Call Number:

02

Repository:

Glen Foerd on the Delaware

Extent:

27.0 cubic feet ((about 40 items))

Language:

English

Date:

1890-2007 (inclusive)

Creator:

Glen Foerd Conservation Corporation.

Abstract:

The Glen Foerd estate was built circa 1850 by Charles Macalester and was later purchased by Robert H. Foerderer, Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives and leather manufacturer. His daughter, art collector Florence Tonner, bequeathed Glen Foerd to the Lutheran Church of America with the caveat that the estate would revert to public ownership if the Lutheran Church was unable to care for it. That happened in 1988, and the Glen Foerd Conservation Corporation was established as a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and restoration of Glen Foerd. There are about 40 unique blueprints, plus some duplicates, in the Glen Foerd Conservation Corporation blueprints collection, 1890-2007. Most depict renovations of the Glen Foerd estate, 1933-2007, but there are also some blueprints of other properties, 1890-1938.

The Glen Foerd estate was built circa 1850 by Charles Macalester, founder of Torresdale and Financial Adviser to eight United States Presidents. The estate, which Macalester called "Glengarry," was renamed by Robert H. Foerderer (1860-1903) when he purchased it in 1893.

Upon her death in 1972 Florence Tonner, daughter of Robert H. Foerderer, bequeathed the Glen Foerd estate to the Lutheran Church of America. She included the caveat, however, that if the Lutheran Church was unable to care for the estate, it would revert to public ownership. The Lutheran Center at Glen Foerd operated the estate as a retreat center and meeting space until 1988, when ownership of the estate was awarded to the City of Philadelphia in a lawsuit. The Glen Foerd Conservation Corporation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and restoration of Glen Foerd, now administers the property in cooperation with Philadelphia Parks and Recreation.

Bibliography:

"Glen Foerd History." Accessed September 28, 2011. http://www.glenfoerd.org.

The blueprints in this collection mostly depict renovations of the Glen Foerd estate, 1933-2007. There are also some blueprints of other properties, 1890-1938 (e.g. "Estate of Walter Janney, Esq., Bryn Mawr, Pa., Working drawings of rose posts to go in vegetable garden, 1929"). There are about 40 unique blueprints, plus some duplicates. Several prominent landscape architects and architects are represented in the collection, including Thomas Warren Sears, James Bush-Brown, and Stanford B. Lewis.

Thomas Warren Sears (1880-1966) was a noted American landscape architect best known for designing Mt. Cuba Center, Reynolda Gardens, and the Scott Outdoor Auditorium at Swarthmore College. This collection includes three plans by Sears.

James Bush-Brown (1892-1986) was a landscape architect and author of several books, including the well-known America's Garden Book. This collection includes four Bush-Brown plans, and one pencil drawing.

Stanford B. Lewis was a Philadelphia-based architect best known for his work on the Pennsylvania State Capitol building in Harrisburg from 1902 to 1906. He developed plans during the Tonner period at Glen Foerd. Four plans in the collection include tennis courts, the Glen Foerd Farms dairy barn and the print room bay window.