Castner Scrapbook v.18, Chestnut Street – Residences 1, page 19

Historical Images of Philadelphia Castner Scrapbook Collection
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Castner Scrapbook v.18, Chestnut Street – Residences 1, page 19

Item Info

Item No: pdcc03104
Title: Castner Scrapbook v.18, Chestnut Street – Residences 1, page 19
Historic Street Address: 401 S. Bryn Mawr Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA
Media Type: Scrapbooks
Source: Print and Picture Collection
Notes:

This page is a continuation of the article in the previous item, #pdcc03103.

Item 1, left:  Text of a 1949 Sunday Bulletin article, about the soon-to-be-sold Drexel mansion, located at 401 S. Bryn Mawr Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA.  It was originally the country residence of George W. Childs, publisher and co-owner of The Public Ledger. Childs named it Wootton (old English for "woodland"); it is a Tudor style mansion, built in 1881 by architect John McArthur (who also designed Philadelphia's City Hall).  At Childs's death in 1894, Wootton passed to his godson, George W. Childs Drexel.  After the death of Mrs. Drexel in 1948, the estate went up for sale, the furnishings and many lavish other items of which are detailed in this article.  The proceeds of the sale went to benefit the Drexel Institute, today Drexel University. In 1950, the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary acquired the mansion and other outbuildings of the estate, to create a boys' academy.  Today, the mansion still exists as the IHM Conference Center, hosting retreats and functions for the ministry.  Text of a Sunday Bulletin article, 10 x 29 cm, 4/24/1949.

Item 2, right:  Image of an auction guard in the Drexel mansion, during a pre-sale public showing of the residence.  The photograph accompanies the text of the 1949 Sunday Bulletin article to its left.  Among the many lavish trappings of the Drexel mansion  is a cloak of armor, pictured here.  Reproduction of a photograph for the Sunday Bulletin article, 10 x 18.5 cm, 4/24/1949.


Creation Year: 1845
Geocode Latitude: Geocode Longitude:-75.338173
Geocode Latitude:40.011743

Call Number: A917.481 P536 v.18
Creator Name: Castner, Samuel, Jr., 1843-1929 - Compiler
John McArthur - Architect
Ronald Van Tine - Author

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