History

Thom Nickels: Two Philadelphia mansions Thom Nickels August 1, 2025 July 31, 2025

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Recently I received an invitation to give a lecture in November 2025 at Dunwoody Village in Newtown Square on my book, Philadelphia Mansions . The invitation got me thinking about the city’s grand, historic houses but especially about one estate in particular that was the inspiration for The Philadelphia Story.

That estate was Ardrossan, the 50-room, Georgian Revival estate in Radnor that was designed by Horace Trumbauer, who dropped out of the Philadelphia public school system at age fourteen to help support his family. The mansion was built for Colonel Robert Leaming Montgomery and his wife, Charlotte Hope Bi

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