The Halkett Mansion

A discussion on the Ridley Park Online discussion forum got me agitated once again by some of the neglect that still occurs in town. There are still some amazing mansions in Ridley Park that have not been torn down. Sadly, the best ones are suffering from severe neglect. Even worse, they have the same owner who doesn't even care and the borough seems powerless to do anything to change the situation. The first one is the Halkett mansion at 100 Swarthmore Ave. Built in 1907 by Price & McLanahan architects on the site of the old Ridely Park Hotel, it is heavily influenced by the arts & crafts movement. The back wall has 2 stories of divided light panes which I assume is the main staircase. There is a stained glass vine pattern that works it's way up through these panes. At night you can really see it good. The carriage house in the back used to feature a glass solarium roof. It has been verified that there is even a pool in the basement! Eventually it was divided up into at least 8-9 apartments from looking at the meterboard outside. Now it sits pretty much empty for as long as I have been fascinated by it.

I even have some postcards from this amazing house.