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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 24, 2009
Christie’s Great Estates Presents Philadelphia Main Line’s Historic Glenmede Estate
The Former Pew Family Home Sited on 15 Private Acres in Picturesque Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — Glenmede, a grand estate in Bryn Mawr and one of Lower Merion Township’s largest remaining tracts of private land, is being offered at US$15.5 million by Long & Foster Real Estate’s Extraordinary Properties Division® with international marketing services provided by Christie’s Great Estates.
“The Main Line was once replete with important homes built at the turn of the century by wealthy Philadelphians and scions of American industry,” says Kathleen Coumou, Vice President of Christie’s Great Estates. “Many, unfortunately, are gone. None, however, has a provenance more distinguished than Bryn Mawr’s Glenmede.”
This historic estate was also in danger of being lost—subdivided and developed—but was saved from that fate by the current owner. Glenmede is now being offered with the intention of continuing to protect this expansive and architecturally significant landmark.
Commissioned by former Congressman George S. Graham and designed by architect William L. Price, the estate was completed in 1904. Upon Graham’s death in 1908, Glenmede became the Philadelphia residence of Joseph Pew, the founder of Sun Oil Company and one of the world’s richest men. The Pew name has since become synonymous with philanthropic largesse.
The Pews lived in the house with their five children. Mary Ethel Pew resided at the estate after her parents’ death and continued to live at Glenmede for several decades until her own death. In 1980 the buildings and land were donated to Bryn Mawr College, her alma mater by the Pew Memorial Trust and used as a dormitory for a small number of students. In 2007, the school determined that maintaining the estate no longer worked with their long term plans.
The college was under pressure to sell, but the only buyers coming forward were developers who would subdivide and possibly raze the original residence. The fate of Glenmede weighed heavily on the town of Bryn Mawr, fearing the loss of this historic piece of architecture. To the town’s enormous relief, a conservation-minded buyer stepped forward to assume the stewardship of the property and put in place a conservation easement prohibiting the land from ever being subdivided.
This is the first time in a hundred years that the home has been on the market.
Glenmede is an architectural treasure, perfectly preserved down to the most extraordinary details. Pew’s daughter was very protective of the family manor and maintained it at a sterling level. Aside from a recent multi-million dollar modernization of its infrastructure, including a state-of-the-art heating and air conditioning system, little has changed since 1904. The chandeliers, light fixtures, murals, and stained glass are all originals and perfectly preserved. Glenmede’s historic integrity has been meticulously maintained.
The 15-acre estate is introduced by a columned entry. The drive winds through mature stands of trees leading to a meadow or “mede” from which the name Glenmede is derived. Wildlife such as deer, fox, raptors, and woodpeckers are a bucolic addition. At the top of the hill stands the large brick English Arts and Crafts main residence, trimmed in Indiana limestone, designed by Price. Price was an early and esteemed pioneer of American architecture, along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright.
In terms of privacy and open space, nothing in the area can match what Glenmede offers. When the current owner placed the conservation easement on the property, the immediate neighbors did the same with their 9.5 acre parcel, further protecting Glenmede from encroaching development.
The interior is defined by its soaring ceilings, a multitude of antique fireplaces, the generous use of stained-glass windows and doors, and panoramic murals in the living room. The stained-glass windows and murals, inspired by Sir Walter Scott’s “Ivanhoe,” were executed by William van Ingen, a student of Lewis C.Tiffany, who was also commissioned to paint murals in Washington, D.C.’s Library of Congress and the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. A billiards room with a 30-foot vaulted ceiling and a private stairway to the second floor now serves as an office and is also appointed with murals. Eight bedrooms and a grand balustraded terrace with a great lawn complete the offering.
“While the preservation of the artistic details is easily seen, the behind the scenes extensive updating of the mechanicals, heating and air conditioning, electrical and plumbing systems is spectacular in its own right and totally unexpected for a property of this vintage,” says Charles Irwin of Long & Foster’s Extraordinary Properties Division.
In addition to the main residence, the estate comprises a carriage house, gardener’s cottage, gatehouse, and a poolhouse, all original to the estate and all designed by Price.
“Being chosen to list and market an architectural masterpiece like Glenmede is a privilege and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me,” noted Reggie Hunt of Long & Foster’s Extraordinary Properties Division.
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