Elm Court, often referred to as Phillips Mansion, is a historic

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...

located in

Butler, Pennsylvania Butler is a city and the county seat of Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located north of Pittsburgh and is part of the Greater Pittsburgh region. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 13,502. History Butler was na ...

Butler County, Pennsylvania Butler County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is part of Western Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 193,763. Its county seat is Butler. Butler County was created on March 12, 1800, from part of Alleghe ...

. It was designed by architect

Benno Janssen Benno Janssen (March 12, 1874 – October 14, 1964) was an American architect. Childhood, education and career Benno Janssen was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Oscar Janssen and Thekla Susenbeth. Janssen studied at the University of ...

and built in 1929–1930. This 40-room residence is set into a hillside. The house measures 125.7 feet by 159 feet, and is built around a central courtyard. It is constructed of steel

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...

and faced with

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

, marble, and slate. The house features complex

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

roofs with many gables, large numbers of rectangular, oriel, and bay windows, interesting chimney treatments, and carved stone detailing reflecting the

Tudor Revival 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 ...

style. ''Note:'' This includes It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1979.

History

Benjamin D. Phillips, son of T.W. Phillips, founder of T.W. Phillips Gas & Oil Co, resided in this Tudor-Gothic mansion, noted often as "one of America's most spectacular private homes". The house was built for $1 million in 1929. It was completed in 1931 by

, a well known Pittsburgh architect. Construction of the home was completed by master-builder Harry Wimer, who also completed other properties in Western Pennsylvania including the T.W. Phillips Gas and Oil Company building, Union National Bank Building, and The ''

Butler Eagle The ''Butler Eagle'' is a daily newspaper published in Butler, Pennsylvania, United States. It serves the Pittsburgh metropolitan county of Butler. History The conservative family owned paper was founded in 1903 with the merging of the ''Butler ...

'' building, all located in Butler, Pennsylvania. Although the mansion is over 70 years old, it hasn't had many changes in ownership. Dean E. Burget and his wife, Undine Phillips Burget bought the mansion from the original owners in 1978. Frederick R. Koch purchased the mansion in 1988 for $1 million US dollars from the Burgets and the adjoining property for $900,000. Koch renovated and greatly expanded the mansion. Koch died in February 2020. The property is presently owned by the Frederick R. Koch Revocable Trust. John D. Olsen, Koch's long-time aide-de-camp, is publicly recorded as sole Trustee. The mansion houses the famous Skinner Organ, Opus 783, a player instrument with full console that was completely restored in 1990.'Elm Court, Butler, Pennsylvania, Skinner Organ Company, Opus 783, 1929.
A. Thompson-Allen Company. Retrieved 2020-01-24.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Tudor Revival architecture in Pennsylvania Houses completed in 1930 Houses in Butler County, Pennsylvania Butler, Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Butler County, Pennsylvania