Wrightstown mystery slides no longer such a mystery

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As a young man, Martin Moister built a successful steel company in Philadelphia, and in 1919, at age 33, purchased this six-acre lot on Second Street Pike in Wrightstown Township with his wife, Anna Francis Schoettle. The Moisters soon had children  so they added this playground and pool for their family to play in, and a gazebo -- complete with Mercer tiles -- for themselves. By the time Anna and Martin passed away in 1969, they had 11 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren frolicking on the property.

Eventually the estate was divided and sold. The gatehouse now belongs to one owner, the gazebo to another, and the main house and playground to still another.

The Bucks County Courier Times published this article on the property (there are some fact discrepancies) on Aug. 24, 1977:

Via Flickr

Weird! 

Legends have grown up around Wrightstown estate

By Bill Lynskey
Courier Times Special Writer

Many legends have grown up around the strange estate on the banks of the Neshaminy Creek near the old Chain Bridge in Wrightstown.
To local residents and passing motorists on heavily traveled Second Street Pike, the scene is quite familiar.
Back from the road behind a cover of foliage stand a pair of bizarre sliding boards suspended over a weed-filled pond bed. Nearby, gaudy gazebos and ornate fountains spout more weeds as signs of a tarnished elegance.

Local lore 
According to local lore, the old estate in Wrightstown once belonged to an eccentric millionaire who built an amusement park dedicated to the macabre.
"False," said Wolfgang Lohrbeer, 32, who purchased the stone house and grounds last year. If the late Martin Moister (a designer) constructed an amusement park, it was for his own private amusement, says Lohrbeer.
As a matter of fact, the new owner claims, Moister who built his estate in the 1930s, installed the weird slides and fountains as his own expensive lawn toys. Lohrbeer has lived there with his family of three since last September. During that time, he has had his share of unwelcome visitors who ignore the "No Trespassing" signs to satisfy their curiosity about the place. Once, he had to chase away a couple who were picnicking on his lawn.
Friends have asked Lohrbeer why he would buy a place which attracts such impromptu attention from the uninvited. "Because I'm an idiot," he tells them in his mild German accent with self-effacing charm.
Lohrbeer came to this country five years ago with his American wife. Together, they live in the Spanish-style Moister-designed house on the property. The home is nestled into the side of a hill overlooking the Neshaminy. The house contains various electronic gadgets and inventions conjured up in Moister's fertile imagination.
"He just liked to do things in a big way," said Mrs. Lohrbeer of the designer.
When the new owners moved in last September, they discovered many devices stashed in a maze of secret compartments throughout the house. One gadget consists of five multi-colored fluorescent lights arranged on end around a rotating carousel. Moister also installed timing devices throughout the huge home for electrical and heating systems.
Mystery shrouds the estate's founder as it shrouds his strange eclectic tastes.
According to Lohrbeer, his business was electronics. Lohrbeer also believes he operated a sheet metal and concrete business on the side.

Weird ornaments
Moister used these materials to construct the weird lawn ornaments. He was an engineering genius, claims Lohrbeer.
During the 1930s, Moister designed the artificial pond outside the house. He pumped in water from nearby Neshaminy Creek to fill it through a specially designed piping and pump system. The pump house sits fully intact to this day at the edge of the creek.
Moister's tastes were expensive as well as strange, according to Lohrbeer.
"Today, it would cost over a million dollars to construct this place in material costs alone," he said overlooking the estate. He estimated it would cost over $60,000 to restore the seven and one-half acre site to its former luster. Lohrbeer purchased the estate in its rundown condition for a hefty $90,000.

New owner 
The new owner, a Newtown wallpaper and paint contractor, said he had visions of restoring the estate when he bought it. However, the financial and physical burdens that would impose have made him change his mind.
Lohrbeer intends to sell the Moister home soon. He and his family plan to resettle in an old Victorian home which will take less effort to restore.
"Just last June, the whole place was straightened out," he lamented while surveying the Moister estate. "We cleared away all the weeds. A month later, all the weeds were back again. I'm going bananas."


The article also included some great photos of the place that I hadn't seen before. I'll try to get my hands on them for you.