The Bryn Mawr Hotel: the Relationship Between the Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Nineteenth-Century Railroad Resort Hotel

University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Theses (Historic Preservation) Graduate Program in Historic Preservation 1989 The Bryn Mawr Hotel: The Relationship Between the Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Nineteenth-Century Railroad Resort Hotel Alison Janet Reed University of Pennsylvania Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses Part of the Historic Preservation and Conservation Commons Reed, Alison Janet, "The Bryn Mawr Hotel: The Relationship Between the Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Nineteenth-Century Railroad Resort Hotel" (1989). Theses (Historic Preservation). 361. https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses/361 Copyright note: Penn School of Design permits distribution and display of this student work by University of Pennsylvania Libraries. Suggested Citation: Reed, Alison Janet (1989). The Bryn Mawr Hotel: The Relationship Between the Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Nineteenth-Century Railroad Resort Hotel. (Masters Thesis). University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses/361 For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Bryn Mawr Hotel: The Relationship Between the Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Nineteenth-Century Railroad Resort Hotel Disciplines Historic Preservation and Conservation Comments Copyright note: Penn School of Design permits distribution and display of this student work by University of Pennsylvania Libraries. Suggested Citation: Reed, Alison Janet (1989). The Bryn Mawr Hotel: The Relationship Between the Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Nineteenth-Century Railroad Resort Hotel. (Masters Thesis). University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. This thesis or dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses/361 RiT.-'; iS>~>'a-; m •»;-:,; MMi*i&<?p?; mm.- r^-'J i^> uNivERsmry PENNSYLVANIA. UBKARIES THE BRYN MAWR HOTEL: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE MAIN LINE OF THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD AND THE NINETEENTH-CENTURY RAILROAD RESORT HOTEL Alison Janet Reed A THESIS in The Graduate Program in Historic Preservation Presented to the faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE 1989 Christa Wilmanns-Wells , Lecturer, Historic Preservation, Advisor vid G. Dtg_j/ongr GraHuate /6ro~U^ Chairman and Reader j !\i^jo'^ nti A^^ UNIVERSITV I I PENNSYLVANIA ARIES \ LIBR Acknowledgements I can do all things in him who strengthens me. Phillipians 4:13 These words and the strength which they imparted helped to sustain me during ray years in graduate school and in the writing of this paper. This paper is dedicated to the glory of God and also to my parents. Mr. and Mrs. Harrison David Reed. 11 CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii LIST OF FIGURES vi PREFACE ix INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER I. THE COUNTRY RESORT 19 Anti-Urbanism Effects of Industrialization Bad Air Elevated Locations Sanitary Awakening Movement The Country Resort As A Cure The Fashionable Summer Resort The New Summer Vacation The Railroad and the Resort Hotel Beautiful Vistas The Resort Function of the Bryn Mawr Area The First Bryn Mawr Hotel As A Railroad Resort Hotel Notes To Chapter I II. THE MAIN LINE OF PUBLIC WORKS 61 The "Main Line" The Main Line of Public Works Optimism For the Railroad Opposition To Construction of the Main Line The Inception of the Main Line of Public Works The Philadelphia Division The Paoli Accommodation The Stations and Villages Along the Paoli Accommodation Notes To Chapter II 111 Ill . THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BRYN MAWR TRACT 95 The Village of Humphreysville Acquisition and Subdivision of the Bryn Mawr Tract The Construction of the First Bryn Mawr Hotel and Other Improvements Building Lots For Sale The Effects of the First Bryn Mawr Hotel On the Community The Suburb of Bryn Mawr Notes To Chapter III IV. THE FIRST BRYN MAWR HOTEL 119 The Keystone Hotel Company Immediate Success Iconography of the Hotel Building and Grounds The Design and Structure of the First Bryn Mawr Hotel The Hotel Verandah Modifications of the Hotel Building Facilities and Amenities Interior Furnishings Continuing Improvements Landscaping of the Hotel Grounds Social Life and Activities At the Hotel The Devon Inn The Destruction of the Bryn Mawr Hotel Irony of the Fire Notes To Chapter IV V. THE SECOND BRYN MAWR HOTEL 170 The Bryn Mawr Hotel Company The Design and Construction of the Second Bryn Mawr Hotel Interior Spaces Interior Furnishings Theory of the Design of the Bryn Mawr Hotel Athletics and Social Activities The Bryn Mawr Horse Show Dual Functions of the Resort Hotel The Demise of the Second Bryn Mawr Hotel iv The Baldwin School Notes To Chapter V CONCLUSION 218 ILLUSTRATIONS 226 APPENDICES 251 BIBLIOGRAPHY 264 V , List of Figures Figure 1. The proximity of the second Bryn Mawr Hotel structure to the tracks of the Main Line railroad. Courtesy of Roger W. Moss, The Athenaeum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. No date. Figure 2. The Main Line of Public Works traversing the state of Pennsylvania, showing sections of both canal and railroad between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, John F. Stover, American Railroads (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1961), pp . 22-23. Figure 3. The location of the Paoli Accommodation of the Philadelphia Division of the Main Line and the stations along its way, Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Twenty-Sixth Annual Report of the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Figure 4. Map of the Bryn Mawr Tract, Brief of Title To Bryn Mawr In Lower Merion Township (Philadelphia: A. C. Bryson, 1869), insert. Figure 5. The Bryn Mawr Station, D. Lloyd Pakradooni Glimpses (International Printing Company, 1975), p. 52. Figure 6. Engraving of passengers on the footbridge at the Bryn Mawr Station, William B. Sipes, The Pennsylvania Railroad (Philadelphia: Pennsylvania Railroad Passenger Department, 1875), p. 81. Figure 7. Subdivision and suburban development surrounding the Bryn Mawr Hotel, Property Atlas of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia: J.L. Smith, 1893), pp. 25-26. Figure 8. Photograph of the first Bryn Mawr Hotel, circa 1871, Wilson Brothers and Company, Catalog of works, No date. Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Figure 9. Engraving of the first Bryn Mawr Hotel, VI William B. Sipes, The Pennsylvania Railroad (Philadelphia: Pennsylvania Railroad Passenger Department, 1875), p. 82. Figure 10. Photograph of the first Bryn Mawr Hotel with additions and renovations, circa 1876. Courtesy Robert Swartz. Figure 11. Engraving of the first Bryn Mawr Hotel and its environs, Fred B. Schell, Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Summer Excursion Routes (Philadelphia: Allen, Lane & Scott, 1884), p. 35. Figure 12. Blueprint of the grounds and footprint of the first Bryn Mawr Hotel, No date. Courtesy of The Baldwin School. Figure 13. Photograph of the second Bryn Mawr Hotel, No date. Courtesy of The Baldwin School. Figure 14. Rendering of the second Bryn Mawr Hotel building, Furness, Evans and Company, Book of blueprints. No date. Courtesy of the Lower Merion Historical Society, Rosemont, Pennsylvania. Figure 15. Floor plan of the Basement Floor, Furness, Evans and Company. Courtesy of the Lower Merion Historical Society. Figure 16. Floor plan of the Main Floor, Furness, Evans and Company. Figure 17. Floor plan of the Second Floor, Furness, Evans and Company. Figure 18. Floor plan of the Third Floor, Furness, Evans and Company. Figure 19. Floor plan of the Fourth and Fifth Floors, Furness, Evans and Company. Figure 20. Photograph of the porch of the second hotel building, The Bryn Mawr Hotel brochure, 1911. Courtesy of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Figure 21. Photograph of the Entrance Hall, No date. Courtesy of The Baldwin School. Vll Figure 22. Photograph of the Main Hall, No date. Courtesy of The Baldwin School Figure 23. Photograph of the clay tennis court. The Bryn Mawr Hotel brochure, 1911, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Figure 24, Photograph of the Fourth Hole of the Golf Course, The Bryn Mawr Hotel brochure, 1911, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Figure 25. Postcard of the Bryn Mawr Horse Show, 1908. Courtesy of the Montgomery County Historical Society, Norristown Pennsylvania. Figure 26. Postcard of the Bryn Mawr Hotel and Miss Baldwin's School, 1907. Courtesy of the Montgomery County Historical Society, Norristown, Pennsylvania. Figure 27. Postcard of the Bryn Mawr Hotel and Miss Baldwin's School, 1913. Courtesy of the Montgomery County Historical Society, Norristown, Pennsylvania. Vlll Preface The inspiration for the subject matter of this thesis came from several sources. My first exposure to the subject was through a course which I took while enrolled in the Historic Preservation graduate program at the University of Pennsylvania entitled "The Common American Landscape." Initially I possessed very little knowledge of what "the common American landscape" even implied, but my interest and intrigue with the concept grew during the course of the semester. Impressed upon me by my professor as well as by readings of authors John R. Stilgoe and John Brinckerhoff Jackson was the realization of the profound impact which the railroad industry had on various aspects of the development of the American landscape in the nineteenth century. Thus stimulated I embarked on a cross-country journey by

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