The Aldie Mansion , Doylestown
A few nice alcohol treatment centers images I found:
The Aldie Mansion , Doylestown
Image by JARM13
The back exit " of the front entrance ".
History
The present mansion, built in 1927, is the second “Aldie” built on the property. The first, an imposing Victorian-style mansion, was built by Judge Henry Chapman’s oldest daughter Elizabeth and was named after the Mercer family’s ancestral estate in Perthshire, Scotland. A wealthy widow, she gave the mansion and property to her sister Mary, wife of William Mercer Sr., and their children.
The Mercers’ son William Jr. was nine when his family moved into the mansion in 1871. After graduating from Harvard, he traveled in Europe, studying sculpture and exhibiting his work. In 1892 he built a studio behind Aldie where he made decorative garden ornaments. Like his famous older brother Henry, he was fascinated by the sculptural quality of concrete. Basing his designs on old carved stone pieces he had seen in Europe, William produced fountains, benches, columns, pedestals and arches.
In 1904 William married Martha Dana of Boston. When Martha inherited a large fortune in 1925, she and William started to build the house of their dreams, the present Aldie. Their architect visited England to study Tudor manor houses, and the design of Aldie is similar to Compton Wynyates in Warwickshire, especially in the details of the brickwork and chimneys.
William Jr. died in 1939. Martha continued to live at Aldie and entertained often. Her most famous Christmas party was given in 1941 when the Von Trapp family sang in the great hall. When she died in 1960, she bequeathed Aldie to the Catholic Archdiocese, which used the mansion first as a seminary and later as a drug and alcohol treatment center.
During the 1980s, the mansion changed hands several times until it was abandoned. Vacant, vandalized and burned, Aldie was going to be razed. But thanks to the generosity of Genuardi Markets, Inc. and Vesterra Corporation, Heritage Conservancy was given the opportunity to purchase the mansion (for !) – provided the Conservancy could raise the funds necessary to restore it to its original splendor. In December 1991, the Conservancy completed a three-year restoration campaign, which involved the cooperation and support of many individuals, businesses and foundations.
With a collective goal of historic preservation and by incorporating the practice of adaptive reuse, Aldie Mansion is now the proud home of Heritage Conservancy. Aldie, which can be rented for weddings, receptions and meetings, also plays host to numerous community events such as the Conservancy’s annual Christmas at Aldie gala, Holiday Open House and Garden Party.
Stumble Inn
Image by jaxson dallas
I don’t know the history of this, but it was written into the sidewalk outside what was once an alcohol treatment center after the hospital closed. I never noticed it before, and got a kick out of it.