Gibraltar Mansion is an abandoned palatial home in Wilmington, Delaware dating back to the 1800s. The building was at a point called Hugh Rodney Sharp Mansion after his owner at the time, Hugh Rodney Sharp. After years of existence, the estate home was abandoned and left to rot by the owners to date.

Gift of love

Gibraltar Mansion was built in 1844 by John Rodney Brinckle. The aim of the building was to be a gift for his lover who later denied his love. Having trouble through the process of construction, John instead decided to use the building as a place where he went when he needed peace of mind. He also used the building to carry out his horticultural experiments and to entertain his family and relatives. After only four years of living in the extensive house alone, John invited his brother’s family to give him company.

The house would later change hands when the brother purchased the house from his brother and became the owner instead of a guest. Samuel (the brother) went on to develop the house by beautifying the compound through the planting of flowers and landscaping. The building was later inherited by the wife and then the children after the death of their parents. Gibraltar Mansion which was at this time used to change hands from one owner to another changed hands once more in 1909 when Hugh Rodney Sharp purchased it and renamed it the Hugh Rodney Sharp building.

Decline in Business

After Rodney’s death, the estate was inherited by the son who seemed not to be an enthusiast of what his old man liked, especially horticulture. For this reason, the estate was left unmaintained and unattended for years leading to the garden overgrowing and overlapping in the house. It was also unoccupied and unmaintained which also contributed to its rapid deterioration and decay. The estate again was put up for sale after his death and was bought by a preservation organization that wanted to save the building from demolition.

The estate was transformed into a historical garden after being listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Tours and visits were permitted in the botanical garden until a plan to transform the large estate into a restaurant was made, effectively closing it down. These intentions never materialized owing to competing ideas between the two companies, resulting in the building being abandoned for the second time.

Eyesore of Wilmington

Today, the building which covers half a city block is still abandoned and uncared for. The mansion can barely be seen over the overgrown garden that overlaps up to the roof of the building. The building has deteriorated beyond recognition over the years and the two organizations that had plans to restore it have since fallen back to rethink a better strategy. Due to its dilapidated condition, the estate is not open to the general public to visit or tour.