_____From Our Advertisers_____ • Plan Your Weekend Getaway _____From Our Advertisers_____ • Resort, Spa and Hotel Vacations E-Mail This Article Printer-Friendly Version Subscribe to The Post

By Cindy Loose
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 3, 2002; Page E01

I scan the predictable places on AAA's 2002 list of five-diamond lodgings -- hotels like the Peninsula in Beverly Hills and Manhattan, the Ritz-Carltons here and there. My eyes jerk to a halt at the Buhl Mansion in Sharon, Pa.

Sharon? The working-class town with worn-out coal mines and decrepit hulks of rusting steel mills? This I've got to see.

Well, I saw, and it's no mistake. Here in the westernmost part of Pennsylvania sits one of the most elegant, romantic properties in the United States. The turn-of-the-century mansion, which includes a spa, is one of only two bed-and-breakfasts in North America to earn a five-diamond rating.

How it came to do so mirrors the story of America -- its triumphs, its periods of defeat and struggle, and most important, its vitality and offer of second chances.

The mansion, inspired by an Italian castle and built in 1898 with money made by steel production, was battered by the 1929 stock market crash. It fell victim to the indigence of an heir, then the collapse of the American steel industry. The final blow was nearly delivered by the beneficence of the federal government, and its awesomely flawed revitalization programs.

A few years ago, the mansion built by steel magnate James Buhl was a dilapidated eyesore that had defaulted into the hands of a struggling little city. With no money to save it, the city seemed to have no choice but to demolish it.

But just before the mansion was lost forever, a Horatio Alger-type stepped forward. James E. Winner Jr., a dirt-poor farm boy from nearby Transfer, Pa., had made a fortune inventing the Club, a device to prevent car thefts. He loved the town of Sharon and agreed to save one of its most precious historic assets.

Today, some millions of dollars later, the Buhl Mansion has returned to its original glory. Guests can choose from 10 rooms, including my favorite, the Grand Gables, where the ceilings are 15 feet high, except where the room curves into a turret. There, round wooden walls reach 36 feet. At the base of the octagonal turret is a two-person Jacuzzi.

There's also Mr. Buhl's Room, done up in greens and browns with a copperlike ceiling and a stag motif; the Grand Turret, which was once part of a 1940s ballroom, with a replica of a bed from Hearst Castle; and Julia F. Buhl's room, frilly and feminine, with a king-size bed that fits comfortably into the largest of the mansion's turrets. All the rooms are filled with beautiful objects, like statues and the bric-a-brac I always crave when visiting upscale stores but can't afford. Even the beds are things of beauty.

The mansion's original owner had filled it with works by then-struggling artists like van Gogh, Matisse and Renoir. The newest owners commissioned expert reproductions to hang in museum-quality frames.

In addition to relaxing in an ornate living room, guests can settle into deep wing chairs before fireplaces in small sitting rooms. A Victorian greenhouse sits on manicured lawns, and a carriage house has been turned into an art gallery filled with expertly done reproductions. The most striking piece: a full-scale copy of Michelangelo's David. (The owners, who offer tours to schoolchildren and other groups, say they want to inspire those who will not have the opportunity to see the originals.)

Normally, I travel quasi-budget and consider paying more than $200 for a room to be grossly self-indulgent. But I could justify paying the $395 or so it costs to stay at the Buhl Mansion because the money is used to preserve a unique historic landmark that, without guests, would disintegrate.

My editor, who pays for these trips, didn't buy the argument.

Luckily, the Buhl has a less pricey sister property a few miles away. The 27-room, four-diamond inn is called Tara, after the mansion in "Gone With the Wind." One look at the entrance's tall white columns explains how it got the name. Tara is also filled with beautiful things, so impressive that bus companies operate tours for people who don't stay there but just take the guided tour.

Who could complain?

I must say that my planning for the trip began inauspiciously. Spotting the place on AAA's list, I immediately called directory assistance. When I dialed the number, someone answered "Buhl's." I asked for the owner and was told I was speaking to her.

I was charmed when she said she had no idea her place had been given five diamonds, and wanted to know how she came to be chosen. I said I wasn't sure, but I assumed that representatives from AAA had secretly visited and were impressed.

"Now isn't that something," she responded. As we continued to talk I was amazed that someone so innocent and unassuming could pull off a five-diamond rating, and asked, "This is the Buhl Mansion, isn't it?"

She responded, "Oh honey, this is the Buhls', but it's by no means a mansion. It's just an ordinary little house."

Luckily, Al Gore had invented the World Wide Web by this time, and I found the mansion online. I made a reservation and began the 5 1/2-hour drive from D.C.

My spirits sank as we passed shuttered steel mills, but rose again as we reached downtown Sharon and found it still has a downtown -- a nice one. I parked and began pulling out a wheelchair for my mother, who'd accompanied me. The man who immediately offered to help turned out to be the mayor of Sharon.

Lunch at Donna's, an old-fashioned railroad-car diner, was okay, but the pies were fabulous. Although eager to get to Tara, neither my mom nor I could resist a sale at the Winner, a department store just down the street.

Remember the olden days when places like Garfinkel's had polite, well-dressed older women waiting at the door to greet you? The Winner is like that. We snapped up bargains and headed to Tara, where we were greeted with champagne.

A room at Tara comes with a free tour of the Buhl Mansion, and the following morning I found myself learning the history of a home, two families and a country.

James Buhl, born to a wealthy Detroit steel family, came to Sharon to start new steel plants there after graduating from Yale. He persuaded college buddies John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, James Farrell and Andrew Mellon to come along and start their fortunes in Sharon, too.

Buhl met the love of his life here. But Julia Forker was worried that Buhl would move back to Detroit. Afflicted with a severe limp, she was afraid the socialites there would not accept her.

Buhl proved his devotion by building a mansion with marble imported from Italy and stained glass signed by Tiffany. Construction took seven years, from 1891 to 1898.

Eventually, the mansion ended up in the hands of a nephew. According to tour guide Sherry Perrine, the nephew "had lost a lot of money in the stock market crash. He couldn't support himself, but he continued his lifestyle." For a while he rented out the upstairs rooms, but by the 1950s he was forced to sell.

It became by turns a frat house, a druggie flophouse and a beauty school. The beauty school operators -- apparently oblivious to beauty -- drilled chairs and sinks directly into the marble floors.

In the 1980s, a couple decided to open a French restaurant, but timed its debut just as the U.S. steel industry collapsed. The Buhl Mansion was on its own.

Ah, but the federal government came up with grants and loans for two men who promised to restore the mansion. Instead, they stripped it. They sold the doors, the staircase, fireplaces, wainscoting, even the windows. Then they defaulted on government loans and walked away.

Sharon's mayor turned to Winner and his wife, Donna, who had already rehabbed Tara. The couple was on vacation when they decided to buy the Buhl.

"We'd never been inside but knew the outside was deplorable," Donna Winner said. "But in my mind's eye it was one of the most beautiful places, and we bought it sight unseen."

Arriving back home in Sharon, they discovered not only that the place had been stripped but that a leaking roof had caused extensive water damage. Donna tracked down the original blueprints and set to work. She demurs when asked how much she spent restoring the house, saying only, "It will never pay for itself." Her husband, when asked, says, "I gave her a budget of $2 million, and she very far surpassed it."

Whatever it is they've spent, they've done Sharon, and those who can afford to stay there, a major favor.

GETTING THERE: Tara and the Buhl Mansion are within a few miles of each other, and about 300 miles from downtown Washington. Sharon, Pa., is near Youngstown, Ohio, and most of the trip is driven on I-70 west.

STAYING THERE: Rates for double rooms at Tara begin at about $200. At the Buhl Mansion, which also has a spa in the basement, rooms are $395 to $495. Spa packages available. Individual massages start at $45, hydrotherapy and facials at $85.

EATING THERE: Tara has a cozy bistro and a gourmet restaurant where waiters in tuxedos and white gloves serve gourmet meals on silver platters. At its Stonewall's Tavern, the early-bird specials cost as little as $6.95, while regular dinner entrees range from $19 to $33 for dishes such as broiled lamb chops with pistachio-pesto crust. At Ashley's, seven-course gourmet meals with elegant service cost $75 per person, plus tax and tip.

LOCAL ATTRACTIONS: Sharon has the only free golf course in the United States, thanks to the largess of long-deceased James Buhl. The farm park Buhl built also remains an attraction. The Vocal Group Hall of Fame is in downtown Sharon, and don't miss what's billed as the world's largest candy store, nor the world's largest shoe outlet. Outdoor recreation varies by season.

INFORMATION: Contact Tara and the Buhl Mansion at 800-782-2803, www.buhlmansion.com. The Mercer County Convention and Visitors Bureau has an office in downtown Sharon and can be reached at 800-637-2370, www.mercercountypa.org.

-- Cindy Loose