Cocktails at 6PM
Program at 6:30PM
In the Grant West Room
Registration required
Note: The Union League’s dress code is business casual—for men: jacket, collared shirt, and slacks, for women, something comparable. For more information, visit unionleague.org
After laying dormant and shrouded in mystery for several decades, Lynnewood Hall, the former Widener Estate in Elkins Park, PA, is finally getting a well-deserved new lease on life. Formed in 2019, the Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation Inc., a Pennsylvania 501c3 non-profit, completed their purchase of the 110,000 sq ft home and 34 acre estate on June 30th of 2023. The Foundation plans to restore the estate and its three buildings to open them up to the public for varying uses. The mission and vision of the Foundation encompasses history, education, arts and crafts, sustainability, inclusivity and creating space for the community to come and gather.
Edward T. Thome is the Executive Director of Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation Inc. and one of the organization’s founding members. After discovering the estate at eleven years old, Lynnewood Hall has been a life-long passion for Edward. In 2020, he convinced the previous owner to allow LHPF to gain unencumbered access to the estate in exchange for new security measures to stop trespassers and vandals.