My Own Grey Gardens.

Gibraltar is my local version of Grey Gardens (although there's no one living in it). I have taken to playing the lottery in an effort to win enough money to restore it.

Gibraltar was built by the nephew of Caesar Rodney (of the all-night run on horseback in a thunderstorm to sign the Declaration of Independence and break the deadlock of the Delaware contigent), was afterward owned by another of the Rodney progeny and a du Pont and is currently owned by Preservation Delaware. There is a group interested in purchasing it if they can get the code changed to allow it to be made into a conference center. I do not like that idea. Neither do the residents of my neighborhood. The original plan was to turn it into a bed and breakfast or an inn.

The gardens were originally created in the 1920s by prominent landscape architect Marian Cruger Coffin (she also designed the formal gardens at Winterthur). They were restored in 2001 and are cared for by volunteers. The gardens are open to the public for free and are available for weddings and gatherings for a fee.

I also found out through My Grey Gardens that Grey Gardens the Musical will be in Philadelphia May 22 through June 28. Guess who will be going?