![]() Ronald J Sheehan serves as executive director of the Mansion Museum as is in charge of overall administration of the National Historic Landmark property. The home is owned by the town of Jim Thorpe and financially controlled by the Jim Thorpe Lions Club. It was opened for tours on Memorial Day of 1956. The Jim Thorpe Lions Club, looking to sponsor a new community project, approached the borough about opening the home. The borough, not certain what to do with the home, closed it, and for 44 years the home sat idle. Packer's daughter (who could not inherit his estate unless she entered into an arranged marriage) in 1912, the home was willed to the Borough of Mauch Chunk to remain as a memorial to her father and his many accomplishments. ![]() Upon the death of Mary Packer Cummings, Mr. The original furnishings are reflective of the Packer's wealth and remains as part of the preservation of the mansion. The mansion is also filled with many distinct details including Gothic gingerbread trefoil motifs and window arches, and exquisitely carved panelling. The mansion is embellished with marble fireplaces and gilded mirrors, mostly added for the Packers' Golden Wedding Anniversary on January 23, 1878. The house bears a strong resemblance to a design published by Sloan in his 1852 Model Architect, in which he promoted the Italian Villa style. It took Sloan approximately two years to complete the 11,000 square foot mansion. The architect was Samuel Sloan of Philadelphia who also designed the Southern Mansion Hotel in Cape May, New Jersey, and Longwood in Natchez, Mississippi. Packer commissioned it to be built in what was then the Borough of Mauch Chunk. The interior is also lavishly appointed, retaining original woodwork, features and period furnishings. The porch has elaborate Italianate details, including arched valances with lacework in the spandrels, and lacework balustrades on the second floor. The main three-story block is extended to either side by smaller blocks ending in bowed segments. Both the main roof and porch roof have extended eaves with brackets, and the main roof is capped by a cupola. It contains a total of three stories, 18 rooms, a red-ribbed tin roof, and a two-story covered porch. The Asa Packer Mansion was built over a cast iron frame and cost $14,000 dollars. The home of Packer's son, the Harry Packer Mansion, designed by Sloan's protegee Addison Hutton, is next door on the same road. The Asa Packer Mansion is located near Jim Thorpe's historic downtown Broadway area, on a terrace overlooking the Lehigh River on the west side of Packer Hill Avenue. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1985. The mansion is one of the best preserved Italianate Villa homes in the United States, with original Victorian furnishings and finishes. Asa Packer was also a major contributor in the Lehigh Valley Railroad system. Completed in 1861, it was the home of Asa Packer (1805–1879), a coal and railroad magnate, philanthropist, and founder of Lehigh University. The Asa Packer Mansion is a historic house museum on Packer Road in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, United States.
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