The House of P. A. B. Widener, Esq. 



Ashbourne, Pennsylvania 



HE magnificent residence of Mr. P. A. B. Widener, at Ashbourne, Pennsylvania, is one 

 of the most sumptuovis hovises in the immediate neighborhood of Philadelphia. It 

 is a house of the largest size, truly palatial in its dimensions, quite soberly treated, 

 dignified, with a stately portico as the conspicuous feature of the main front. The 

 porches, indeed, constitute the chief external adornment, for the front walls are plain, with 

 widely spaced pilasters, each panel containing two windows in somewhat severe frames. This 

 motif is carried wholly around the house, the various fronts difiiering only from the main front 

 in the spacing of the pilasters, the arrangement of the windows, and the size and shape of the 

 porches. A high balustrade completely surrounds the roof line, save where it is interrupted 

 bv the entrance portico. 



The very spacious grounds are beautifully developed as an Italian garden, with the 

 architectural accompaniments of retaining-walls, steps, balustrades, and other adjuncts which 

 are so essential to gar- 

 dening of this kind, but 

 which are seldom carried 

 out on a scale so truly 

 grand as here. The beau- 

 tiful lawns, the beds and 

 banks of flowers, the 

 palms, hydrangeas, bay 

 trees, and other plants 

 in tubs and jars, are 

 arranged in excellent 

 taste, and form a fine 

 environment for the 

 great house to which 

 they belong. 



The palatial grandeur 

 that the exterior so well 

 expresses is richly de- 

 veloped within. The hall 

 occupies the center of 

 the house, and is a THE HOUSE OF P. A. B. WIDENER, ESQ. 



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