Spend the afternoon touring three delightful domiciles—Chelton House, Elstowe Manor, and Georgian Terrace, designed by one of Philadelphia’s greatest architects, Horace Trumbauer, for one of Philadelphia’s greatest families, the Elkins.
Looking at the Trumbauer Triplets, it’s hard to believe they all have the same father. Their architectural DNA is the same, but their genes were scrambled to produce three different and distinctive siblings. In touring through the three houses you will experience architectural time travel, beginning with the English Elizabethan at Chelten House, then travel across the continent to the Italian Renaissance of Elstowe Manor, then back to England with the Georgian Terrace. Perhaps nowhere else in America can one find this kind of visual and aesthetic diversity in one place for one family.
Our tour guide will be Amy Ragsdale, who has been the caretaker at Chelten House and Elstowe for the past number of years, and intimately familiar with the houses and the Elkins family. Parking available in the Elstowe Manor driveway at 1750 Ashbourne Road. Note: Following the first tour at Elstowe Manor, attendees will drive or carpool to the next two subsequent locations to meet up for the rest of the tour. Detailed directions and approximate schedule will be provided to ticket holders prior to the event.
Photo Credit: Elizabeth Robertson, Staff Photographer On the second floor that overlooks the lobby in Elstowe Manor. Philly.com