Designed by renowned architect Horace Trumbauer in 1896, the Elkins Estate boasts two of only a few surviving examples of retreat homes in Elkins Park, an area that once provided a popular refuge for the Philadelphia’s wealthiest businessmen and their families. This 42-acre oasis was the country sanctuary of Philadelphia, PA entrepreneur William L. Elkins. In the 1930’s the Elkins family sold the retreat to the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine de Ricci, who maintained the Estate as a women retreat for for 75 years.