WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Whitemarsh Hall was designed and built with a great attention to detail. Armies of artisans produced exquisite carvings, moldings and decorations on both the interior and exterior of the building.

The Tea Room in Whitemarsh Hall was located off of the West Palm Court (a.k.a. the West Rotunda). The south side of the Tea Room opened onto a terrace next to the Drawing Room that led to a belvedere. The western doorway of the Tea Room (shown above) opened onto a gravel walkway, and it initially was flanked by two large stone urns. Above each of the windows of the Tea Room was an intricate limestone carving that depicted various classical figures.

(Photo Source: Frances Benjamin Johnston Collection, U.S. Library of Congress)

Later, the stone urns outside of the Whitemarsh Hall Tea Room were replaced by two sphinx statues.

(Photo Source: Frances Loeb Library, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University)

After Whitemarsh Hall was torn down in 1980, many pieces of the massive structure were left strewn about the grounds for several years. This 1984 photo shows one of the stone carvings from above the Tea Room windows, abandoned in a field that once boasted magnificent gardens.

Fortunately, some of the limestone carvings from the exterior of the Whitemarsh Hall Tea Room were rescued from complete demolition. Two of them are now mounted in a garden wall in a parking lot in Center City Philadelphia near the corner of 13th and South Streets. They are situated behind the units at 1211 and 1229 South Street.

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