Lynnewood Hall

Several months ago, I read an article in the Wall Street Journal on a crumbling gilded age mansion in the Northern Suburbs of Philadelphia. Though I neither remembered the name nor chose my route to reach it last Sunday, I found myself riding in the right vicinity to try to find the relic. First I headed for Curtis Arboretum, a good guess. Cyrus Curtis, the wealthy publisher of, among others, the Saturday Evening Post and Ladies Home Journal, did indeed build a mansion on that site of which only the ballroom remains, but it was not the subject of the newspaper article.

I stumbled on Lynnewood Hall by accident really. From Curtis Arboretum, I rode southeast through a residential neighborhood and turned left of Spring Ave. It didn't take long for me to realize the ornate, rusting fence to the right protected the grounds of the mansion I had had so recently sought. I wouldn't learn the name until I reached home and did some research. Unfortunately, I can't find a link to the Wall Street Journal article. If your interested, then here is a link to the Wikipedia article. Not surprising it doesn't do subject justice.



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Trip Statistics
Length: 47.2 miles
Time: 5 hours 44 minutes
Riding Time: 4 hours 15 minutes
Avg/ Speed: 11.1 mph
Max. Speed: 28.3 mph
Avg. Cadence: 52 rpm
Cum. Ascent: 2,300 ft.