Lynnewood Hall, an historic Gilded Age mansion in Elkins Park, is reopening to the public for the first time in more than 80 years with a floral exhibition and gala.

Following years of ongoing restoration efforts, the estate will host “Fleurs de Villes The Gilded Age,” a partnership between the international flower show company and the popular HBO series, from Sept. 25 to Oct. 4. Lynnewood Hall, known for its elegance and grandeur, is the perfect home for the exhibit, which celebrates history, culture, and floral artistry.

A storied history

Lynnewood Hall’s history is one of impressive architectural feats and great wealth, but more recently, also one of deteriorating conditions and hard work for a group of preservationists.

The initial plans for the mansion were drawn up in 1897 by architect Horace Trumbauer. Lynnewood Hall’s original grounds spanned 33 acres with world-renowned French gardens. The interior furnishings were some of the most coveted elements in the world, including carved wood paneling from a French Chateau, furniture from Versailles, and tapestries from the collections of European aristocrats. No details were overlooked.

The estate was the home of Peter A.B. Widener, who curated an impressive private art collection along with his son, Joseph. The family would open their home from October to June every year to allow the public to view these works. Upon Joseph’s death in 1943, the entire collection was donated to the National Gallery in Washington, D.C.

Following the Widener family’s time in Lynnewood Hall, the estate was traded several times to various owners beginning in 1944, including Faith Theological Seminary and the First Korean Church of New York. However, the building wasn’t being maintained and fell into disrepair.

It wasn’t until a grassroots group of preservationists — including Edward Thome, Angie Van Scyoc, and Peter Oyloe — joined together to form the Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation in 2019 that the building’s future appeared to brighten. By June 2023, after several years of sharing its vision, the nonprofit had raised enough money to purchase the property outright.

Restoring the hall

Once the Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation acquired the property, the team quickly got to work.

“The house was, for better or worse, abandoned for about 20 years, but there’s been deferred maintenance on the building going on 65-70 years,” Thome said. “So in order for us to open the property to the public and have occupancy to even do events in here, there’s a lot of remediation and stabilization that needs to happen.”

The group worked on removing asbestos, filling open manholes on the grounds, patching up water leaks, and cleaning dust and debris. And the work continues today. Most recently, the team has been replacing portions of the roof and fixing more leaks.

For Thome, although the restoration takes a lot of time and energy, the work is important.

Lynnewood Hall “is a work of art,” Thome said. “Architecture is our most public form of art, and it’s often the most forgotten-about form of art. We believe that Lynnewood Hall is a masterpiece of neoclassical and English architecture, with stunning French interiors.”

Oyloe agrees and is eager to share it with the public.

“It becomes a project that — regardless of whatever your area of interest is — has a place for you,” Oyloe said. “Whether it’s art, whether it’s education, whether it’s job development, whether it’s horticulture — there will be a place for various people and their interests and educational pursuits here at Lynnewood.”

Fleurs de Villes exhibit

Karen Marshall, co-founder of Fleurs de Villes, said the company researched Gilded Age mansions in the United States to host “Fleurs de Villes The Gilded Age.” When she came across Lynnewood Hall, Marshall pitched the idea to the foundation. The answer was a resounding “yes.”

“This is a huge lift for us,” Thome said. “We’ve never done anything remotely close to this in terms of the scale of the exhibition and the sheer number of guests that will be visiting. It was an opportunity that we couldn’t pass up. …All of these flower exhibitions are artistic installations and Lynnewood Hall was dubbed ‘The house that art built.’ So it’s very apropos for us to be doing an exhibit like this in this space.”

The Lynnewood Hall stop of “Fleurs de Villes The Gilded Age” is the third out of six locations nationally. Guests can expect floral mannequins designed by Philadelphia-area floral artists that reinterpret characters from “The Gilded Age,” such as Bertha Russell, Peggy Scott, and Agnes van Rhijn. Visitors can vote for their favorite display, watch live floral demonstrations, and take a preservation tour, offering a behind-the-scenes look at Lynnewood Hall’s ongoing restoration.

According to Marshall, the reception to the show thus far has been “completely phenomenal.”

“Pre-sales and chit-chat online has been just so positive for Lynnewood,” Marshall said. “There’s great interest in our show, but also great interest in the hall.”

Inspiring the future

In addition to “Fleurs de Villes The Gilded Age,” Lynnewood Hall is also hosting its first annual gala on Sept. 26. The night will include dinner, dancing, and an exclusive look at the exhibit. There will be live Gilded Age-era music featuring musicians from the HBO series, including soprano Sarah Joy Miller and saxophonist Christopher Brellochs, both of whom were also cast members. Elizabeth Gerbi (soprano), Max Caplan (piano), and a guest violinist will round out the ensemble.

For Van Scyoc, the floral exhibition and the gala are excellent opportunities to showcase Lynnewood Hall’s history and future.

“Our tagline is ‘We look to the past to inspire the future,’” Van Scyoc said. “It’s a beautiful place to be able to get younger generations to come, be able to see something that’s very special, and start opening up their minds to what’s possible. And with the way technology is starting to come into this world with AI, I think there’s even more of a need and a desire for those kinds of real-life, tangible experiences, and this can really be an incubator for that on all fronts.”

To learn more, visit lynnewoodhallpreservation.org.

Maggie Dougherty can be reached at Margaret@chestnuthilllocal.com.