6. The Ballroom Used to Be a Library
The ballroom of Lynnewood Hall is perhaps the grandest space in the home. Decorated in a Louis XIV style, it’s covered with walnut paneling that is adorned with ornate gold leaf details. And just look at that ceiling! The central mural that hangs above is believed to be from the 17th century and comes from an Italian villa. This room hosted extravagant balls in the time of both Peter’s and his son Joseph’s residency. However, before the raucous costume balls and performances by the Philadelphia Philharmonic Orchestra, this room was much quieter.
It was originally a library. The walls were covered in velvet and there were built-in bookshelves at the four corners of the room. It was converted into a ballroom around 1912. The blocked-off entryway you see in the photo above used to lead out into the conservatory. If you were to walk from there to the second conservatory on the opposite end of the home, you would cover 268 feet, one of the longest residential enfilades in the country.
