Wednesday, January 26, 2022 (continued)
We had advance tickets for the 11:00 Guided History Tour at
Cairnwood Estate in Bryn Athyn, PA.
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Cairnwood Estate (1893-1895, by Carrère and Hastings in
Beaux-Arts style with input from Gertrude Pitcairn) is
patterned after a French country château |
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| Note the balcony off the boudoir |
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Formal side garden; the grounds were initially designed by
Charles Elliot, who then joined with Frederick Law Olmsted
to design much of the settlement of Bryn Athyn |
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| View from the terrace toward the Bryn Athyn Cathedral |
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On the grounds are several specimen trees planted by
the Pitcairns, perhaps including this hydrangea "tree" |
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Parrotia persica/Persian Ironwood Tree
is definitely a specimen imported and
planted by the Pitcairn family |
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The entrance to Cairnwood Estate, built for John Pitcairn, Jr,
a wealthy Pittsburgh entrepreneur |
John Pitcairn was born in Scotland and moved at age five with his family to Pittsburgh. There they learned about the New Church, founded on the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, an 18C Swedish scientist, philosopher, and theologian. As a student, he sang in the New Church choir with another Scottish immigrant, Andrew Carnegie. John began his career at age 14 as a telegraph operator for the Pennsylvania Railroad. He worked his way up to Superintendent of a local branch of the railroad, and began investing his money in oil, coal, and natural gas. Pitcairn made his fortune during the “oil boom” of the 1870s. In 1883 he cofounded Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, now known as PPG.
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| The Stable and Carriage House (1895) |
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An omnibus in which John Pitcairn and his bride,
Gertrude Starkey, rode on their wedding day in Philadelphia |
In Pittsburgh, John Pitcairn and other members of the New Church, decided to build an academy to provide religious education for their children. They ended up moving to Philadelphia and establishing the Academy of the New Church in 1877. John met Gertrude through the New Church in Philadelphia.
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| Four-runner bob sleigh |
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| The Pitcairn family car, a 1927 Packard; 426 Touring model |
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| Cairnwood main entrance |
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The house is made with Roman brick,
accented with rustic blocks of limestone |
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| Great Hall hooded fireplace in Louis XIV-style |
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| Great Hall Gothic-vaulted ceiling |
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Great Hall arched windows over
French doors to the terrace |
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| Main stairway off the Great Hall |
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| The living room featured black walnut wood |
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| Living room view of the side garden |
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| Replica wallpaper in the living room |
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| The library features white oak wood |
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| The music room fireplace with a gilt-edge mirror |
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| The music room is decorated in Rococo-style |
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| Window-seat landing of the main stairway |
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| Guest Bedroom with replica wallpaper |
Generally the rooms are not furnished, or are furnished for the purpose of wedding and event functions.
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| Guest bathroom |
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| A niche in the boudoir for freshening up |
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| The balcony off the boudoir |
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Original furniture belonging to the John and Gertude,
in the master bedroom which is relatively small
and is connected to the children's rooms; very unusual
for a wealthy family at the time of separate suites
for husband and wife (and kids on another floor!) |
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The youngest son, Harold Pitcairn, became an aviator; here
he is handed an outstanding achievemment in aviation
trophy by President Hoover, related to the
Autogiro, seen on the White House lawn, that Harold
introduced to the United Staes and manufactured |
The Autogiro is a plane with unpowered rotary blades that help with lift.
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The children's third floor playroom is now a gallery
of Pitcairn family artifacts |
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A collection of toys, including some Steiff
plush animal ride-on toys from Germany |
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The seal of the New Church with the inscription
“Behold, I make all things new” in Greek |
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The family chapel is at the top of the tower;
here is the Bible cabinet and above is the
inscription "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God,
the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart, with all your
soul, and with all your might" in Hebrew |
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A custom niche holds the family's
Mason & Hamlin reed organ |
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An artisan working on the Bryn Athyn
Cathedral created this bronze version of
Swedenborg's "Rules of Life" |
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In the sewing room, a baby jacket with beautiful embroidery
done by Gabriele Pitcairn, a granddaughter of John & Gertrude |
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One of five servant bedrooms, said to be
almost as large as the master bedroom |
Next: Bryn Athyn Cathedral.
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