apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Been here, and the adjacent "museum". Suffice to say, Mercer was WACK! What an eccentric. Well worth the drive and time...

There was a little feature on this on PBS recently. I live in Philly but don't have a car, so I've been trying to mount an expedition to see this place for a few months.

SEPTA trains to to Doylestown -- must be a local bus or cab you can take from there.

Well worth the visit -- wild!

The Mercer tile factory next door is a treat. If you want to make a weekend out of it -- and see where Washington crossed the Delaware, too -- stay in New Hope or Lambertville.

Thanks for reminding me of the SEPTA option, although honestly, I spend so much time on SEPTA commuting, I'm not sure if I can stomach any more on the weekend.

From the Fonthill website:

SEPTA Regional Rail
R5 Lansdale/Doylestown Line Station located at Clinton Avenue and Ashland Street. Follow Ashland Street East (turn right when coming out of the station). Cross over Route 611 (Main Street). Turn right on Green Street. Museum is on the left. Approximate walking time: 5 minutes.

SEPTA Bus Service
55 Bus runs from Broad and Olney to Doylestown Train Station, located at Clinton Avenue and Ashland Street. Follow Ashland Street East (turn right when coming out of the station). Cross over Route 611 (Main Street). Turn right on Green Street. Museum is on the left. Approximate walking time: 5 minutes.

Whoops, above are the Mercer Museum directions, here are the Fonthill directions. Sigh. Long day at work and too much running around makes me a bit slow.

SEPTA Regional Rail
R5 Lansdale/Doylestown Line Station located at Clinton Avenue and Ashland Street. Follow Ashland Street East (turn right when coming out of the station). Cross over Route 611 (Main Street) to Pine Street. Make left on Pine Street and follow to East Court Street. Make right onto East Court Street and follow approximately 1 mile. Fonthill will be on left. Approximate walking time: 20 minutes.

SEPTA Bus Service
55 Bus runs from Broad and Olney to Doylestown Train Station, located at Clinton Avenue and Ashland Street. Follow Ashland Street East (turn right when coming out of the station). Cross over Route 611 (Main Street) to Pine Street. Make left on Pine Street and follow to East Court Street. Make right onto East Court Street and follow approximately 1 mile. Fonthill will be on left. Approximate walking time: 20 minutes.

That place is fantastic. What a wonderfully eccentric man. When I was in high school our history class went on a field trip there and the guide told us that Henry Mercer had a VD and therefore never married. Instead, he put his energy into his buildings. (though you'd think one could easily do both in that day and age...)

The Museum is also work visiting-- it's packed with 19th C everyday objects. You can also visit the tile works (and buy tiles, of course).

It's really worth a whole days visit.

i had a professor in college who had spent months measuring the house, producing drawings, researching the house and it's construction along with mercer's life....and never published! gah! so much information lost to usefulness.

but his lectures on the mercer house rocked.

Yeah Bucks County! (Where I'm from if you didn't guess...) The Fonthill mansion is amaazing. I had a friend get married on its grounds :) The Mercer murseum and tile factory are also really neat places to visit. I think from elementary school - middle school we went on four different field trips there.