Estate Medieval Castle & Cathedral Tour

Day 1

Our day begins with a fast-food rest stop enroute to the village of Bryn Athyn, once home to industrialist John Pitcairn, founder of PPG and Westinghouse. At age 14, Pitcairn went to work for the Pennsylvania Railroad. Through hard work and perseverance, he later organized Westinghouse Company, helped develop the U.S. natural gas industry, invested in oil and eventually founded Pittsburgh Plate Glass (PPG). In the late 19th-century, John purchased 35-acres of land in Bryn Athyn, PA and became one of the 12 founding members of the community and also set up his family residence in the village. Glencairn, Cairnwood and the Cathedral were all built between 1892 and 1938.

Our first tour is of Pitcairn's residence, a Beaux-Arts mansion known simply as Cairnwood. Cairnwood evokes grandeur of a bygone age with its most striking feature being that of an octagonal tower with a high-pitched roof. At the top of the tower is the family chapel, placed at the highest point in the house so that the worshipers face east. A boxed lunch will be included in the Garden House at Cairnwood.

Following lunch, we will take a guided tour of the Bryn Athyn Cathedral. An aspect of the cathedral, which is quite unusual, is that asymmetries and irregularities were planned into the building as it was built. Pitcairn believed that creative changes by builders and artists inevitably happen during the design process and they should be nurtured rather than thwarted. Thus, there are no right angles or straight lines, the walls of the building are skewed against each other, bowing out in the middle only to return at the opposite wall.

Our final tour will be of Glencairn, home of Pitcairn's son Raymond and his family. The building now serves as a museum of religious art and history while honoring and educating visitors with the religious traditions of people through the ages. Marvel at the awe-inspiring architecture and spectacular views of Philadelphia within the towers of Glencairn and Cairnwood.

At the conclusion of the tour, we will return home with a dinner stop at your expense enroute.

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***ALL WOLF'S TOURS - TIMES AND ITINERARY SUBJECT TO CHANGE***

BL=Boxed Lunch