Whitemarsh_Hall_Part_2.wmv

Views of the interior of Whitemarsh Hall, the Philadelphia mansion of Mr. and Mrs. E.T. Stotesbury

[@jackmccolgan4306]

A beautiful, magnificent playground for a very wealthy family...., for only a brief period of time.

[@joneal8360]

We'd sneak there at night and explore before it was demolished when i was a teen. No drugs or booze ...just kids making out and playing hide and scarey seek. Millions of places to hide! The light from full moons was incredible in bringing light into it. It was a fabulous, elegant place. Magnificent!

[@t5239857289578947594]

Increadible pictures. Save Lynnwood Hall.

[@touristinexile]

At least we have these beautiful photographs to see what the place looked like inside. While it only seemed to have two floors it actually had six. It would have been nice to have those subbasements archived as well but such is life.

[@kobewinston1180]

I remember walking past Whitemarsh Hall everyday coming from school. My parents were always at work when I came home from school and I didn’t have the money to get a bike. Me and a couple of my friends. Explored in in the 70s. But all there was left was just piece of the house broken down and the marble staircase was chipped

[@ursulaphillips5309]

We need more recent video's on this. And yes, it is a shame, that the people the Stotesburys were good to can not even take care of the legacy of principles they lived and left behind.

[@ursulaphillips5309]

Beautiful. Wow. Stunning. Gorgeous.

[@zapcomix]

In 1972 some friends and I explored the manor more than several times and we found some interesting things. At time 0:25 is a photo of the entrance hall. Above this staircase was the framework for what looked like an elaborate/ornate glass ceiling of some type. On the second floor we found a small doorway in a utility room? next to the stairs that led up a small short staircase to a walkway that was above the framework of the ornate ceiling. Standing on the walkway you could look down through the ceiling framework into the front entrance hall. I assume that back in the day no one could tell if they were being watched from above. The walkway went around the perimeter of the staircase area. In the photo at 0:25, it also shows one of the entrances to the lower levels/basement. In the rear of the photo, beneath the staircase is the partialy obscured archway of a door with a stone handrail for the steps down to the door. We also found a tunnel leading from the large water fountain 50 yards or so in the backyard of the mansion, that led up to the main house. Seeing the the photos taken in 1979 with all the over growth and the generally poor condition of the buildings, I was fortunate, in 1972 there was little over growth and the condition overall was much better. On Sundays locals brought their families to walk around outside admiring the size and beauty of the main house. At the time I lived on Limekiln Pike in Maple Glen, Pa. About ten miles from Springfield.

[@creepcape]

This goes to show you, that behind the buildings, are people. And, when people die, buildings die too!

[@lynniedog]

What a waste of such a beatiful piece of history. To let these magnificent estates be demolished is a tragedy.

[@naomilichtner6637]

Totally agreed.

[@brandyecheverria3559]

You have to go to Europe to see houses of this style. Really don't understand why these have to rot.

[@onlythewise1]

@@brandyecheverria3559 idiots rule sometimes

[@jamescollins1394]

That was a beatifil home ashame they toore it down

[@bethbartlett5692]

Would make for fabulous Condos and shared community areas.

[@naomilichtner6637]

What a sad waste of American history. These type of testaments are so rare in America. HATE when these magnificent places are left to rot, and then, bluntly destroyed. Sigh...

[@michaeldalton8374]

Imagine being the poor fella that had to keep firewood supplied to all those fireplaces. For $2 a day.

[@joelpaape8748]

That was prob $200 a day back then

[@donaldbryan1521]

These huge estates employed a lot of people to run them; people who, today, are just sitting on their momma's couches w/ their game consoles.

[@colinhiggins4779]

Strangely enough, I can't account for one of the rooms. Mr. Stotesbury's Sitting Room in the west wing: I don't see that anywhere in the floor plans or blue prints. I think that is actually the Reception room just west of the main entrance hall. CORRECTION: that is the original library in the southwest corner of the house.

[@colinhiggins4779]

nm --just another angle of Mrs. Stotesbury's library / sitting room (not Mr.)

[@joneal8360]

The years I'd explore there also!

[@RelleRoulette]

it upsets me that the state let this go to waste the way it did

[@lareinadiondra6027]

RelleRoulette wanst the states job.

[@robertstotesbury8005]

I am a Stotesbury and I am poor as a church mouse!

[@patricialeclerc8716]

to keep this up in the manner it needed, was,is costing a Fortune! If the State looks after this property, guess who pays for It? Citizens of the State! How much did two people need Anyhow?

[@michaeldalton8374]

The same people who paid for its construction. The guy was a JP Morgan bankster. People had to be screwed out of the money it took to build it.

[@TheRock2004]

where did you find these pics?

[@caseydykes117]

Slender man just chilling on the stairs at twenty five seconds

[@ursulaphillips5309]

We need more recent video's on this. And yes, it is a shame, that the people the Stotesburys were good to can not even take care of the legacy of principles they lived and left behind.

[@Wanamaker1946]

Dear Ursula, You make a good point, but……. Are you or even I going to set aside the monies needed to maintain our homes when we pass on? So why then is this always expected of the rich? Whitemarsh Hall was built to last as long as any of those houses in Britain or France…..but the USA isn’t designed to favor the hereditary Laws that Crown Governments had built into their ethos……and though watered down now, still are hard wired in Great Britain. I lament WH’s demise. So let say it was saved, what would it be? Perhaps a Golf Corse…..the house would be the Club House, and perhaps they would maintain the upper gardens outside the Ball Room. 380 acres would’ve made a very nice corse indeed. How about a Country Museum very similar to the Huntington Library? Thirdly, Doris Duke could have easily maintained it and made it into a working museum….as oil just keeps coming up out of the ground. So why did no one come to its aid? To answer this question, I would have to ask just how old are you? So it may be best that Whitemarsh Hall is an idea, a repeating dream of absolute perfection…..a State of Consciousness to dwell, as in living one’s life as if you were building a stately mansion bit by bit over one’s lifetime. In other words, live well, be square, do good, be neat, worship an higher Being, make the way easier for others, etcetera, etcetera…… Here’s a really happy note to end on. All the fine paintings in these pictures, the tapestries, the furnishings, and even the light fixtures are all well taken care of in museums all over the world. And to top that, Fans of Whitemarsh Hall on Facebook, which anyone may join has a huge membership that extends around the world several times. I suggest you join the fan club Ursula. You’ll forever be entertained. The Stotesbury’s legacy does indeed live on in love and admiration the world over. Be part of the stewardship Ursula. Christ did say: “I have prepared many for you in my Fathers House”. Perhaps Whitemarsh Hall is our Celestial Lodge where we will all tend a great garden and sit with our friends at the end to Perfect Day as the song invites us to do.