#3901 Henry Avenue

[princessgracekelly1956]

Above: A photo on display in the restored Kelly family home, 2020. Albert II, Prince of Monaco purchased the house in 2016 after it had been out of the family for 40 years. (screencap: Elle s'appelait Grace Kelly)

The photo is of members of the Kelly family attending the Womens Medical College Spring Fete, Philadelphia, May 1955. From left: Meg Davis, Grace Kelly, Margaret Kelly, Peggy Davis, and Lizanne Kelly.

[gracie-bird]

                            A PRINCESS CRIES, TOO.

For Grace Kelly, it was a phone call that turned into nightmare - a nightmare that every daughter must one day face when she hears the words, “Your father is dead!”.

Three-years-old Princess Caroline called again from the nursery, as her parents were going down to dinner. Prince Rainier shocked his head firmly.  

“We mustn't give in to her everytime she calls us,” - he said to Princess Grace. “It is a lesson she has to learn”.

But Grace smiled gently and said, “Please go to her, once more. I know how a little girl feels when she needs to be reassured that her father is still there”.

She waited outside the nursery while Rainier entered the pretty, white room. Soon he came out again, and together they went down to their private dining room. As they walked through the wide halls of the huge old palace, Grace thought fondly of the Kelly house on Henry Avenue in Philadelphia. She had been there less than a week before. But this great forbidding palace, more like an office building than a home, was her real home now. And she was very happy there.

“Are you worrying about your father?” Prince Rainier asked. “But he is recovering wonderfully now.”

“Yes”, said Grace, “thank God...” She was interrupted by her secretary, who met them as they entered the dining room, her face strangely pale.

“Your Highness, please - I beg your pardon - please come to the telephone. It’s Philadelphia calling”. 

Princess Grace rose silently from the table where she had just been seated. Rainier rushed to hold her arm, for the blood seemed to have drained from her face. Together they went into the studyi adjoining the dining room.

She picked up the receiver. The prince still held his hand gently on her shoulder. “Hello”, she said softly. “Yes... hello, Mother, what - oh, God, oh dear God...” She sank into a big leather chair. The Prince knelt beside her, holding her tree hand to both of him.

“Did he suffer at the end, Mother? ... Did he know? ... Yes, yes, Mother, of course... I´ll come as soon as I can... Yes... Good-bye, dear... Good-by”.

Very gently, Rainier took the phone from her limp hand and placed it on the table. Grace did not raise her head. The late une sunset was darkening the room, and the last rays of light faded as they sat there quietly, without speaking. Rainier held his wife in his arms and she ... (Please turn to page 85).

[graceandfamily]

Etats-Unis- 20 Avril 1963- Voyage de la famille princière DE MONACO: à Philadelphie, au 3901 Henry Avenue, dans la propriété familiale de GRACE, la famille DE MONACO se promène dans le parc.

[myphillyrealty]

Grace Kelly’s Philly home to reopen to public in 2018

According to her son, Prince Albert

Grace Kelly’s childhood home in East Falls will reopen to the public in 2018 or earlier, according to her son and the home’s new owner, Prince Albert of Monaco.

The prince told People magazine earlier this week that public events will be an integral part of the home’s refitting. But, he said, it will not function solely as a museum because he wants to respect the mostly residential neighborhood.

The home at 3901 Henry Avenue will serve as regional offices for the Prince Grace Foundation, as well as an exchange program with the Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco.

The news comes just months after the prince confirmed that he had bought Kelly’s childhood home in October 2016 for $755,000 (though he had some stiff competition from other potential buyers). The elegant home, which Kelly’s father built in 1935, originally listed in June for $1 million, as Curbed Philly first reported.

Prince Albert visited the home soon after purchasing it for an inspection. He told People, “I hadn’t seen the house in a good many summers and some of it is in relatively good shape. The previous owner hadn’t touched some parts in 40 years. Other parts need great work.”

The 6,000-square-foot property had undergone some neglect under a previous owner, who had been living in “unsanitary” conditions for years. It was found infested with cats in 2013.

While there’s no set opening date, the prince said, “To give ourselves enough room, I’m saying a year but it could be less than that. To give you an answer, 2018, possibly earlier.”

Below are the home’s original listing photos.

Grace Kelly’s Philadephia home to re-open to public in 2018

Prince Albert had to compete with other buyers for Grace Kelly’s home [Curbed Philly]

Prince Albert of Monaco bought Grace Kelly’s childhood home in East Falls [Curbed Philly]

Grace Kelly’s home down to $750K after yet another pricechop [Curbed Philly]

Grace Kelly’s home gets $150K pricechop [Curbed Philly]

Princess Grace Kelly’s childhood home is for sale [Curbed Philly]

from http://philly.curbed.com/

The post Grace Kelly’s Philly home to reopen to public in 2018 appeared first on MyPhillyRealty.

http://myphillyrealty.com/2017/02/01/grace-kellys-philly-home-to-reopen-to-public-in-2018/

[gracefilm]

Princess Grace of Monaco steps out of the door of her childhood home in Philadelphia during a trip to the United States in 1959.

[princessgracekelly1956]

Above: A painting of Margaret Kelly at the Kelly family home, 2020. Margaret’s grandson Albert II, Prince of Monaco purchased the house in 2016 after it had been out of the family for 40 years. (screencap: Elle s'appelait Grace Kelly)

Below: Margaret, with daughters Lizanne and Grace, in front of the portrait in the Kelly home in 1954.

[gracie-bird]

The house that Kelly built: 3901 Henry Avenue, in the Falls of Schuylkill section of Philadelphia. This was the mecca for Grace´s numerous teenage beaux. Jan 16, 1956.  (eBay).

[princessgracekelly1956]

Grace Kelly's granddaughter Jazmin Grimaldi visits 3901 Henry Avenue, the Kelly family home in Philadelphia (Sept. 2019) 

[gracie-bird]

The door where all the Kellys marked their heights each year at their home in Philadelhia.

[princessgracekelly1956]

‘Toward the end of June, Grace went to Philadelphia to be maid of honor when her younger sister, Lizanne, married Don LeVine. Their older sister, Peggy, was matron of honor. Peggy’s two daughters, Meg and Mary Lee, were the flower girls. There is a photo of the women in the wedding party taken at the base of the Kellys’ staircase. All the girls are attractive, the three Kelly girls beautiful. The five attendants are dressed exactly alike. You would be hard-pressed to know that one of them was the leading movie celebrity in the world. Grace looked merely like a very pretty girl from a nice family in Philadelphia who was one of the gang.’

 - Judith Balaban Quine (The Bridesmaids: Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco and Six Intimate Friends, 1989)

[princessgracekelly1956]

The Philadelphia Inquirer - November 18 1958

[princessgracekelly1956]

Above: A portrait of Margaret Kelly (on her wedding day in 1924) at the Kelly family home, 2020. Margaret’s grandson Albert II, Prince of Monaco purchased the house in 2016 after it had been out of the family for 40 years. (screencap: Elle s'appelait Grace Kelly)