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Will's Birthday, Mercer Museums, & More
5/29/2007
Will's birthday was Saturday so we joined the masses on the highway and trekked up to Pennsylvania for some sightseeing and relaxation. It was a good trip except for my allergies which were really killing me. They haven't been this bad in years and there were times where I had real trouble enjoying parts of the trip and I was probably a bit grumpier at times that I should have been.
Fonthill Castle
Fonthill Historic Plaque |
Fonthill Mercer House |
Will at Mercer House |
Rear of Fonthill |
Fonthill Interior |
Fonthill Garage |
Fonthill Garage 2 |
Fonthill Detail |
Fonthill Castle, or the Mercer Home, is a large 19,000+ square foot mansion built by Henry Chapman Mercer near the beginning of the 20th century. He had no formal architecture training and refused to work with anyone who did, fearing they might compromise his artistic vision. The result is an all reinforced concrete edifice of unusual and whimsical design. It's flowing and somewhat haphazard lines lend it a strangely "organic" ambience and clearly show the progression and development of Mr. Mercer ideas and building techniques.
Mr. Mercer was most famous for his pottery and tile works and his home featured both throughout its interior. Photography wasn't allowed inside unfortunately, but Will did snap this one of another building we entered without knowing it was closed to the public. Almost all of Fonthill's rooms feature similar tile-work embedded in the ceilings and walls.
Moravian Pottery & Tile Works
Just a short walk from he Mercer home is the Moravian Pottery & Tile Works factory. It's construction is similar to the mansion: flowing reinforced concrete with inlaid tiles for decoration. The factory is still active (albeit at a very low level) and you can wander its production halls and purchase tiles made pretty much just as the were in Mercer's day.
New Hope Pennsylvania
"I think I want a boob job. Or maybe do something with my stomach. Or maybe do my boobs AND do something with my stomach!"
- Friendly and inebriated woman we shared a few drinks with
We arrived in New Hope in mid afternoon, hunted around for a parking space and then spend the rest of the day wandering its eclectic mix of shops and eateries. No Starbucks or other chain-stores here, it's all small, privately owned business with plenty of character. We drank, ate, and wandered the town occasionally talking with some of it's friendlier inhabitants. I understood it to be a largely gay area, and there were rainbow flags everywhere, but we didn't see many gay couples at all -- certainly no more than you'd see in downtown DC. I didn't really care one way or the other I just thought it odd to see so many flags and so few, uh, "fags".
On balance I wasn't a big fan of New Hope. Don't get me wrong, it's a fine place, but it more for the lounging traveler, not the explorer or adventurer.
Tim and Brian
Our last stop was to swing by and visit with Tim and Brian in Baltimore. We hadn't seen these guys since Deep Creek and it was good to see their home and catch up with them. They took us to lunch and then Vaccaro's for a hyper-caloric glutoneering* dessert. It was really great to see them and reminded me once again of how I miss having the time to just hang with friends like I used to.
We elected to head home a day early so we could catch up on Monday. Lame, I know. We work too much. It was nice to beat the traffic and the week goes so much more smoothly when you get all your chores done first. We arrived and got inside just before a large storm violently doused the area.
*Glutoneer - one who over indulges. As in: "Hey, lets go buy a huge tub of ice cream and be glutoneers!" Will suddenly "invented" this word one night at Deep Creek while drinking beers in the hot tub.
5/29/2007 | Permanent Link
