Monday, March 24, 2014

"Whitemarsh Hall" - an autogiro proves its worth.....

   
PHOTOGRAPHS BY COURTESY OF PITCAIRN AIRCRAFT, INC.


   Above the E. T. Stotesbury estate at Whitemarsh, near Philadelphia, Pa., an autogiro proves its worth as a place-to-place air vehicle. After selecting a likely spot in which to land, it sinks slowly and almost vertically to the ground. When leave-taking time comes, the host speeds his parting guest, serene in the knowledge that his tree-tops and turrets will be undamaged, for the giro rises at a steep angle into the air when it departs.

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3 comments:

  1. Can only think of sadness and lost opportunity when viewing this incredible estate.

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  2. The Pitcairn Aircraft Company
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitcairn_Aircraft_Company

    Amazing photo of the craft flying over the long gone Whitemarsh Hall. But we can still visit Cairnwood and Glencairn, two gilded age mansions nearby that are open to the public and maintained with loving care.

    http://www.cairnwood.org/

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  3. The miracle of Whitemarsh Hall is that it was thee most photografted house from start to finish ever to be recorded. Over 500 construction pictures were taken in absolute razor sharpness. You can see the all on fb under Fans of Whitemarsh Hall. The floor plans are many sets and all exist in tact. All the treasures in paintings , furniture and porcelain all exist in museums all over the world. One can find them and see their true colors and new settings. The Mattie Hewett pictures of the finished interior are all over the net. The only very sad thing is....all the White&Allom fittings are all destroyed in vandalism. The fittings were mostly original architectural elements taken out of grand houses in England that were being torn down after WWI. WHITE&Allom were famous for their chimney piece’ and over mantels. Only one exists in the Stotesbury21 townhouse that’s now a wedding venue in downtown Philadelphia on Walnut Street. It is also very sad that colour photography wasn’t employed in the 1930 photographs of the interiors. However, one can gage the colors from the paintings today and artfully colour in the the black & white Hewett portraits. What was most unique about Whitemarsh Hall was its actually appropriate setting upon 400 acres, and surrounded by other Estates of also large acreage ,giving the verisimilitude of an English park. It is an huge loss to so many. It was supposed to be a satellite of the Philadelphia Museum of Art....similar to the Huntington Library at San Marina, Pasadena CA. (Same interior designer by the way) .

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