Shrines and Sunken Gardens at Mount Assisi

Our club scheduled a field trip to see the gardens here. But first a little history…

The Saint Francis Friary at Mount Assisi was once owned by Charles Schwab, who was the first president of the US Steel Corporation and later worked at Bethlehem Steel to lead them as the second largest steel maker in the US.

Schwab was raised in Loretto and as an adult built a summer estate on 1000 acres to escape New York City for relaxation. The mansion is currently home to the Franciscan Monks at Mount Assisi. It was designed by Richard Henry Dana Jr., the grandson of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and completed in 1919. The ‘modest’ 44-room Limestone Castle, was half the size of Schwab’s NYC mansion. He enjoyed the home for 10 years until the stock market crash of 1929. Schwab passed away on September 18, 1939 and is interred in a private mausoleum at the Saint Michael Catholic Church Cemetery in Loretto. Friends of Saint Francis College acquired the property in 1942.

The gardens are open to the public throughout the year and were designed by landscape engineer Charles Wellford Leavitt Jr. whose works include Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. The 3.5-acre symmetrical gardens include bulbs, perennials, flowering shrubs, wisteria, fountains and pergolas dating back more than 100 years.

Schwab named his home Immergrun, or Evergreen. The garden entrance is through a small gate, opening into a sacred space that can be explored on a series of stone paths under the oval-shaped stone sculptured hardscape that supports very old wisteria. The Franciscans added the religious statues and shrines. At either end of the rectangular gardens, the curved walkways house the Stations of the Cross. A rock garden on the NE side includes the statue of Saint Michael the Archangel. Small ponds and fountains in the center lead to the view of Schwab’s Limestone Castle above an ornate limestone staircase. In 1950 the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima was added. The fountain grotto is operational when mass services are conducted on the grounds. It has been reported that 5,000 gallons of water leak from structural cracks on the days of use.

A video of the grounds, known as Immergren, was filmed by a Facebook Nanty Glo Home Page.

Immergren- Charles Schwab Estate

in Loretto PA

There are countless things to see on this estate. There are a variety of perennials, shrubs, trees, fountains, pools, ponds, statues, shrines, and rock gardens. Sue Konvolinka previewed the site at the end of May; our visit was on June 12. These pictures are from both the end of May and our visit in June.

Flowers in bloom at the end of May.

Wisteria

Supported by stone hardscape from our visit in June.

Clematis

Pergolas with red and purple clematis growing on the sides.

Beautiful ponds with sculptured shrubs and a view of the mansion above.

Peonies, hostas, tulips, foxglove, rhododendron and a view of the exit.

Some of the structures were on the estate when the property was acquired in 1942. The Franciscans added the religious statues and shrines.

Garden Club members and Terri Terndrup, a registered yoga instructor who shared Yoga Stretches for the Gardener before our trip, enjoy a rainy walk around Mount Assisi. We met for lunch at Kosta’s in Ebensburg afterwards.