Cintra was built in 1824 in New Hope Borough by William Maris, a prominent local industrialist who built and ran a cotton mill in 1820. The mill and factory worker housing used to surround the structure. Maris lived in Cintra until the late 1830s, when his business failed and he sold the property to the Ely family, a prominent Quaker family in Bucks County. 

Cintra is unique not only for its architecture, but for the history it represents for New Hope Borough, Bucks County, and Pennsylvania. This building is one of the first historic structures you see entering New Hope traveling east on W. Bridge Street and harkens back to a time when New Hope was a quirky escape for the bohemians, artists, and LGBTQIA+ community. Ever since it was vacated in the late 2000s due to the death of the owner and antique shop proprietor, it has been neglected, allowing this National Register-listed structure to appear to be a blighted property.

However, Cintra is not too far gone to be restored and continue to stand as a living representation of New Hope's early industrial history and a jewel of the unique historic properties in New Hope and Bucks County. Help us save Cintra from demolition and erasure, help save a historic structure from being replaced by more over-priced modern condos in an already overcrowded area.