Cordelia Scaife May: A Life of Privilege and Purpose
On November 19, 1927, Alan Magee Scaife and Sarah Mellon united two of Pittsburgh’s wealthiest families when they wed at the East End mansion of the bride’s father, renowned banker and industrialist Richard B. Mellon.
It was dubbed “the social event of the century,” with no expense spared by the Mellons to mark the nuptials in fabulous style.
According to “Historical Dillitante” blogger Sue Morris, R.B. Mellon spared no expense, allocating $100,000 for the construction and decoration of a pavilion dedicated to the wedding feast and ball.
R.B. Mellon’s personal artifacts, including a hat rack made of mirrors and buffalo horns and half a taxidermied buffalo head, were on display as mementos of his youth in the West. Professional decorators worked to integrate these items into the mansion’s overall decor, transforming it into a setting described by contemporary newspaper accounts as “a scene rivaling the beauty of a fairyland bower.”
The multiple reception areas of the mansion featured tapestried walls, red velvet hangings lined with gold satin, a faux-marble dance floor, abundant flowers and greenery, seven-foot wide chandeliers, silver candelabras, crystal urns filled with silver fruit, Italian mirrors along the walls, and gold bird cages suspended from archways.
The standout element was a blue bridal canopy suspended from the ceiling, acting as an artificial sky adorned with silver stars and flowers that twinkled in the reflected light from walls of mirrors. Lighting illuminated the estate’s life-size statuary surrounding an artificial lake.
The wedding, a grand affair in its time, remains a historical testament to the opulence and style of Pittsburgh’s elite social circles in the early 20th century.
There, the Scaife’s began their family with the birth of a son, Richard Mellon Scaife.
Cordelia Scaife May, born Cordelia Mellon Scaife entered the world on September 24, 1928.
May attended Foxcroft School, a boarding school for girls. Her childhood was not a happy one, despite her wealth and privilege. “I don’t remember any laughter in that house,” she said once in an interview, referring to her childhood home.
For Cordelia, great privilege and great sorrow walked hand-in-hand to guide her destiny.
The family moved between their Rhineland-inspired castle estate in Ligonier and an Italianate mansion in Pittsburgh.
The Scaife family estate Penguin Court encompassed over 1,000 acres of meadows, forests, and open space in Westmoreland County’s Ligonier Valley. Originally called Beckett Farm, when purchased in the 1920s, the grounds included a 50-room mansion filled with museum-quality furnishings and artwork.
Outside, Sarah Mellon Scaife added ornamental gardens, greenhouses, and a conservatory to indulge her passion for horticulture. Ten concrete penguin structures were installed as whimsical nods to the estate’s name, bestowed decades earlier after Sarah briefly kept pet penguins.
Following Richard M. Scaife’s passing, the property was entrusted to Brandywine Conservancy as a land preserve supporting environmental education and research, furthering the family’s passion for philanthropy and conservancy.
In keeping with Scaife’s wishes, the focus is on stewardship of the forests, meadows and buildings. Public programs teach sustainable practices, while gardens supply plants for native plant sales. This unique oasis remains a tribute to one family’s legacy, now transformed to serve the Ligonier Valley’s future.
Although her early life was not without struggle, Cordelia was sustained by her deep affection for her hometown. Though she traveled the world extensively, Cordelia’s heart remained in Pittsburgh.
After her second husband’s tragic death, Cordelia devoted herself to safeguarding the region’s natural habitats and artistic heritage, according to the legacy she had inherited.
Cordelia understood that money did not equal happiness. She named her estate “Cold Comfort” revealing her complicated relationship with her wealth.
Her conservationist mindset led her to establish Laurel Foundation and to spearhead the restoration of Powdermill Nature Reserve’s threatened woodlands and wildlife. Cordelia established Laurel Foundation in 1951 to perpetuate her desire to preserve and promote the region’s culture, environment, and rich history of her beloved Pittsburgh.
Cordelia preferred to have her significant philanthropic contributions remain anonymous during her lifetime. But her vision and generosity live on at the Carnegie Museums, National Aviary, Pittsburgh Zoo, Phipps Conservatory, Clayton, the Frick Art Museum, and many more cherished institutions.
Cordelia Scaife May’s dedication to preserving Pittsburgh’s beauty for future generations epitomizes the Mellon-Scaife family’s abiding care for their hometown and their concern for preserving the natural resources of the world at large.
