![]() It is located in the Old Mauch Chunk Historic District. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, and was further declared a National Historic Landmark in 1985. Bretzik is the Director and Historian of the Mansion Museum and oversees the day-to-day operations.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, 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 house bears a strong resemblance to a design published by Sloan in his 1852 Model Architect, in which he promoted the Italian Villa style. 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. ![]() Packer’s mansion, an opulent Victorian Italianate villa, was first built in 1861 and is open to the public for tours that give insight into Packer’s personal history, as well as his contributions to society. The porch has elaborate Italianate details, including arched valances with lacework in the spandrels, and lacework balustrades on the second floor. Asa Packer was a well-known businessman, politician, and philanthropist who helped shape the Poconos region into an industrial and educational powerhouse. 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. The Asa Packer Mansion is a three-story seventeen-room mansion, with a two-story covered porch. 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. ![]()
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