Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company, once said about this house, “ It’s a great
experience to see how the rich live.”
Hi everyone ken here welcome to this house.
Today we are exploring Whitemarsh Hall, the 3rd largest house to have ever been built
in the United States.
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house.
Edward Stotesbury, more commonly known as Ned, was born in 1849.
He had a natural gift for mathematics which lent him an advantage in his early career
as a financier and banker.
Being able to predict market trends made him the perfect business partner for JP Morgan.
The pair of investment bankers dominated wall street and became some of the wealthiest men
in the world.
Ned, having lost his first wife, needed someone to share his wealth with.
He met Eva Bishop Roberts and quickly fell in love.
The two went on to marry in 1912 and began planning their happily ever after.
In 1916, the couple purchased 300 acres in Springfield, Pennsylvania to built their seasonal
getaway.
They hired architect Horace Trumbauer to design their dream home which would cost 10 million
dollars, or the modern day equivalent of nearly 300 million dollars.
Whitemarsh hall would contain 6 stories, 3 underground, 2 above ground, and 1 concealed
by the roof.
The ceilings would be set beyond the human scale with a room height of 25 feet on the
main 2 levels.
The house’s footprint measured 283 feet wide by 100 feet deep.
The 147 room mansion would be clad in Indiana limestone to compose the most exquisite example
of the palladian style to have ever graced the united states.
The house was set atop a hill with perfectly manicured gardens extending from it.
20 full time groundskeepers were employed to ensure perfection.
Entering the home, you would pass between the 50 foot tall limestone columns composing
the portico and arrive in the entrance hall with a grand staircase to the left side.
Continuing forward you would arrive in the 64 foot long ballroom which opened onto the
back terrace overlooking more stately gardens.
The ballroom could hold 800 guests and contained a pipe organ which could be heard bellowing
throughout the estate.
Antiques decorated the rooms, most of which had been sourced by Joseph Duveen, who had
helped Anna Dodge acquire her collection.
Anna Dodge was close friends with Eva and would visit often for parties.
Other notable guests included the future king of Sweden, King Gustaf the sixth and Marshal
Joseph Joffre, the world war one here of France.
The guests were spoiled with each receiving their own guest suites with a private chauffer
to escort them about the property.
The house cost over 1 million dollars per year to maintain, or the modern day equivalent
of nearly 30 million dollars.
If that price seems high, it is because the house employed so many workers to run it’s
facilities.
Whitemarsh hall had fully staffed rooms that rivaled the conveniences of any small town,
including an in home movie theatre, a barber shop, a bakery, a gymnasium, and a full time
tailor.
The house even included a wine cellar despite prohibition.
There were many other specialty rooms, all with full time staff to make sure they were
ready at a moment’s notice for the occupants and their guests to arrive.
We will continue looking at photos of whitemarsh hall while I recount the rest of the story.
In 1929, the great depression would mark the beginning of the end.
Whitemarsh hall would no longer host large parties and events, but would instead close
its gates.
Ned and Eva set sail for Europe to wait out the recession, but returned after 2 years
had passed and they accepted that life in the united states would forever be different
than what they had grown accustomed to.
A few years later, Ned passed away in 1938 leaving Eva the modern day equivalent of 83
million dollars, not even enough money to maintain the estate for 3 years.
Eva was quick to realize that even though she was still one of the wealthiest women
in America, that she wouldn’t have a penny to her name if she didn’t act quickly.
She began selling the antiques, art, and furniture.
But the markets were down, and the money she got for these items wasn’t enough.
She began parting with her jewelry collection, including her prized piece, a diamond pendant
worth the modern day equivalent of 15 million dollars, enough to maintain the house for
half a year.
She fired the vast majority of her staff to continue cutting back on costs, but the house
was eating her alive financially.
She cut her losses and donated the rest of the art and antiques to various museums and
organizations before abandoning the estate altogether.
In 1938, her close friend Anna Dodge reached out to her with compassion.
Anna had a 13 acre estate in Washington DC, today’s Belgian embassy, which she leased
to Eva for a price lower than a one room flat.
No longer worrying about becoming homeless, Eva now had a chance to sort out the rest
of her affairs.
She stopped paying for maintenance on the house and it began to weather throughout the
changing seasons, holes forming in the roof, mold growing on the walls, and vines consuming
the once manicured gardens.
She no longer had any attachment to whitemarsh hall, but decided to make the best of it anyways.
She donated the steel fence to be scrapped by the US military which provided enough metal
to craft 18,000 firearms for use in world war 2.
There were still some parts of the house that were in good condition, she donated the space
for use by the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art for extra storage.
In 1943, Eva finally found a buyer for whitemarsh hall.
She sold the house and 45.6 acres to the Pennsylvania Salt Company for 160,000 dollars, or the modern
day equivalent of 2.6 million dollars.
The rest of the property was sold to a developer who constructed 1000 homes on the land which
were mostly purchased by soldiers returning home after world war 2.
The pennsylvania salt company outgrew whitemarsh halls usefuleness and sold it in 1964 to Willow
Associates, but the new owner could never find a use for the mansion and it sat empty
until it was auctioned off in 1970 for 700,000 dollars, or the modern day equivalent of 5.2
million dollars.
The new owners planned to demolish the mansion and build affordable appartments in it’s
place, but the city would not issue building permits, nor would they allow the lot to be
rezoned for multi family housing.
The house was sold again in 1978, and was demolished in 1980.
Today, townhomes now sit on the site of the once great mansion with few reminders of what
came before.
Only the limestone columns which once graced the entrance stand tall atop the hill with
remnants of the stone terrace in ruins below.
It’s hard to believe that such a grand structure once dominated this site, but I will leave
you with this colorized photo to reflect on.
I would like to thank Alex, a This House Subscriber, for colorizing and submitting this photo to
share with everyone.
Thank you all for watching, I really hope that you enjoyed this video.
Which part of Whitemarsh hall stood out to you the most?
Let me know in the comments below.
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I’ll see you next time on this house.