Some questions with answers about my home at 1260 County Line Road in Wayne, PA
Good morning, Graham!
THANK YOU for having me at 1260! Wow. It’s quite a property. It was such a relaxing place to wake up and look out on the beautiful Pennsylvania morning dew. The J.P. Morgan room, wow. And the family photo - you are such a stud! What a great photo. I love all of the tactical privacy that you’re creating with the landscaping. I have so many questions, maybe we could grab lunch and discuss?
- What was the demolition and re-installation process like for the J.P. Morgan paneling?
- Where did the J.P. Morgan paneling sit, was it in his private library in the 37th Street brownstone?
- The 15th century English stuff, what is the acquisition story there, of these pieces?
- The property is so interestingly situated, almost as a town green or something, prior to the 1930s, was it a park of some kind?
- On the landscaping, is it really meant to be a tree museum or collection of sorts, as I think you’ve mentioned, or what kinds of (if any) native plant selections have you employed on the property?
Thank you again for sharing this incredible space with me! Let’s have lunch soon so that I can hear more!!
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So happy to hear that you enjoyed it. Hope you will come back and even keep some clothes in the ample dressing rooms! My wife does not love it there so except for 30 days a year it is empty.
That being said I am planting over 100 trees on Tuesday and Wednesday and will be down for that with 10 Mexicans and an 80 year old white guy from Chester County who is a highly motivated seller and gifted with a skid steer. Titillating for me!
These are conifers - spruce, firs, pines, cedars, cyprus, champaecyparis, hemlocks from all over the world. Also some Magnolias, Beeches, Oaks and Japanese Cutleaf Maples. Native trees - Oaks and Beeches especially - are compelling but the sculptural, asymmetric appearance of evergreens are most alluring for me. So I plant them in groups of 3, 5, 7, 9 and 12 which highlights the species and creates a certain balance and equanimity for me. There is a masterpiece 70 year old European cut leaf beech on the property that is insane. Certainly one of the reasons that I bought the property. And the pair of 90 year old cherry trees with branches growing horizontally can be found nowhere else in the world. I paid 1.7m for 4.9 acres, put 2m into the restoration and 1m into the trees. So I am doomed to own it forever if I want to make a profit.
The J P Morgan panelling came out of the Morgan library when they remodeled a few years ago. Some smooth architect convinced the trustees to "remodel" which was tragic. My Equiorians did all the installation work and then Sothebys furniture restorer stained and polished the mahogany brilliantly. He was expensive but well worth it. The patina is perfect. An agent did the demo at the Library and sold to me for a low price. Maybe 150k for everything. It would have cost 500k to have it made and then wouldn't have the 100 year old patina.
The land was owned by the Van Pelts (the name of the Penn Library) who had 200 acres. It was sold off about 60 years ago. I will own the other Van Pelt home 200 yards away which was late 18th century.. Still trying to figure out how to plant that on 2.75 acres. Closing in 60 days.
Here is my paragraph about the paneling in the dressing and mud rooms:
Paneling in the mudroom is from a 16th century English home, the Guildford Estate which was originally owned by the industrialist George W. Elkins. Later English Tudor architectural elements imported from Guildford, England and meticulously carried from England to Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania were reassembled by European craftsmen at the Estate.
Have fun!
Graham
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