Cabrini mansion listed as historic
The estate is named to National Register.
The centerpiece of Cabrini College - the Horace Trumbauer-designed Woodcrest Estate Mansion - has been named to the National Register of Historic Places, the university announced yesterday.
The mansion was built in 1901-03 for financial leader James W. Paul Jr., son-in-law of Philadelphia financier Anthony Drexel, and many of its 51 rooms remain virtually unchanged. Most of the interior was restored for the college's 50th anniversary in 2007-08.
The Catholic college in Radnor uses the mansion for formal and informal events for students and alumni and fine arts concerts. It also houses administrative offices, including the president's office.
In 1925, the Paul family sold the house and 120 acres of the estate to John T. Dorrance, president of Campbell Soup Co. The Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1953 purchased the property for use as an orphanage.
Four years later, the sisters founded Cabrini, and used the mansion as the school's primary academic and residential building during its first decade.