#5462
2020 55¢ American Gardens: Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens
Value: 55¢ 1-ounce First-class rate (Forever)
Issue Date: May 13, 2020
First Day City: Winterthur, DE
Type of Stamp: Commemorative
Printed by: Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method: Offset
Format: Pane of 20
Self-Adhesive
Quantity Printed: 50,000,000
Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens is a 70-acre estate in Akron, Ohio. It is a National Historic Landmark and was built from 1912 to 1915 by F.A. Seiberling – cofounder of Goodyear Tire and Rubber.
Seiberling and his wife, Gertrude Penfield, named their home after the Old English phrase for “stone quarry,” due to an abandoned stone quarry nearby. The Seiberlings enlisted some of the greatest names in architecture and landscaping to build their estate. The team included Boston landscape designer Warren Manning, New York City interior designer Warren Manning, New York City interior designer Hugo Huber, and Cleveland architect Charles Schneider.
The grounds of Stan Hywet were originally 1,500 acres. It took Warren Manning four years to complete his landscape vision. His final masterpiece included multiple garden spaces and “rooms” that still exist today. There are the English Garden, Breakfast Room Garden, Perennial Garden, Japanese Garden, and West Terrace.
The Seiblings left Stan Hywet to their six children. In 1957, it was donated to a non-profit foundation dedicated to its preservation. Renovations and updates to Stan Hywet have been necessary over the years, but the spirit of the original design remains. Today, visitors from across the country come to enjoy the beautiful home and its sprawling gardens.