It was an ordinary day. Standing in front of The Fleet Wing Building wondering if it will actually be demolished or saved. A few days ago I saw a photograph of the building that at one time was part of a gas station off of the first block of West King Street in historic downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The Art Deco-style steel paneled building was constructed in the 1940s, directly next to what at one time was the Lancaster Army & Navy Store which stood at the corner of West King and North Prince Streets.
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| The Fleet Wing Building in downtown Lancaster, PA |
The Fleet Wing Building is a few years older than I am and The Historical Preservation Trust of Lancaster County, a non-profit that promotes preserving historic buildings, is trying to make sure the building is preserved when a new 120-130 apartment building with 70 parking spaces and a 5,300-square-foot ground level retail space is built in the near future. I can still remember visiting with my dad at his jewelry store business on West King Street on Saturday mornings when I was a young boy. I would walk a half-block toward The Fleet Wing to the Antes Pet Store so I could help the owners of the pet store feed the live pets and fish that they had in their store. My dad would come to get me when he was ready to head home. Antes was another half-block away from the corner where the Army & Navy store stood which in turn was directly next to The Fleet Wing gas station.  |
| The side of the building. This is what it looked like as a gas station. |
Back then the 1940s Art Deco-style gas station building really stood out from every other building. After driving past Army & Navy you would encounter The Fleet Wing which had its pumps along the side of the building. Well, that gas station, which later became "The Pelican Bar & Grill" and now the A&W Jewelry Store, is about to be demolished to make way for a new apartment building...and quite a few people are upset that it will be demolished. The Historical Preservation Trust published on Facebook its objections to its demolition. They said that the building was a "contributing resource" in a historic district recognized by the National Register of Historic space. The Fleet Wing is the last local building covered with colored enameled steel tiles and is said to be a piece of automative history. The developer of the new apartment building said it would cost half-a-million dollars to include it in the apartment plans. Worrying that by the time I made my way to downtown Lancaster the building would be demolished, I jumped in the car to take a few photos. Parked right in front of the building and grabbed my camera. I must admit that I was surprised at what I saw. The building seemed ancient, much like me. All of the yellow tiles that covered the building no longer had their glowing look to them. A few were damaged. I was totally disappointed with what I saw. Yes, I took a few photographs, but the photographs that were in the newspaper showing the building seemed much better than what I took. Well, it seems like there may be a compromise to the problem. The developer of the apartment building was told to remove and store the porcelain-enamel steel panels of the 1940 Art Deco building before demolishing the rest of the building to make way for the new apartment building. Then a new use may be found for the panels. Will this satisfy anyone? Probably not, but I guess it is the next-best remedy for the problem. I must admit that the building has become an eyesore, but not one that couldn't have been polished back into the way it once was just before I was born. I'm going to keep an eye on the newspaper and check out what happens in the next half-year or so. Perhaps a solution may arise that will keep history alive in downtown Lancaster. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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