At the turn of the 20th century, Philadelphia’s elite built summer homes along the Main Line of the Philadelphia Railroad to escape the city heat. While many of these homes still stand in public and private use, the Chanticleer Estate has a unique second-life as a horticultural hotspot for the region. The original owners of the Chanticleer estate were Adolph Rosengarten Sr. and his wife, Christine Penrose. Rosengarten owned a prosperous pharmaceutical company that would later merge with Merck & Co. They hired local architect and friend Charles L. Borie…
