Wedding DJ at The Knowlton Mansion in Philadelphia, PA

The Space

Frank Furness, one of Philadelphia’s most distinctive nineteenth century architects, designed this three story Gothic Revival house in 1881 for banker William Rhawn. It sits in the Fox Chase neighborhood of northeast Philadelphia, named after John Knowles, the great-grandfather of Rhawn’s wife. The house passed through the family for decades, including a stretch as home to Robert MacKay Green II, whose father invented the ice cream soda in 1874, before its current life as an event venue.

Conroy Catering took over the property and held its first fundraiser there in December 1997, for former State Representative Chris Wogan, and has run it as a wedding and event venue since. The mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, and the restoration kept the period rooms intact while adding a conservatory and updated systems, so the house still reads as a private residence rather than a converted hall.

Capacity & Layout

The ballroom measures 4,050 square feet and seats up to 250 guests, which is the number to build a floor plan around: round tables and a dance floor fit comfortably at that size without crowding the room’s edges. Because the reception runs across both the ballroom and the adjoining conservatory, couples get a natural break between dinner seating and a more open space for cocktails, toasts, and dancing rather than one long room doing everything at once.

Ceremonies can happen outdoors under a pergola set into the thirteen acres of gardens, or indoors in the Carriage House if the weather turns, which means couples booking here are not choosing between an outdoor and indoor wedding, they get both options built into the site. A bridal suite is available for the wedding party to get ready in before the ceremony, so hair, makeup, and photos can happen on site rather than requiring a separate location.

Amenities

Outdoor space extends well beyond the ceremony pergola: cocktail terraces off the conservatory, a three season tent, and perennial gardens with fire pits give a reception several distinct settings to move through over the course of an evening. Thirteen acres of grounds mean photographs are not limited to one backdrop, and guests can wander the gardens during cocktail hour without leaving the property or crossing a parking lot.

Inside, the mansion keeps a secret wine cellar as one of its noted features, and Conroy Catering operates as the exclusive on-site caterer, so food and bar service are handled by a team that already knows the house’s kitchen and service flow. The bridal suite gives the wedding party a private space to prepare, separate from where guests will later be seated for dinner.

Location & Getting There

The mansion sits in Fox Chase, a residential pocket of northeast Philadelphia, set back on its own grounds rather than fronting a commercial strip. That separation from the surrounding neighborhood is part of what makes the thirteen acres feel private once a couple is on the property, even though it is still inside the city.

We have worked a wedding in this room, and the split between spaces matters for sound: the ballroom’s more finished, harder surfaces carry music and toasts clearly for the reception, while the adjoining conservatory and outdoor terraces give a quieter zone for conversation during cocktail hour, so a DJ can run one system into the ballroom for dancing without fighting the acoustics of a single oversized room.