Forever My Home- Doylestown, PA
By Dawn Derbyshire
15 Feb 2009
What city do you live in? What neighborhood?
I lived about a mile outside of the borough of Doylestown. Doylestown is in Bucks County, about 30-45 minutes outside of Philadelphia, PA.
What are some adjectives that describe your neighborhood?
The town can generally be described as artsy, affluent, suburban and historic.
How long have you lived there, and what brought you there?
I moved to Doylestown when I was four and lived there until I went to college at 17. My parents loved the area, and I can see why. It's near most of my family and has an amazing school system.
What is your favorite thing about this place? Your least favorite?
I can't pick a favorite part. The Mercer, Michener and Fonthill museums have always been great throughout my time living there. They also have great parks and are close to the city. There is a large support for arts, and independent movies and music. The downside is that despite all of these wonderful things, it still seems like there's nothing to do.
Do you feel that you belong there?
Definitely. I now live in Pittsburgh and I yearn for Doylestown sometimes. I feel I have never seen the whole town, despite trying to get lost there several times. It's an amazing town with a great community. After 13 years it's impossible not to have an attachment and warm feeling about the place.
What is the most common misconception about where you live?
Everyone is a rich snob. There is a bit of diversity among the people that live there, you just have to get to know them in order to find out. There are definitely a lot of colorful people running around.
What is a special fact about your city that you have to live there to know?
Margaret Mead (the sociologist) lived in Doylestown. Also, the Michener Art Museum is an old prison.
What aspect of your city do you secretly love?
That you get all the snobby indie culture without the crappy city atmosphere. Ha. I love going to a record store where they still have vinyls, overpriced camera stores, and one of the Starbucks that are easier to find than a parking space. And it's all within a mile or two, so I can walk or bike.
Anything else you'd like to add?
Doylestown will always be my favorite place. I've been to Paris, New York, London, and a million other places, but nothing will ever compare.
The photographs are of:
The County Theater
Fonthill Mansion (times two)
And a building at Peace Valley park.
2 responses
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Amy said (16 Feb 2009):
Ahh yes, good ol' d-town. It is a great little town with a lot great spots to photograph, some of which you've captured nicely! I must say though, the combination of yuppies, artists, snobs, punk kids sitting in starbucks and merchants make doylestown what it is and i think it's great!
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popester007 said (3 Mar 2009):
Agreed, Doylestown is a nice place. I'm just south of it, right in Newtown. We do have a nice little area of the world to ourselves huh?
My biggest peeve is that ever since people saw the movie Signs, which was filmed in Newtown, people think Bucks County is like a farm community.
Not at all
