Description

Explore the building, heyday and eventual demise of Whitemarsh Hall, once considered the Versailles of America.

Whitemarsh Hall was one of the largest and most exquisite estates in North America. Edward Townsend Stotesbury, one of the wealthiest Philadelphians in the early 20th century, commissioned renowned architect Horace Trumbauer to build the 147-room mansion in 1916 on 300 acres just outside Philadelphia. Whitemarsh Hall, which took five years to build at an estimated cost of $10 million with all the furnishings, was a wedding present for his second wife. This book explores Whitemarsh Hall's construction, its prime in the 1920s, the multiple impacts of the Great Depression, Stotesbury's death, and subsequent ownership over the next four decades, culminating in its eventual submission to decay, vandalism, and the wrecking ball in 1980.