The grounds around Lindenwold Castle in Ambler are being cleared for a luxury mixed-housing development, and not everybody in the community is happy about it, writes Stacia Friedman for the Hidden City Philadelphia.

While some are calling the impending arrival of 104 high-end homes and a luxury retirement community complex progress, others see the project as being just plain wrong.

“The castle is an impressive and beloved oddity,” said Eddie Flotte, an artist and lifelong Ambler resident. “Now it stands hideously naked without its beautiful landscape.”

The castle is an integral part of the town’s history. In 1882, Dr. Richard Vandelous Mattison decided to build his asbestos factory in Abler, then a town with just 70 houses.

The entrepreneur turned the small town into the “Asbestos Capital of the World,” and built more than 400 homes for his workers.

The grand mansion he constructed was for himself, a replica of Windsor Castle in England. The property boasted fountains and statues that rivaled grand European palaces.

Today, while little is left of the castle’s surroundings, the building itself will be kept by the developer and leased out as office space.

Read more about the project at the Hidden City Philadelphia by clicking here.