About seven miles north of downtown Philadelphia, in the suburb of Bala Cynwyd, a 12,000-square-foot event venue called The Pump House opened this month.
The venue is part of Ironworks at Pencoyd Landing, a redevelopment of an historic iron and steel foundry that supplied building materials to such notable projects as the U.S. Mint, Chicago Loop elevated railway, and Pennsylvania’s state capitol building in Harrisburg.
Unused since the 1940s, the venue saw the start of redevelopment by Penn Group in the early 2000s. The Ironworks now includes the 124-room Residence Inn Philadelphia Bala Cynwyd, opened in 2020, and three projects from BE Hospitality Group: The Landing Kitchen and Lark restaurants, both opened in 2021, and the new event venue.
The largest space at The Pump House is a 4,500-square-foot main hall overlooking the Schuylkill River. It can accommodate 300 attendees for a reception or 225 people seated, and there’s also a bar area with space for as many as 125, plus a subterranean lounge called The Speakeasy for groups of 60.
With 30-foot cathedral ceilings, exposed steel beams, and accents of natural materials, the Pump House has an upscale industrial feel. F&B is provided by Lark, which offers a Mediterranean-influenced menu developed by James Beard Award finalist, and Bravo Top Chef-winner Nick Elmi.
Ironworks at Pencoyd Landing is 15 miles from Philadelphia International Airport, a 35-minute drive.
