Written by Richard L. Hart, Director Emeritus of the John M. Lilley Library at Penn State Behrend, Glenhill Farm details the story of the Behrend family estate as revealed in the correspondence between the architect, R. Brognard Okie and Ernst and Mary Behrend.
By 1930, having developed a highly successful business, the innovative paper manufacturer Ernst Behrend and his wife Mary purchased a number of existing houses and farms to give them sufficient acreage to create a large estate. In 1948 this property became a campus of Penn State University. Known as Penn State Behrend, to this day it retains the original buildings at the historic center of the campus.
Based on archival materials, including copious letters between the Behrends and their Philadelphia architect, R. Brognard Okie, this book recounts the planning and development of a unique residence.
Letters between the key figures give the reader a glimpse into their thoughts and concerns, including the selection of an architect, the choice of an architectural style, issues involved in planning the estate, and the features and design of the buildings that were constructed or modified. Vintage and modern photographs help convey the nature of the buildings that Okie designed as well as a sense of the Behrends’ lifestyle in the 1930s.
An absorbing micro-history of what is now Behrend College, Glenhill Farm provides a window onto a period when new money from industry supported lavish lifestyles, and it reveals how this particular project, conceived and constructed during the Great Depression, was affected by its extraordinary economic circumstances.
The 148-page hardcover book is available for $24.95 through http://www.psupress.org