Bryn Athyn Historic District
| Bryn Athyn Historic District | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| National Register of Historic Places | |||
| National Historic Landmark | |||
| Historic District | |||
 Cairnwood Mansion in the Bryn Athyn Historic District (2012) |
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| location | Bryn Athyn , Montgomery County , Pennsylvania | ||
| Coordinates | 40 ° 8 '4 " N , 75 ° 3' 48" W | ||
| NRHP number | 08001087 | ||
| Data | |||
| The NRHP added | October 6, 2008 | ||
| Declared as an NHL | October 6, 2008 | ||
| Declared as HD | October 6, 2008 | ||
The Bryn Athyn Historic District is an architecturally and historically significant building complex in Bryn Athyn in Montgomery County , Pennsylvania . It was built by the New Church's Christian denomination from the 1890s . The area consists of four buildings, including a cathedral and a museum , and has the status of a National Historic Landmark . It is also listed as a Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
Historic District
The place Bryn Athyn was founded from the late 19th century by the Christian denomination of the General Church of the New Jerusalem , which forms a stricter direction within the New Church based on the teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg , just outside the city limits of Philadelphia. This group within the Swedenborgians was formed in 1876. The Historic District consists of three properties, originally used as family residences, and a cathedral. All four structures were erected between 1892 and 1938.
On October 6, 2008, the area received the status of a National Historic Landmark and was registered as a Historic District in the NRHP.
Cairnwood Estate
Cairnwood Estate was built for the industrialist John Pitcairn (1841-1916) and his wife Gertrude in the style of Beaux Arts architecture . Pitcairn was a co-founder of PPG Industries and one of the leading entrepreneurs of his time. He had personal and business relationships with Andrew Carnegie , John D. Rockefeller , Henry Clay Frick and Henry Flagler . The construction was planned by the well-known architectural firm Carrère and Hastings and completed in 1895. The garden and the property were designed by the renowned landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and his former student Charles Eliot . Cairnwood Estate is the only Beaux Arts structure in Pennsylvania that dates back to Carrère and Hastings. After Pitcairn's death in 1916, his eldest son Raymond (1885–1966) took over the property. He lived here with his wife Mildred Glenn and their nine children until they moved into Glencairn in 1939. In the 1940s, Raymond's daughter Gabriele Pitcairn Pendleton resided in Cairnwood with her husband Willard. After Mildred Pitcairn's death, the family bequeathed Cairnwood and Glencairn to the General Church of the New Jerusalem as the academy building in 1979 . It then stood empty for a decade before being restored to be nominated as a National Historic Landmark.
Bryn Athyn Cathedral
The Bryn Athyn Cathedral is the bishopric of the General Church of the New Jerusalem . It was built between 1913 and 1928, with the decoration of the interior and the completion of the leaded glass windows until the 1940s. The cathedral is designed in the Gothic style, while the additions to the north and south have an early Romanesque shape. The construction project was financed by John Pitcairn, while his son Raymond oversaw the planning and development. The teachings of the New Church can be found in the symbolic structure and design of the cathedral.
Glencairn Museum
Glencairn was built between 1928 and 1939 in the Romanesque style according to plans by Raymond Pitcairn, who was not a trained architect but had previously supervised the construction of the Bryn Athyn Cathedral. A house chapel was built on the fourth floor. Upon completion, Glencairn first served him and his family as a residence and repository for his private collection of medieval art, including contemporary works such as a bust of Abraham Lincoln by George Gray Barnard . After the death of his wife in 1979, Glencairn became the property of the General Church of the New Jerusalem . In 1980 it became a non-profit religious art and history museum and housed the holdings of the New Church Academy, also located in Bryn Athyn. The collection includes works from ancient Egypt , antiquity , the Christian Middle Ages as well as from Asia and the Islamic cultural area. Furthermore exhibits of the Indians of North America can be seen.
Cairncrest
Cairncrest was built between 1926 and 1928 according to plans by Raymond Pitcairn, which were further developed in 1924 by architects Llewellyn R. Price and Wetherill P. Trout. The construction was carried out by the local company Synnestvedt and Leonard. The property became the residence of Harold F. Pitcairn, the youngest child of John Pitcairn. He lived here with his wife Clara Davis and their nine children. An avid pilot, Harold made the first flight in a gyroplane in the United States, commuting regularly from Cairncrest to work at his factory.
literature
- Ed Gyllenhaal, Kirsten Hansen Gyllenhaal: The Bryn Athyn Historic District. Arcadia, Charleston 2011, ISBN 978-0-7385-7432-5 .
Web links
- Homepage Bryn Athyn Church
- Homepage Bryn Athyn Historic District
- Homepage Cairnwood Estate
- Homepage Glencairn Museum
Remarks
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↑ Bryn Athyn Historic District register in the National Information System. National Park Service , accessed October 20, 2019.
Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State: Pennsylvania. National Park Service , accessed October 20, 2019. - ^ Ed Gyllenhaal, Kirsten Hansen Gyllenhaal: The Bryn Athyn Historic District. Pp. 77, 85.