10/06/2026
🏆 Trumbauer Tuesdays 🏆 2025 WINNER - Historic Preservation - Krisheim in Philadelphia, PA by John Milner Architects, Inc.
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George and Gertrude Woodward set their 40 acre estate, “Krisheim,” in Philadelphia’s Chestnut Hill neighborhood at the center of a community they helped to shape. The c1912 Jacobean revival house was designed by Peabody and Stearns. Ten years prior, Olmsted Brothers Landscape Architects were enlisted to create a woodland and formal landscape so that, upon completion, the house would be nestled within a mature setting. The 28,000-square foot home features important examples of Yellin ironwork, Mercer tile, Willet leaded glass, and Violet Oakley murals. In the 1960s, the family donated the house to the Presbyterian Church. By the 1980s, it was renovated to create ten apartments. During its institutional and multi-family use, unsympathetic additions had significantly altered the home’s appearance.
In 2014, the family decided to restore the building to a single-family home. The painstaking five-year project included the removal of a four-story masonry egress tower, which required the reconstruction of the southeast façade. New Wissahickon schist and limestone masonry was meticulously detailed with hand-tooled patterns and textures. A second-floor porch was reconstructed, and the first-floor masonry porch was extended to its original width. The historic copper skylight was carefully replicated using the original glass panes. Historic materials were restored and reinstalled, including leaded steel casement windows and 1.5” thick slate roof tiles. Outdated building systems were removed, and new energy-efficient systems were skillfully integrated. The family’s collection of original art and furnishings were reinstalled using historic photos as a guide, neatly bringing the past into the present.
📸: John Milner Architects, Inc.
