Philadelphia Story Estate is For Sale, Sort Of

Want to own a piece of movie history? The Montgomery family estate, as in Hope Montgomery, as in the model for the character in The Philadelphia Story is for sale, sort of.  For a cool $25 million the 17-acre parcel just outside of Philadelphia can be yours.

The estate was called 'Adrossan' after the family's ancestral home in Scotland; the main house was one of the last grand houses built on the Main Line before WWI.  But that's not for sale. The original Adrossan tract was about 800 acres.  In 1970, Radnor, PA obtained about 90 acres of the estate which became Skunk Hollow Park.  About 10 years ago two parcels totaling 293 acres were sold to individual owners on lots ranging from 10 to 25 acres.  The large manor house was built in 1911 and had 50 rooms, 13-foot high ceilings and a dining room that sat 30 people.

The real-life Tracy Lord was Helen Hope Montgomery Scott, a Philadelphia socialite and noted philanthropist whose spirited antics made her the darling of the city’s aristocracy. In her youth, Montgomery Scott often got herself into the pages of the nascent tabloid industry, dancing the Charleston with Josephine Baker in Paris and fox-trotting with the Duke of Windsor at the El Morocco nightclub.

Montgomery Scott was also quite the equestrienne, competing in fox-hunting and show jumping throughout her life, and eventually serving as the director of the U.S. Equestrian Team and the American Horse Show Association. To that end, the Montgomery family estate had large stables. Now, the beloved stables of Adrossan are on the market – but not as housing for four-footed friends. Instead, the fieldstone stables have been carefully transformed into 17-acre compound and are now on the market for $25 million.

You can see the Realtor.com listing here for more details:


http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/770-Godfrey-Rd_Villanova_PA_19085_M37395-59203