It always saddens me to hear about developers wanting to raze amazing, historically important architecture in order to make room for yet another McMansion. Meet La Ronda, located in Bryn Mawr, PA which was the last commission of the famous architect Addison Mizner in 1929. It’s a grand example of his work, not often found in the northeast, as he designed mostly in the southern states. My good friend Audra (from here and here) alerted me ot this story in which she is personally involved, as her grandfather’s company built La Ronda. The new owners are planning to tear down the property because, well, it doesn’t have A/C. No, I’m not kidding. While I understand the need for air conditioning, I am pretty certain that they figured out how to put it into other Mizner properties without tearing them down.
Read the article here about how preservationists are trying to save La Ronda from being destroyed. If you are in the area and want to help save this historically important building you can attend a meeting on June 3rd at 7pm at the Lower Merion Township Building in Ardmore – 75 East Lancaster Avenue.
There are ways of preserving the architecture of Mizner while moving into the 21st century- just look at the Boca Raton Club, one of the brightest jewels in Mizner’s crown. Respecting his work, they simply renovated and added onto the property to modernize the function and form of it while using his style as a guide. It look fabulous now (and check out the new Serendipity they just opened there, same as the famous one in NYC)
Serendipity :)
Also, a property very close to my husband’s family’s heart- The Cloister at Sea Island was designed by Mizner and recently renovated.
I really hope that people will continue to respect the beauty and importance of old buildings and maintain and preserve rather than destroy.
what a shame! and for air conditioning?! i bet that house is a lot cooler in the summer than mine here on the north shore coast….i have a cousin in bryn mawr i will have to tell her about this so she can help spread the word.
Beautiful Post! I couldn’t agree with you more… these buildings need to be preserved! They are Art!
I had no idea there was a Mizner in Bryn Mawr! I went to Villanova and lived in an apartment in Bryn Mawr for 2 years. My fiance and I will be back that June weekend for our 10 year reunion. Perhaps I should go a day early and participate in a little cultural activism :)
How serendipitous that we are getting married at Sea Island too!
You can still rent cottages designed by him. We peeked in Cottage 24 when looking for places for his parents to stay during the wedding. It is darling. Less than 75 yards from the beach with a pool and everything. They seemed to have put AC in there just fine.
http://www.seaislandcottages.com/content/contentct.asp?p=49&pid=182
I can not in my wildest dreams imagine tearing down that beautiful house! Sea Island has always been a favorite of ours!!
I can’t even imagine someone being so stupid as to destroy such a work of art. They should be ashamed of themselves.
What a beautiful home! How could anyone in their right mind want to destroy it?? It just sickens me when people destroy the beautiful old buildings. =( Those are the buildings that add character to an otherwise bleak cityscape! (or neighborhood =])
Oh my god that is so offensive! I know they own the house and all, but if you didn’t appreciate it why on earth would you buy a property like that in the first place?!
This makes me sick. I will pass it along and help to try and get the word out. I really hope that this home is saved. Have you thought about sending it into “This Old House”. They do a spread in every magazine issue and on there website about homes to save. This is a beautiful home. Thanks for sharing.
thank you for mentioning this -i hadn’t heard of it! Things like this are so important to save! I’ll post a link myself!
I just emailed all of the commissioners in that area who also wish to save it but say that legally they’re not sure much can be done. I found out the local conservancy group is also putting in an effort to find a conservation minded owner to buy the property. You can contact them to see how you can help at
LMC@dragonfly.org
Are they insane???? The new owners have their priorities wrong.
I cannot even imagine tearing down something this beautiful. I wish more people had the mindset that you do!
yes I think they are insane. why buy it in the first place. someone needs to stop these idiots.
ArchitectDesign- nice investigative work- thanks!
Actually, the Sea Island Company tore down the original Cloister in 2003 and built a new one in the style of Mizner.
It's a nice place, but it's a new building, not a preserved or renovated version of the original.
http://books.google.com/books?id=JKnZ_Nx7jSYC&pg=PA173&lpg=PA173&dq=cloister+sea+island+torn+down&source=bl&ots=5B_mEDQkmu&sig=m9UqO0k6jJm8hkxAtEG8dZaNKaY&hl=en&ei=wgkSSvG3C4yq8AT2pvShBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3
I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but I have to make a correction: Unfortunately, The Cloister at Sea Island is NOT a restoration of the Mizner building. The Mizner building was demolished and replaced with an architecturally inferior ‘old Florida Spanish’ pastiche, retaining a few original elements, and almost none of Mizner’s sense of scale and detail.
As for La Ronda, it is just INSANE to me that people would buy such a significant property to tear down. Surely there are other properties in the area that could better suit their needs.
I am so glad to see this blog and all of the sensible comments. My grandparents, mother, and aunts would be pleased to see the groundswell of support for saving their beautiful former home. There seem so many potentially excellent uses for La Ronda. My cousin, siblings, and I are supportive but the situation is becoming dire. Sadly, I am at a loss, as to what to concretely do, and hope some meaningful action may occur as a result of this blog and other efforts. Thank you, all, for your rationality.
Thank you for all of the attention and concern for La Ronda. The hearing is at 6:30pm June 3rd at the Lower Merion Township Building on Lancaster Avenue. Please attend and show your support!
http://www.lowermerion.org/index.aspx?recordid=1671&page=51
Save this wonderful addison mizner creation ! It would be a travesty
to destroy.
the owner of the home is joe kestenbaum … call him
Joseph Kestenbaum – current mysterious owner of La Ronda? Is this certain?
How much is the current asking price for the property?
Tonight on NBC 10 (Philadelphia local news) they said that a man from Palm Beach offered to BUY the mansion and MOVE it at his expense leaving the new owners a vacant lot. The new owners refused his offer. Are they serious?!?
Send the owner a note. I tried to be civil… the guy is head of an investment firm. I don't like seeing what he does with a treasure!
jdk@marshhawkcm.com
Joseph D. Kestenbaum, President and Chief Executive Officer
http://www.marshhawkcm.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt0es94jSIQ
http://www.saveardmorecoalition.org/node/3537
See these links for important news about protest Monday Augusy 31st, 2009 at 4 pm at La Ronda
Love your blog [by the way], and wanted to provide an update to this wonderful post of yours about La Ronda — the stay of demolition is about to run out. There's a rally planned on Monday, August 31 to try an 11th hour appeal to the owner to not demolish. The below is from "Save La Ronda Now" organization — perhaps you might do an updated post? The cause needs all the help it can get, and as many rally attendees as possible for tv cameras, etc.
"Stand up and be heard! Join local media and concerned citizens Monday evening August 31, 2009 at 4pm as we make a direct appeal to the owner of La Ronda to preserve this magnificent home. Come to La Ronda at 1030 Mount Pleasant Road in Bryn Mawr on the eve of the day that demolition may begin and stand united with others as we attach a name to the mysterious owner. Tell the owner that destroying La Ronda is totally unacceptable. Local media will be there to cover this event. Please sign up here (you can do so anonymously) to show your support and to commit to attending. Please tell your friends. We would love to have at least 100 people there to send the message that this community values La Ronda."
By the way, I'd like to link to this post from my site. I assume you won't mind, but let me know if you do.
* Erin, I could N*O*T believe I was reading that correctly!
Short & simple: Tearing down a Mizner ANYTHING, to me, is akin to oh, let's say shaving your head because you found a gray hair!!! (Not too eloguently stated, but you get my drift I would think!)~
It also probably ASSURES a place in hell when you "go"~~~ and an even UGLIER one than the OTHERS who "reside" there!!!
NOPE! I WON"T ACCEPT… CAN'T ever UNDERSTAND someone doing this… talk about "stupid, stupid, stupid!"~~~
Wish I could fly there for that meeting!!!~ HOPE MANY D*O!!!
Warmly,
Linda in AZ *
He bought it and it is his. Let he do what he wants to do with it. This is still America last time I checked, rite?
We need to preserve our heritage. Destroying La Ronda would be a tragedy.
I reluctantly pass on that the demolition of La Ronda started today.
http://www.saveardmorecoalition.org/node/3679
Only the tower and part of a library remain… it's unbelievable that this happened… reminds me of what happened to the famous Penn Station in New York…
I am disgusted…