buildings, the most notable being Elstowe Manor and Chelten House, 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 ...

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

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

businessman, was integral in the formation of the

Pennsylvania Railroad Company The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name 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. It was named ...

and the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company, the forerunner of

SEPTA The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five coun ...

Elstowe Manor

The 45-room manor was built in the style of 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 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 baths. The third floor and raised basement are servant quarters. With the mansion, Trumbauer also designed the wrought-iron gates at the entrance to the estate along with a small gatehouse, a powerhouse, and an eight-car garage.

Chelten House

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

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personifi ...

style. The house 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 con ...

terrace which allows 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 c ...

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

pebbledash Roughcast or pebbledash is a coarse plaster surface used on outside walls that 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 at the wor ...

. The interior space is fashioned with a

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 a ...

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

tracery ceiling with

Tudor-style Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself 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 ...

paneling. Stables are located directly behind the house.

Ownership after Elkins

In 1932, William H. Elkins, grandson of William L. Elkins, sold the Elstowe manor property to th
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 ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

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 today, in 2013, the original features and architectural details remain intact. It was described as the most significant example of

Gilded Age In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Weste ...

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 th
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 a
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, whe ...

. 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'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'' 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.

References

* Kathrens, Michael (2002). American Splendor: The Residential Architecture of Horace Trumbauer. Acanthus Press. .
Former owners of Elkins Park landmark take legal action to foreclose on property
{{Cheltenham, state=collapsed Gilded Age Houses in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Elkins Park, Pennsylvania Horace Trumbauer buildings Houses completed in 1898 Gilded Age mansions

Elstowe Manor

Chelten House

Ownership after Elkins

See also

References