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Attraction

Fonthill Castle

Henry Chapman Mercer’s concrete castle is an American treasure.

Photo by B. Krist for Visit Philadelphia
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Overview

Built between 1908 and 1912, Fonthill Castle is modeled after a 13th-century Rhenish castle, with Gothic doorways, 32 sudden stairways, dead ends and 44 rooms, each in a different shape.

Harvard-educated Henry Chapman Mercer built his storybook stone mansion, with its turrets and balconies, from the inside out and without using blueprints.

The ceilings and walls are embedded with handcrafted tiles from Mercer’s kilns at the adjacent Moravian Pottery and Tile Works, along with ancient tiles from around the world.

Fonthill’s 200 windows, each in a different size and shape, are fun to look at, and many are studded with Mercer’s colorful tiles, of course.

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