Main Line Monday: Greta Garbo Might Have Lived in This Gladwyne Manse If …

TREND images via Zillow.com

When it comes down to it, Greta Garbo really might have lived in any one of the Main Line’s grand mansions had she elected to grace the area with her presence every now and then. But according to hearsay that’s been passed down through the decades, “River House,” a Schuylkill River-side residence in Gladwyne, this is the one she might have lived in. Per the listing:

Legend has it that “River House” was built for Leopold Stokowski, director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and his lover, famed film star, Greta Garbo, but following a disagreement, they never acquired the home.

We can’t vouch for that conjecture, but it is true that Stokowski and Garbo appeared to have been friends and travel companions.  In any case, River House went on to belong to another set of artistic types, in this case Helen Tyson Madeira and Louis C. Madeira IV. The Madeiras, who purchased the property in 1940, lived there “for nearly three-quarters of a century.” Now, the home is on the market for the first time since they acquired it.

Interior notes include exposed beams, plaster moldings, pickled trusses, and floor-to-ceiling windows. The library, a room featuring hand-crafted American cherry wood paneling, includes a hide-away wet bar and an eastern exposure facing a bluestone terrace.

Hand-pegged wood floors are spread out through the oval-shaped formal dining room, which has two storage closets outfitted for holding silver and linens respectively. The second-level houses a deluxe master suite with dressing rooms and his & her baths, as well as six bedrooms. The entire property is comprised of 25 landscaped acres and connects to bridle wild trails. Parking consists of a four-plus-car garage. Specs and photos below.

THE FINE PRINT
Beds: 7
Baths: 7 full, 2 half
Square feet: 8,018
Price: $3,575,000

TREND images via Zillow.

Listing: 1600 Monk Rd, Gladwyne, PA, 19035 [BHHS Fox & Roach-Bryn Mawr]