Mercer Museum and Mansion

Mercer’s Vision

Concrete is not usually associated with beauty – but Henry Mercer, native of Doylestown, Pa. – used the material to create a historic and artistic legacy. Mercer built three iconoclastic concrete structures in the early 1900s: Fonthill, his castle-like home, The Mercer Museum, and The Moravian Pottery and Tile Works. These iconoclastic places form a National Historic Landmark District and are open to the public year round with special combined tours available..
Henry Chapman Mercer (1956 – 1930) was a true American renaissance man who mastered diverse fields such as art, archeology, history, construction and manufacturing. He graduated from Harvard, gained a law degree, traveled extensively throughout Europe, and was one of the original employees of the Museum of Science and Art at the University of Pennsylvania (later renamed The University Museum). He became curator of American and Pre-historic Archaeology at the museum, which sparked his interest in traditional materials and methods of everyday objects.
Mercer became a key figure in the American Arts and Crafts movement. This international movement, founded in response to increasing mass production in the late nineteenth century, influenced architecture, domestic design and the decorative arts. It advocated simple forms, truth to materials, and traditional craftsmanship. Mercer’s life work became a true representation of these ideals; his tile is still renowned, the museum is one of the best collections of eighteenth and nineteenth century American artifacts, and his home is a living testament to his singular vision.
Of all the homes I’ve ever been in, Fonthill is high on the list of places I would readily inhabit. This is a place one can truly get lost in on many levels. Mercer’s home, constructed entirely of hand mixed concrete one room at a time, is both monumental and intimate at the same time. It encompasses forty-four rooms – including eighteen fireplaces, thirty-two stairwells and more than two hundred windows of varying size and shape. Amidst this vast and winding design there is an astounding array of detail. His colorful hand-made tiles adorn ceilings, walls, and floors. Built-in seats, shelves, and nooks create endless spaces of interest. Collections of leather bound books and hundreds of framed prints offer the ambiance of a working study where whimsical thought and mundane planning can meet on equal ground. Although built entirely of concrete, the home exudes pure warmth as the exquisitely designed windows let light flow beautifully into the interior. Fonthill is a true American original; I feel safe to say there is no place like it.
Fonthill was the warm-up for the The Mercer Museum. This hulking seven-story structure contains over fifty thousand early American artifacts. The museum has a central atrium that is six stories high – and literally filled with things – many hanging from the walls and ceiling. You peer up at the bottom of a whaling boat and see eye to eye with a real covered wagon. Collections of tools, including woodworking, metalworking, agricultural, textile and dairy form the backbone of the collection. Unique little rooms have special collections like cast-iron stove plates. The items are well organized, yet often laid out in a meandering free form way that invites the viewer to wander from one area to the next; I became caught in a subtle hypnotic trance crossing the boundaries of modern times into a world of wood, iron, stone, and clay. Mercer knew these items would be priceless one day but most were considered junk during his time. The man’s vision and curatorial skill was astounding; he was an archaeologist of the pre-Industrial Revolution era..
The Moravian Pottery and Tile Works is the last of Mercer’s poured-in-place concrete worlds. The functioning business, based on traditional design and ceramic methods, actually pre-dated the building itself. After leaving his curator position at the University Museum, he turned his attention solely to collecting material for his museum. This activity led Henry Mercer on the path of producing hand-made goods – in the form of traditional Bucks County pottery. The pottery business failed but Mercer continued undaunted and shifted his focus to producing artisan ceramic tiles instead. Mercer tiles became very popular and developed a large following, being used in many prominent projects of his day. Mercer's greatest project was the floor of the Pennsylvania State Capitol Building in Harrisburg where four hundred mosaics depict the state’s history from pre-historic times.
The tiles were made from local clay using traditional firing methods. The bold and colorful designs were often based on medieval themes or country designs like stove plates. Mercer developed a full manufacturing system from plaster mold, slips and glazes, to firing methods. To this day the Tile Works functions as a living history museum producing runs of specific tiles, conducting tours, and offering classes and apprenticeships to artists. The tiles are wonderful: many show figures at work depicted in stark patterns, some offer natural things like birds, plants, and insects, while others are geometric shapes with the definite feel of hand-made goods.
The “Mercer Mile” is a wonderful day trip. The visual and intellectual stimulation is a real treat; it’s a journey into the mind and life of an eccentric genius from the heartland of historic Bucks County whose singular vision and commitment to excellence produced an iconic American destination in our backyard.