A $256 million mansion built by one of America’s richest men and tied to the Titanic tragedy has been left in ruins as these stunning photos show. The nearly-forgotten home of Lynnewood Hall was once considered to be one of the finest mansions in the country from the Gilded Age.
The home was built between 1897 and 1900 for U.S. tycoon Peter Arrell Browne Widener, who was an investor in the Titanic—the ship that tragically sunk, killing more than 1,500 people in 1912. A mansion with links to the Titanic tragedy has fallen into disrepair after being left abandoned.
History of Abandoned Titanic Mansion
Widener lost his wife Hannah in 1896 when she died on board the family’s yacht off the coast of Maine. In the throes of mourning, Widener wanted to create a great family seat. Lynnewood Hall was built on a 34-acre plot near Philadelphia in 1900 by architect Horace Trumbauer and known as “The Last American Versailles”.
When it was first built, the property stood on a staggeringly large 480-acre estate in Elkins Park in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The original owner of the property, Peter Widener, was a close business associate with J.P. Morgan and in 1912 became a 20-percent stakeholder in the company that built the RMS Titanic.
The mansion cost approximately $8 million to construct. The Lynnewood Hall has 110 rooms, of which 55 are bedrooms and 20 are bathrooms. Covering 70,000 square feet, the mansion also has a great hall with a grand staircase, an indoor pool, an art gallery and a 1,000-person ballroom.
It also held the title as being the finest home in the state of Pennsylvania but with so many Neo-Classical Revival features, that was not a tough challenge to overcome. In 1912, George (Widener’s son), his wife Eleanor, and their son Harry, planned to travel home on the ship’s maiden voyage, following a family holiday in Europe.
Sadly, both George (left) and Harry (right) lost their lives when the Titanic sank to the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean. The largest ocean liner in service at the time, Titanic had an estimated 2,224 people on board when she struck an iceberg on Sunday, 14 April 1912. Only his daughter-in-law Eleanor would survive the trip.
Widener died in 1915 at the age of 80. Following Widener’s death in 1915, the home was handed down to his older son and stayed in the Widener family until 1952. In 1952, anti-Communist radio broadcaster Reverend Carl McIntire turned the home into a religious school called “Faith Theological Seminary” until his money troubles caused the home to be foreclosed on in 1992.
Following a long period of money struggles, McIntire sold valuable assets, including more than 350 acres of Lynnewood Hall land. The abandoned mansion now has only 33 acres.
Since 1996 Lynnewood Hall has been owned by a Korean church. Korean church tried to reduce the running costs of the property by arguing it was a religious building and so therefore exempt from taxes, however, the courts disagreed.
It was listed for sale asking $11 million in 2021.
Stunning Photos of Abandoned Titanic Mansion
We prepared stunning photos of an abandoned Titanic mansion knowns as Lynnewood Hall. Picture stepping into one of America’s abandoned mansions! Since 2006 the old property was left abandoned and quickly fell into disrepair.
Historical Photos of Lynnewood Hall
How To Get To the Abandoned Titanic Mansion
The Abandoned Titanic Mansion is a 110-room Neoclassical Revival mansion in Elkins Park, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The Abandoned Titanic Mansion is accessible by car, bus, bike, train, and/or walking and we are committed to making sure everyone has easy, safe, and reliable options.
By public transport. The mansion is one block from Norristown’s Transportation Center on Lafayette Street S
- SEPTA Route 100 Suburban Rail Line, 69th Street Terminal to Norristown and SEPTA’s Norristown R6 Regional Line, Center City to Norristown are trains accessible to the Courthouse.
- SEPTA also has many bus routes that come into Norristown’s Transportation Center – Bus Lines 90, 91, 93, 96, 97, 98, 99, 131
