Classic Woolworth Mansion Was Restored With a Modern Artist's Touch

The Woolworth Mansion in Scranton, PA, was in disrepair when neoexpressionist painter Hunt Slonem picked it up. He spent five years carefully restoring it, although he did add his signature splashes of color.
The neoexpressionist painter Hunt Slonem is selling the stately Woolworth Mansion on Jefferson Avenue in Scranton, PA, for $1.35 million. He bought the property in 2015 and has spent the last five years restoring it. The home was originally built in 1910 for Charles Sumner Woolworth, the co-founder of the Woolworth retail empire.
Measuring 8,333 square feet, with five bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms, the mansion had sat all but abandoned for about 18 years. Slonem has restored and owns several other homes around the country, including the Scranton Armory-an 1897 building he restored and furnished.
This is the first of his homes that Slonem has put up for sale. This building was the work of an important architect, using materials that are no longer available unless they are salvaged from old houses that are being demolished. The architect, Lansing Holden, designed this property and several others in the Scranton area.
Crews stabilized floors eaten away by beetles, replaced roofs, and updated just about everything in the house-with an important exception. Slonem based much of his renovation work on old photographs. However, for some of the rooms, there were no vintage images-and that included the kitchen. Slonem readily admits that he isn’t a kitchen person, and the resulting kitchen is small compared to some of the other rooms. However, it has benefited from the same attention to detail as the rest of the house.
Color is key in this house. Some walls are bright and adorned with 19th-century paintings, as well as with many of Slonem’s own pieces. The artist is known for painting birds, bunnies, and butterflies, and his work is featured in museums around the world.
The house has five marble fireplaces and wood floors throughout, as well as a full basement and a two-car garage. Chandeliers in most rooms, including the bedrooms, elevate the decor. The home is located in the Hill Section of Scranton, with many older homes surrounding it. Near the house is a 3,000-square-foot carriage house, basically an open, untouched space.
Slonem was considering using it as an art studio. Gatto has another idea for the entire property. The furnishings aren’t part of the sale, but Gatto says the home will be easy for a buyer to move right in.
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[@rgrndu]

0:55. “A basement”… a basement with roof rafters?