While quite a devastating loss to the US's collection of great mansions, I must admit that the photos of the house in the 1980's were quite evocative. There is something about a house in ruins that evokes emotions and curiosity like no other. It draws you in, wanting you to learn its story and share its memories one more time.
In 1977, i was 10 years old. A group of older neighborhood kids were going to the Mansion to look around. I was lucky enough to be the responsibility of my older cousin for the day so I got to tag along. We walked the grounds, looking at the statues and other interesting sights. We entered the mansion, seeing the crumbling staircase, i walked about half way up hugging the wall, keeping away from the deteriorating edge. If i remember correctly, there was an elevator shaft. (or what looked like one) The edge of the floor, at the shaft opening was crumbling like the staircase but i remember getting close enough to look down and see water. Looking back, I am really surprised that the older kids did absolutely no additional damage to anything on the property. Some of them, you would expect to have enjoyed recreational, juvenile vandalism but instead, it was almost solemn, a respectful act of trespassing. I wish i was older at the time but even at that young age, the mansion left a long and lasting impression. Part of me wishes I had removed something as a keep sake but the other part is happy for the restraint and respect of my younger self. I am happy to have had that experience in my early life.
I remember going there, with my dad in the 60's. He was friends with the care taker. I used to run up and down the long hallways & play in the elevators. The grounds & fountains were beautiful. It's a shame the old pictures couldn't be in color. After the estate was sold, to the development company & the demo was scheduled, the care taker told my dad to come up and see if there was anything he wanted to remember it by. I still have some plumbing fixtures and door knobs, from the mansion. It was such a waste to cram dozens of houses in it's place. The Wyndmoor my dad grew up in, was never the same after that.
I wish I would have thought to go and take something to remember it by. A doorknob would have been nice. I have pictures of my friends and me in there... Very, very sad that they chose to knock it down.
I've always wondered about the fountains at these historical homes. We're they just for decoration or did the people who lived in these beautiful homes ever go in the water to cool themselves. I realize this sounds a bit silly, but whenever I see them I always wonder.
“He was never the same after that”. That is the reaction of a healthy, human being. Only a psychopath could remain unmoved by this wanton distraction. When New York City tore down the original Pennsylvania Station in the 1960s, you could see the psychopaths were in control. Skyrocketing crime followed, and the city devolved into an open piss hole. Such is the power of monumental architecture.
That's where I live currently. People ask about the hall all the time when they enter the development. After world war II the homes they built made sense. The neighborhood's actually growing more now than ever.
Urban explorers do not vandalize. I am one, and we go in to document the memory of the remains. I can't speak for all UE out there, but I for one, respect abandoned properties. I am only there to photograph, look and leave.
I grew up in Wyndmoor during the 1970's and loved to wander around Whitemarsh Hall. Even in it's state of decay, it was beautiful. My friends and I would never consider anything destructive. It was our neighborhood treasure. I was very sad to see it go, and wish they had saved and restored some of the fountains, statuary and gardens instead of putting up the cardboard McMansions that are there now.
My friends and I would go there too during the 70's. It was awesome! We loved exploring the place. It was immense and even unfurnished it was really nice. There were tons of marble! Walls, pillars, floors...
Amazing the emotional impact this place had on those who grew up near it. I lived in the valley in Erdenheim but could see it from my bedroom window in winter. My family was blessed to get a complete tour (including the three basements) by a family friend who worked at Penn Salt, the last occupant, as they were moving out. I was about 8 at the time. That experience started a life-long attachment to the place which has never ended. I was devastated to see it deteriorate, and finally torn down.
It's hard to believe that a house with so much time, money and energy put into it, was left just so it could rot....I guess some people have so much money they don't know what to do with it.
Hi there, I'm Guga, from Georgia, Tbilisi. Today in my bar I had a guest, named Ben and he tell me a story about this place and then he send me a link by Gmail and went from a bar. But he send me only first and second part ans sad: "If you want to look there is a third part too". I watched first and second part and of course I wanted to know what happened to this place, because it was very sensitive for me. I have no any contact to this place and I think in this life I will't have it but what I saw in third part, for me it was very very sad, that I was watching to something very beautiful and how this beauty was lost, somewhere even we can't imagine. "Some things better left unsaid" -sad Morgan Freeman and I'm agree with this. I'm sorry about my English language and grammar, but if Ben ever reads this letter, I want to say: Thank you for this video
The best part of all of this is every work of Art is now in museums all over the world. All the tapestries, furnishings, and the chandeliers are being used today. The only real crime is that all the hand carved White & Allom chimney pieces were either hammered of their carved marble detail or stolen. The carved wood chimney pieces were set afire just for fun. These chimney pieces were all hand made at the White Allom workshop at 15 George St. Hanover Square, London England. The only on left that’s in absolutely perfect condition in the Stotesbury house on Walnut St. Philadelphia, PA. It’s now a wedding venue and you can google it and go through all the pics and zero in on the chimney piece. It’s masterfully carved. Have fun with the furniture research as to where everything is today. Thanks to digital photography you’ll discover perfectly clear pics in living color. The Stotesbury were hated by the old Philadelphians. They were seen as new money, yet the old guard attended all the parties held at WH. The best readings are two books: “Twilight of Splendor” “Grand Dames” Also, you all may join by invitation Friends of Whitemarsh Hall on Facebook. Lots more pics and actual motion picture showing a drive around the estate in its hay day. Have fun! Someone out there might consider building a scaled down model of Whitemarsh Hall......an Art in itself to be sure. Check out Queen Mary’s doll house. You’ll see what I mean. David Bell of Andora Acres.
I remember exploring this great mansion in the mid 70's. I could only imagine how beautiful and wonderful the estate must have been in the 1920's. Since there was no internet back then I had never been able to find information and pictures at the local library in Mt. Airy. All I can say is what a shame and loss. I guess the place was destroyed by the youth that lived around the neighborhoods. I really enjoyed your video.
Sad to see so much work and beauty go down the drain. To think about the money spent to build it. Hundreds of hours artisans spent on the panelings, stonework, the gardens... the feeling of pride in the outcome of their creations. The daily lives of the people who lived and work there. At the and of the day it's about income tax and leverage. And the archives are the only thing left to tell the story. Twenty or thirty years from now it would worse if the area might became a slum.
Thank you so much for this 3-part video. I wish I could've seen the Whitemarsh Mansion in its heyday. I have visions of Vernon and Irene Castle performing the Cakewalk in the ballroom for a select group of guests, and then teaching them how to do it.
Great video! I had to subscribe so I could watch the rest of your videos. The story of Whitemarsh Hall is so tragic!!! Thank you for this video it was very well done
Some do. As a teenager living in Wyndmoor, I would go to Whitemarsh Hall to marvel at it's magnificence. My friends and I didn't call ourselves "urban explorers", we just liked to wander around and imagine what it had once been like. We once came across some city kids actually starting a fire in one of the rooms! We put a stop to it, and chased the miscreants out. We didn't like outsiders messing up our private treasure. Not all people are like you, Bella. Some can't appreciate the beauty.
although whitemarsh wasnt appreciated when it was here,long after the houses that pushed it out are gone and forgotten the whitemarsh ruins will remain as a reminder of what once was
I live in one of the homes that was built in 1947 by the McCluskey builders. These homes are here to stay. The only reason these came in to play was the widow needed money and sold the front yard. They allowed this home till 1980 when they built townhomes that are probably going to last. The remains are quite spectacular and free to look at if you're ever in the neighborhood. Google does a nice overview
We lost Rose Terrace (Grosse Pointe Michigan) - one of the Dodge estates around 1976 too… many of her pieces are in museums as well. My parents bought some of the library lamps (and their catalog)
If it weren't for the income tax, it would still be here today. Today, the Federal Govt builds itself lavish palaces for themselves, paid for by the tax.
Everything in life is maintenance. If you don't maintain it you're gonna loose it! This is one 'style' of demolition... demolition by neglect. Here in San Diego, the #1 style of demolition is "Development" or "Re-Development".
There are a bunch of remnants left over: gatehouse and entrance gate pillars (without gate), front portico, belvedere, fountains and parts of the gardens are visible in a bunch of spots.
There are some remnants of another Horace Trumbauer mansion in Spring Lake, New Jersey: "Ballingarry" was inspired by the "White House". "Ballingarry's" fountain and terrace steps are in the backyards of the houses that now stand there. You can see them clearly on Google Maps, in the block surrounded by 1st, 2nd, Jersey and Morris Avenues.
I wasn't complaining about UE I was repeating what I had heard about how it was impossible to UE Lynnewood Hall because security is so quick to respond to tresspassers. The decay is solely the neglect of the current owners who make no use of the building. Besides hocking a famous fountain that once resided there.
I'm surprised they didn't plan better for the future of their estate. Meaning, if they had children, why didn't they put money into a future trust for their future relatives to be able to maintain such a glorious structure. It could have been a nice museum today.
I made comments for the first part, so I will not repeat myself here. I think, but may be wrong, that your choice of background music is a song by Adelina Patti.
Why do we continue to be a wasteful society, surely these homes from a different Era could be repurposed in a manner that would preserve the buildings you would think!
They did tear it down in 1980. Zoning and code enforcement was probably just coming into play. I live here now. Fortunately, people are protecting places like this nowadays. There's one nearby in Elkins Park PA that is worth saving
Truth is the house and grounds were only kept up for about two seasons before the money got tight and the grounds were allowed to go wild. The owners only lived here part of the year they had other houses in florida and maine. The maine house was demolished to create a train hub. This place has a sister building owned by the widner family and was open to the public as a museum way way back. Alas it now sits unused and decaying while the owners do nothing but keep urban explorers out.
In fact, when E.T. Stotesbury died in 1938, his widow discovered that most of the money was gone (partly because of the enormous upkeep costs of house and grounds) and she could no longer maintain the estate. She left, and the estate was eventually sold to the Pennwalt Corporation for use as labs and offices. Following their tenure, no buyers were found, and the former mansion was so damaged by vandals, that it became necessary to demolish it.
While quite a devastating loss to the US's collection of great mansions, I must admit that the photos of the house in the 1980's were quite evocative. There is something about a house in ruins that evokes emotions and curiosity like no other. It draws you in, wanting you to learn its story and share its memories one more time.
In 1977, i was 10 years old. A group of older neighborhood kids were going to the Mansion to look around. I was lucky enough to be the responsibility of my older cousin for the day so I got to tag along. We walked the grounds, looking at the statues and other interesting sights. We entered the mansion, seeing the crumbling staircase, i walked about half way up hugging the wall, keeping away from the deteriorating edge. If i remember correctly, there was an elevator shaft. (or what looked like one) The edge of the floor, at the shaft opening was crumbling like the staircase but i remember getting close enough to look down and see water. Looking back, I am really surprised that the older kids did absolutely no additional damage to anything on the property. Some of them, you would expect to have enjoyed recreational, juvenile vandalism but instead, it was almost solemn, a respectful act of trespassing. I wish i was older at the time but even at that young age, the mansion left a long and lasting impression. Part of me wishes I had removed something as a keep sake but the other part is happy for the restraint and respect of my younger self. I am happy to have had that experience in my early life.
Dr Reality this is a great story. Thank you for sharing the small details
The demographics have changed. "Youths" today would've probably destroyed it.
I remember going there, with my dad in the 60's. He was friends with the care taker. I used to run up and down the long hallways & play in the elevators. The grounds & fountains were beautiful. It's a shame the old pictures couldn't be in color. After the estate was sold, to the development company & the demo was scheduled, the care taker told my dad to come up and see if there was anything he wanted to remember it by. I still have some plumbing fixtures and door knobs, from the mansion. It was such a waste to cram dozens of houses in it's place. The Wyndmoor my dad grew up in, was never the same after that.
I wish I would have thought to go and take something to remember it by. A doorknob would have been nice. I have pictures of my friends and me in there... Very, very sad that they chose to knock it down.
How snobby of you. I grew up in one of the new houses.
I've always wondered about the fountains at these historical homes. We're they just for decoration or did the people who lived in these beautiful homes ever go in the water to cool themselves. I realize this sounds a bit silly, but whenever I see them I always wonder.
“He was never the same after that”. That is the reaction of a healthy, human being. Only a psychopath could remain unmoved by this wanton distraction. When New York City tore down the original Pennsylvania Station in the 1960s, you could see the psychopaths were in control. Skyrocketing crime followed, and the city devolved into an open piss hole. Such is the power of monumental architecture.
That's where I live currently. People ask about the hall all the time when they enter the development. After world war II the homes they built made sense. The neighborhood's actually growing more now than ever.
Amazing in its hey day. Now heartwrenching. This really made me sad.
Urban explorers do not vandalize. I am one, and we go in to document the memory of the remains. I can't speak for all UE out there, but I for one, respect abandoned properties. I am only there to photograph, look and leave.
An Excellent 3 part production done by you , you went though alot of trouble to make, this and i have to say its been done PERFECT.....A+++
I can't agree more This is the best video that showcases the estate
I grew up in Wyndmoor during the 1970's and loved to wander around Whitemarsh Hall. Even in it's state of decay, it was beautiful. My friends and I would never consider anything destructive. It was our neighborhood treasure. I was very sad to see it go, and wish they had saved and restored some of the fountains, statuary and gardens instead of putting up the cardboard McMansions that are there now.
My friends and I would go there too during the 70's. It was awesome! We loved exploring the place. It was immense and even unfurnished it was really nice. There were tons of marble! Walls, pillars, floors...
@@duskbear1 was the basement accessible then ?
@@duskbear1 Is anything left of it?
@@duskbear1 Thanks for sharing. I live on this property now in one of the 1947 ranchers. I wish I saw it in its glory and decay
@@kawanbrownlee9724 interesting. I don't know if I heard of the basement
Amazing the emotional impact this place had on those who grew up near it. I lived in the valley in Erdenheim but could see it from my bedroom window in winter. My family was blessed to get a complete tour (including the three basements) by a family friend who worked at Penn Salt, the last occupant, as they were moving out. I was about 8 at the time. That experience started a life-long attachment to the place which has never ended. I was devastated to see it deteriorate, and finally torn down.
I know exactly how you feel about it....I lived just below it on Cromwell Rd....age 10-12 in the early '50's.
It's hard to believe that a house with so much time, money and energy put into it, was left just so it could rot....I guess some people have so much money they don't know what to do with it.
Hi there, I'm Guga, from Georgia, Tbilisi. Today in my bar I had a guest, named Ben and he tell me a story about this place and then he send me a link by Gmail and went from a bar. But he send me only first and second part ans sad: "If you want to look there is a third part too". I watched first and second part and of course I wanted to know what happened to this place, because it was very sensitive for me. I have no any contact to this place and I think in this life I will't have it but what I saw in third part, for me it was very very sad, that I was watching to something very beautiful and how this beauty was lost, somewhere even we can't imagine. "Some things better left unsaid" -sad Morgan Freeman and I'm agree with this.
I'm sorry about my English language and grammar, but if Ben ever reads this letter, I want to say: Thank you for this video
The best part of all of this is every work of Art is now in museums all over the world. All the tapestries, furnishings, and the chandeliers are being used today.
The only real crime is that all the hand carved White & Allom chimney pieces were either hammered of their carved marble detail or stolen. The carved wood chimney pieces were set afire just for fun.
These chimney pieces were all hand made at the White Allom workshop at 15 George St. Hanover Square, London England.
The only on left that’s in absolutely perfect condition in the Stotesbury house on Walnut St. Philadelphia, PA. It’s now a wedding venue and you can google it and go through all the pics and zero in on the chimney piece. It’s masterfully carved.
Have fun with the furniture research as to where everything is today. Thanks to digital photography you’ll discover perfectly clear pics in living color.
The Stotesbury were hated by the old Philadelphians. They were seen as new money, yet the old guard attended all the parties held at WH. The best readings are two books:
“Twilight of Splendor”
“Grand Dames”
Also, you all may join by invitation Friends of Whitemarsh Hall on Facebook. Lots more pics and actual motion picture showing a drive around the estate in its hay day. Have fun!
Someone out there might consider building a scaled down model of Whitemarsh Hall......an Art in itself to be sure. Check out Queen Mary’s doll house. You’ll see what I mean.
David Bell of Andora Acres.
Thank you for this comment. Very informative
I live on the grounds now in the little rancher houses
This is the saddest thing ever... I can't believe it was demolished... Just so sad.......
YEs....horribly sad and shameful.
Thank you so much for these videos. Your editing alone takes time. Much appreciated, stay well.
I remember exploring this great mansion in the mid 70's. I could only imagine how beautiful and wonderful the estate must have been in the 1920's. Since there was no internet back then I had never been able to find information and pictures at the local library in Mt. Airy. All I can say is what a shame and loss. I guess the place was destroyed by the youth that lived around the neighborhoods. I really enjoyed your video.
Such beautiful architecture! What a wasted treasure. How do we preserve these magnificent pieces of history?
Sad to see so much work and beauty go down the drain. To think about the money spent to build it. Hundreds of hours artisans spent on the panelings, stonework, the gardens... the feeling of pride in the outcome of their creations. The daily lives of the people who lived and work there. At the and of the day it's about income tax and leverage. And the archives are the only thing left to tell the story.
Twenty or thirty years from now it would worse if the area might became a slum.
Maybe it will become as you say....
Thank you so much for this 3-part video. I wish I could've seen the Whitemarsh Mansion in its heyday. I have visions of Vernon and Irene Castle performing the Cakewalk in the ballroom for a select group of guests, and then teaching them how to do it.
Great video! I had to subscribe so I could watch the rest of your videos. The story of Whitemarsh Hall is so tragic!!!
Thank you for this video it was very well done
Some do. As a teenager living in Wyndmoor, I would go to Whitemarsh Hall to marvel at it's magnificence. My friends and I didn't call ourselves "urban explorers", we just liked to wander around and imagine what it had once been like. We once came across some city kids actually starting a fire in one of the rooms! We put a stop to it, and chased the miscreants out. We didn't like outsiders messing up our private treasure. Not all people are like you, Bella. Some can't appreciate the beauty.
charlie lucker These old mansions haunt you from the past and are the things dreams are made of.
although whitemarsh wasnt appreciated when it was here,long after the houses that pushed it out are gone and forgotten the whitemarsh ruins will remain as a reminder of what once was
I live in one of the homes that was built in 1947 by the McCluskey builders. These homes are here to stay. The only reason these came in to play was the widow needed money and sold the front yard. They allowed this home till 1980 when they built townhomes that are probably going to last. The remains are quite spectacular and free to look at if you're ever in the neighborhood. Google does a nice overview
This was our Versailles. Breaks my heart.
Wonderful to see the before pictures however heartbreaking to see during the decay and demolished grandeur.
Lovely video ..thanks. Too bad that the builders could not foresee that the money and desire to maintain these mansions would never last.
It makes me so angry, to see this amazing mansion, go to ruins... HOW could someone demolish something so wonderful?
Excellent! VERY well done!
We lost Rose Terrace (Grosse Pointe Michigan) - one of the Dodge estates around 1976 too… many of her pieces are in museums as well.
My parents bought some of the library lamps (and their catalog)
If it weren't for the income tax, it would still be here today. Today, the Federal Govt builds itself lavish palaces for themselves, paid for by the tax.
The Federal Government is "We the People." That's you. And Whitemarsh Hall was built by money swindled from working Americans.
@@ericspencer8093 You need educate yourself. The IRS is NOT an entity of the government.
My last name is Stotesbury. I am one from the poor side!
SO SAD! HOUSES HAVE A STORY TOO
I know I was really bummed when I heard they were going to knock it down. I wish they would have saved it.
Everything in life is maintenance. If you don't maintain it you're gonna loose it! This is one 'style' of demolition... demolition by neglect. Here in San Diego, the #1 style of demolition is "Development" or "Re-Development".
at least we still have lynnewood Hall
How much longer? Hope it doesn’t end up the same, odds are against it
@@enigma7ish I agree with you
Absolutely depressing, nothing left!
There are a bunch of remnants left over: gatehouse and entrance gate pillars (without gate), front portico, belvedere, fountains and parts of the gardens are visible in a bunch of spots.
Criminals destroying anything of beauty and history
There are some remnants of another Horace Trumbauer mansion in Spring Lake, New Jersey: "Ballingarry" was inspired by the "White House". "Ballingarry's" fountain and terrace steps are in the backyards of the houses that now stand there. You can see them clearly on Google Maps, in the block surrounded by 1st, 2nd, Jersey and Morris Avenues.
I wasn't complaining about UE I was repeating what I had heard about how it was impossible to UE Lynnewood Hall because security is so quick to respond to tresspassers. The decay is solely the neglect of the current owners who make no use of the building. Besides hocking a famous fountain that once resided there.
Hopefully they can hold on to Lynnwood
So very sad...
I'm so surprised that a Historical Society did preserve and restore this. So sad
Preservation in 1980 in Montgomery county was probably hard. This town has one Zoning enforcer currently
Wish there were more pictures of it in ruins
I'm surprised they didn't plan better for the future of their estate. Meaning, if they had children, why didn't they put money into a future trust for their future relatives to be able to maintain such a glorious structure. It could have been a nice museum today.
bed and breakfast, museum... They could have done a lot with it.
@@duskbear1 Lynnewood hall should be museum like biltmore estate people can come in and look and leave
You’re talking hundreds of thousands per month on upkeep alone.
So very sad
House/grounds should have been preserved. Perhaps it cold have been the 'rec room' to these "estates" they built... or some other adaptive re-use.
2022
This is a very good idea on how ROME or even Ancient Egypt once was.
I made comments for the first part, so I will not repeat myself here. I think, but may be wrong, that your choice of background music is a song by Adelina Patti.
WHAT A FUCKING SHAME.
Why do we continue to be a wasteful society, surely these homes from a different Era could be repurposed in a manner that would preserve the buildings you would think!
They did tear it down in 1980. Zoning and code enforcement was probably just coming into play. I live here now. Fortunately, people are protecting places like this nowadays. There's one nearby in Elkins Park PA that is worth saving
You forgot the 'T' on the word fragment.
Truth is the house and grounds were only kept up for about two seasons before the money got tight and the grounds were allowed to go wild. The owners only lived here part of the year they had other houses in florida and maine. The maine house was demolished to create a train hub. This place has a sister building owned by the widner family and was open to the public as a museum way way back. Alas it now sits unused and decaying while the owners do nothing but keep urban explorers out.
In fact, when E.T. Stotesbury died in 1938, his widow discovered that most of the money was gone (partly because of the enormous upkeep costs of house and grounds) and she could no longer maintain the estate. She left, and the estate was eventually sold to the Pennwalt Corporation for use as labs and offices. Following their tenure, no buyers were found, and the former mansion was so damaged by vandals, that it became necessary to demolish it.
Cry...................cry for ever in the shadows of the mansion.
Very sad.
Skeletal remains
I live near that.
Sad.
Criminal
GREED! is why the GRAND OLD HOUSE is gone today on the last day of 2011!