Doylestown in Bucks County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

The Mercer Museum

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., March 3, 2018

1. The Mercer Museum Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

Castle, Fortress, or Museum
Surprisingly this building has always been a museum. Henry Mercer designed it specifically to house his collection. Although the design seems unusual, it met Mercer's goals perfectly. He believed that a fireproof, waterproof, concrete building would best ensure the preservation of this collection.

Building His Museum
Mercer's crew of about eight workers began construction of the Museum in 1913. Working ten hours a day, six days a week, the crew poured the concrete section-by-section, level-by-level including the concrete roof. Not an architect by training, Mercer directed his crew without blueprints, using only sketches and verbal instructions. By 1916 they had completed the massive structure, the final of Mercer's three buildings, using an astounding 6,000 tons of concrete.

Changes at the Mercer
Throughout its history this site has undergone numerous changes. In 1907 the brick Elkins building was built as the headquarters of the Bucks County Historical Society, a private non-profit which owns and operates the Museum. Henry Mercer significantly changed the nature

The Mercer Museum and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., March 3, 2018

2. The Mercer Museum and Marker

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of the site with the completion of the central concrete Mercer Museum in 1916. From this vantage point you can still view the large red doors which once served as the Museum's main entrance.

In the 1930s the Museum's Research Library wing was added, and then later expanded in the 1970s. 2011 marked the completion of another expansion with the addition of a state of the art exhibition space and the relocation of the entrance to the side of the building.

Erected by the Mercer Museum.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Charity & Public Work • Education. A significant historical year for this entry is 1913.

Location. 40° 18.489′ N, 75° 7.611′ W. Marker is in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, in Bucks County. Marker is on Pine Street, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 84 South Pine Street, Doylestown PA 18901, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Site (within shouting distance of this marker); The Museum (within shouting distance of this marker); The Expansion (within shouting distance of this marker); Corporate Business Partner Entrance Courtyard and W.B.U.X. Sculpture Garden (within shouting distance of this marker); Last Hanging (within shouting distance

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of this marker); Bucks County Jail (within shouting distance of this marker); Thinking Green (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Doylestown Agricultural Works (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Doylestown.

Also see . . . Mercer Museum, Doylestown PA. (Submitted on March 4, 2018, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)

Credits. This page was last revised on July 14, 2021. It was originally submitted on March 4, 2018, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 301 times since then and 55 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 4, 2018, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.