Jaw Dropper of the Week: Art Collector’s Society Hill Home Listed For $5.775M

It was practically made to display art.

TREND images via BHHS Fox & Roach-CC Rittenhouse Hotel / Zillow.com

TREND images via BHHS Fox & Roach-CC Rittenhouse Hotel / Zillow.com

Much like the museum-like Delancey Place residence we featured last week, today’s jaw-dropper is a home with a unique relationship to art: the Society Hill dwelling was originally owned by an art collector who took great care to incorporate his collection into his home’s appearance.

Situated on four combined lots (they total to roughly 10,000 square feet), late Penn Jersey Subaru founder Robert S. Lee actually commissioned the construction of his Pine Street house back in the early 1990s. Although officially designed by Stephen Varenhorst Architects, the R. Lee Residence was heavily shaped by Lee and his wife Gabriele, an interior architect. “They happened to have a large art collection and wanted a lot of light and a lot of walls, so it was kind of a balancing act to work it out,” Varenhorst said of the couple’s vision in a 1999 Inquirer article.

Indeed, listing agent Laurie Phillips says that another layer of wood was added along the walls of the first floor “to accommodate the paintings.”  This accommodation has been great for the similarly art-inclined, it seems, because, as Phillips told Property, the second owners also happened to be avid art collectors, particularly of the modern variety.

Including the finished basement, the slightly horse shoe-shaped residence rounds out to more than 8,000 square feet. Details include a four-level elevator (that includes the lower-level), central courtyard surrounded by glass & steel doors (the main spaces and master suite with balcony look out to it), and a Poggenpohl kitchen. Oak floors are throughout and there are two fireplaces. A solarium with balcony can also be found on the third floor.

Specs and photos below.

THE FINE PRINT
Beds: 4
Baths: 3 full, 2 half
Square feet: 6,624
Price: $5,775,000
Parking: Three-car gated parking, two spaces with overhead covering



Listing: 607-13 Pine St, Philadelphia, PA, 19106 [BHHS Fox & Roach-CC Rittenhouse Hotel]