Lisa Duchene 2017-03-24 13:50:46
Pearl S. Buck House, Perkasie Once homes of the wealthy and talented, our mansions and historic homes are so much more than buildings. They are labors of love, works of art, time-worn memorials, visual feasts, and time capsules. Sink into Victorian grandeur among the wood carvings, stained glass, 12 fireplaces, and stately ballroom of the Watson-Curtze Mansion in Erie. Roofing paper magnate Harrison Watson built this glorious 3.5-story brownstone mansion and carriage house in 1891. With ample doors and windows, a six-column façade, and elaborate trim work, the Baker Mansion History Museum in Altoona showcases superior craftsmanship. See the 1849 dream home ironmaster Elias Baker built his family for about $15,000, now home to the Blair County Historical Society. Savor central Pennsylvania’s finest flavors — pan-seared half duckling in bourbonmaple reduction and locally smoked shad, a Williamsport specialty — in an opulent Victorian dining room at the Peter Herdic House Restaurant & Inn, and then slumber at the adjacent beautifully restored Victorian on Millionaire’s Row. While imprisoned during the Civil War, Colonel Clarence G. Jackson dreamed of the home he would build. The Jackson Mansion in Berwick remains an enduring gem of Victorian architecture, built of Vermont stone with hand-carved trim and handmade tile decorating its fireplaces. The 18 rooms of the Asa Packer Mansion Museum in Jim Thorpe look almost as they did when the Packers lived there from 1861 until 1912. A cast-iron frame supports its three stories and central cupola, overlooking charming, historic Old Mauch Chunk Historic District. See the 1825 farmhouse, picturesque estate and desk where Pearl S. Buck — the first woman to earn both the Pulitzer and Nobel prizes for literature — penned her novel, “The Good Earth,” at the Pearl S. Buck House in Perkasie. Ascend the staircase of the 1911 Mary Stegmaier Mansion in Wilkes-Barre to see the stunning floral-patterned, blue art glass ceiling of the solarium below. Owner Joseph Matteo has restored “The Mary” to its original grandeur, as well as his nearby Frederick Stegmaier Mansion.
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