It was an ordinary day. Searching my stories to see how many times I have included a story that features Lancaster's famous iconic architect, C. Emlen Urban. Well, it seems that his name has come to the forefront once again in Lancaster's daily newspaper. This past summer, a Lancaster resident, Madelyn Marks, came across a very nice tailcoat at Uncle Funky's thrift shop in nearby Denver, Pennsylvania. She didn't have a need for it, so she put it back in the rack. This fall, while searching for a Halloween costume, she remembered the tailcoat and returned to the thrift shop to buy the tailcoat to wear at the Halloween party. After taking it home she discovered two labels in the tailcoat. One of the labels read..."S.M. Myers & Co. Lancaster, PA." It also featured the signature C.E. Urban on the bottom of the label, just above the date 9.30.11.
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| Mr. C.E. Urban wearing his tailcoat |
Madelyn showed it to her mother, Meretta, who took a look at the label and recognized Mr. Urban's signature. Meretta just about fell off her chair, since she knew who Mr. Urban was right away. Mr. Urban completed a few hundred architectural commissions with the Griest Building, the Southern Market and Watt & Stand building, all in downtown Lancaster, among the hundreds of designs. So...what should Madelyn do with the tailcoat? Well, she contacted a variety of establishments including the Ephrata National Bank which was designed by Urban, The Historical Preservation Trust of Lancaster County which was designed by Urban and the Hershey Museum...also designed by Mr. Urban. The Marks family eventually contacted Urban enthusiast Gregg Scott to see if he had any ideas about whom to contact about their find. Mr. Scott was excited about the tailcoat since the 110-year old piece of clothing is said to be the only piece of clothing that remains from Mr. Urban. Marks and Scott met for a meeting to discuss the coat. Mr. Scott purchased the tailcoat who said that the signature on the coat really belongs to Mr. Urban. He said that the date on the label is September 30, 1911. The summer of 1911 was his first overseas adventure. Could the coat have been purchased overseas? Well, we now know that the coat will not be lost or destroyed. And...the price of the tailcoat may never be known. I'm sure it must be priceless to whomever owns it now. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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