Asa Packer Mansion
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Asa Packer Mansion
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Asa Packer Mansion, September 2004
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| Location | Packer Hill Ave., Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania |
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| Coordinates | 40°51′52″N 75°44′18″W / 40.86444°N 75.73833°WCoordinates: 40°51′52″N 75°44′18″W / 40.86444°N 75.73833°W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1852 |
| Architect | Samuel Sloan |
| Architectural style | Italianate, Other |
| NRHP Reference # | 74001765 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | December 30, 1974 |
| Designated NHL | February 4, 1985 |
| Designated PHMC | May 14, 1971 |
The Asa Packer Mansion is a historic house museum on Packer Road in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, United States. Completed in 1861, it was the home of Asa Packer (1805–1879), a coal and railroad magnate and founder of Lehigh University. It is one of the best preserved Italianate Villa homes in the United States, with original Victorian furnishings and finishes. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1985.
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. 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 a three-story seventeen-room mansion, with a two-story covered porch. Both the main roof and porch roof have extended eaves with brackets, and the main roof is capped by a cupola. The main three-story block is extended to either side by smaller blocks ending in bowed segments. The porch has elaborate Italianate details, including arched valances with lacework in the spandrels, and lacework balustrades on the second floor. The interior is also lavishly appointed, retaining original woodwork, features and period furnishings.
Packer commissioned it to be built in what was then the Borough of Mauch Chunk. It was completed in 1861. The architect was Samuel Sloan of Philadelphia who also designed the Southern Mansion Hotel in Cape May, New Jersey, and Longwood in Natchez, Mississippi. 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.
Upon the death of Mary Packer Cummings, Mr. Packer's daughter, the home was willed to the Borough of Mauch Chunk to remain as a memorial to her father and his many accomplishments. The borough, not certain what to do with the home, closed it, and for 44 years the home sat idle. The Jim Thorpe Lions Club, looking to sponsor a new community project, approached the borough about opening the home. It was opened for tours on Memorial Day of 1956.
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