Historic du Pont House Reopens
Longwood Gardens, one of America’s horticultural treasures, has reopened the historical Peirce-du Pont House and unveiled the Longwood Heritage Exhibit, culminating a decade of planning and research into the 300-year history of the property.
The famed public gardens--about 1,050 acres covered with illuminated fountains, opulent conservatories, roses, orchids, waterlilies and 11,000 types of plants--draw visitors from all over the world to the Brandywine Valley, 30 miles west of Philadelphia. Now, after a two-year, $1.2-million renovation, guests also may walk through the spacious country house (pictured left) that was the weekend residence of industrial wizard and Longwood founder Pierre du Pont from 1906 until his death in 1954.
The display fills most of 10 rooms on the ground floor of the house, where visitors will be introduced to such architectural oddities as a bowling alley-turned-civil defense shelter, a glass-roofed aquarium and underground tunnels that housed safes.
Pierre du Pont--a cousin of Henry Francis du Pont who built the nearby Winterthur country estate--purchased the Longwood property to save its trees when they were about to be cut for timber. The gardens--both indoor and out--are open every day of the year, and show off well in each season.
Admission to Longwood costs $8 for adults ($6 on Tuesdays); $4 youths 16-20; $1 children 6-15, and free for kids under 6. Longwood is located on U.S. Route 1, three miles northeast of Kennett Square, Penn. Call 610-388-1000 for information.
