Saturday, April 18, 2015

The "A Piece of Architectural History Still Remains" Story

Color postcard of the original Lancaster Country Club
It was an ordinary day.  Just joined a Facebook group titled Lancaster, PA in photos, Video. … and found some photos from my old neighborhood when I was living in Grandview Heights from the late 1960's to the late 1990's.  One neat photo was actually a color postcard of the Lancaster Country Club when it was located in Rossmere which was a stone's throw from my home on Janet Ave.  
Another view from the early 1900's of the LCC.
The Lancaster Country Club was chartered in 1900 when they built the original building along Juliette Ave. in Manheim Township.  In 1913 the club purchased sixty acres of farmland along New Holland Pike that had trolley tracks from Lancaster passing right by it.  Well, the new site is still home to the Lancaster Country and will soon see the LPGA play a major tournament on its beautifully landscaped golf course, but my interest is in the older home of the Lancaster Country Club along Juliette Ave.  
How the property appears today with Mr. David Kuhn
as the owner of the historic home.
Sometime in the late 90's to early 2000's I found that the R&S Glass Company had purchased the building and was selling commercial glass from the garage behind the home.  The R&S stood for Ron and Steve who were both friends of mine when I was growing up on the north end of Lancaster, just over the border of Lancaster City in Manheim Township.  Steve and Ron lived in the city, but we were friends and played together.  They later became business partners and I bought glass from them at the same site that was once home to the Lancaster Country Club.  The house was in need of major repairs and R&S eventually sold the house and garage to Mr. David Kuhn who owned a painting business.  
The home from the rear along Stadium Road.  The garage
was at one time home to R&S Glass Company and is now
home to David Kuhn Painting Company.
I happened to have his son in class at Manheim Township High School.  After seeing the photo of the original Lancaster Country Club I grabbed my camera and headed to the old site to see what it looked like today.  David has the place looking fantastic.  The large lawn, curved driveway and house look as  they did in the old color post card from the past.  David has refurbished the old Lancaster Country Club to the condition it was in the early 1900's.  He can be proud of this piece of history that makes Lancaster the historical destination that it is.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.



This photo was taken from the Lancaster Country Club website showing what the Country Club looks like today along the New Holland Pike, about a half mile from it's old location.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for your information. I met the current owner and talk to him about the renovations he made

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  2. My Grandmother died at Rossmere Sanitarium in 1946. Are you saying this building still stands?
    I would like to see it but was told it was torn down.

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