DAYtrip
Gramercy Mansion
By Christine Folivi
Gramercy Mansion is a bed-and-breakfast estate that many couples and families love to book for weddings, events, and more. But what many people don’t know is its complex history. In 1902, Alexander Cassatt, seventh president of the Pennsylvania Railroad and brother of the Impressionist painter Mary Cassatt, bought the estate for his daughter as a wedding present. It was a heavily wooded piece of property in Greenspring Valley, just north of downtown Baltimore, MD, containing 45 acres of the present estate. Sadly, Cassatt died in 1906 before the house was completed. The estate changed hands a few times and became the home of Benjamin H. Brewster and his family, who lived there for 30 years. After Brewster died, his wife Elizabeth sold it to Hugo Hoffman. Hoffman stayed at the estate for eight years and sold it to the Koinonia Foundation. The Koinonia Foundation was created by a group of 12 visionary Christians who wanted to spread Christianity around the world. The Koinonia Founda6 WASHINGTON GARDENER OCTOBER 2023
tion recruited students and taught them how to grow food and literacy skills. They taught them languages and differences in religion politics and culture to prepare them to go abroad as missionaries, and acted basically as the predecessor of Peace Corps, although the Koinonia Foundation was based in Christianity. Over time, the Foundation turned to a more general spiritual focus—meditations, yoga, gardening, art dance, and philosophy, and psychology. Gradually, they used up their funds and faced bankruptcy, forcing them to sell the property at an auction. That is when Dr. Ronald and Anne Pomykala bought that estate in 1985. Anne attended the auction even though she wasn’t intending to buy a house that day, but she placed a bid and won. Anne Pomykala is an enthusiastic gardener who has a love for the outdoors. This mother of six children, with 14 grandchildren, now runs the estate. She spends her time at the Gramercy Mansion hosting events for all to share the beautiful venue.
“I am a gardener at heart,” she said. “I was born in the Riverdale area of Prince George’s County, MD, and moved to Bethesda, MD, when I got married,” She has traveled around the world to gain gardening inspiration for the estate. She has a group of gardening friends and belongs to a horticultural society that sponsors trips to European gardens; she plans to go to Morocco in April. “There are different layouts that other countries use,” said Anne. The estate is on a steep hillside, so the garden is terraced and the levels are supported with oak logs from trees cut down on the property. The property is filled with color, including ‘Profusion’ Zinnias, Hellebores, red Salvias, and more. Anne said her favorite flower is the annual begonia. “It blooms in the darkest, shadiest places.’’ The Gramercy hosts five to six weddings a week and clients love the setting. “Even bed-and-breakfast clients love to come out here to sit and read,” said Anne.
