The "Walking Tours Focus On Lancaster's Architectural Treasures" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Checking out my morning newspaper and found the Home & Garden title page covered with round photographs that were part of an article titled "Walk Through History."  The story took you on a self-guided tour of some of Lancaster's most beautiful locations which included St. John's Episcopal Church, House of Pizza, Lancaster County Courthouse, Eastern Market, Bethel AME Church and Woodward Hill Cemetery.  The idea of the article was so you could take a self-guided tour of some of Lancaster, Pennsylvania's most beautiful and historical locations in the center of the city.  I have written about most of the locations in the past, but I still enjoy visiting center city and nearby locations just to get the chance to see the beautiful architecture that fills the many acres of property in one of the most historical towns known as Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Check out the following photographs and see if you remember ever making a visit to them in your lifetime.  It was another ordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

Lancaster County Courthouse is located at 50 North Duke Street.  The three historic sections of the main courthouse blend designs by three significant architects.  The 1852-55 original section was designed by Samuel Sloan of Philadelphia who also designed the Fulton Opera House in 1852.  The T-shaped addition at Duke and Grant Streets was designed by James Warner who designed Central Market.  The log front wings date from a 1923-1926 with  remodeling designed by C. Emlem Urban.  The north annex was added in 1974-77 with a pedestrian bridge that covers the north wall of the 1898 section.  This design drew complaints that it didn't match  Lancaster's colonial architecture.

St. John's Episcopal Church, 321 W. Chestnut Street is a complex of buildings that show evolving ideas of Gothic design over 85 years.  The earliest 1953 section, designed by John E, Carver, is the oldest gothic-style Protestant church in the city.  The parsonage was designed by John Evans, who designed Eastern Market.  The church was enlarged in 1883 with a design by Edwin Durang and the parish house, designed by William C. Pritchett, was built in 1916.  After a fire destroyed the roof and most of the interior, it was rebuilt in 1939, designed by John Lane Evans.  A modern addition, designed by Marotta/Main Architects, was added in 2017 linking two older building sections.
 

Woodward Hill Cemetery is located at 501 S. Queen Street.  It was established by Trinity Lutheran Church in 1850 as a rural site removed from the dense city.  Woodward Hill Cemetery was inspired by the American rural cemetery movement of the 19th century.  These cemeteries were created in response to rapid population growth and urbanization and provided an alternate to placing graveyards next to churches where space was at a premium.  Woodward Hill's beautifully landscaped green space, originally with a view of the Conestoga River, provided relief to residents escaping the congestion of the city.  It still operates today as accessible open park-like space on 32 acres with a chapel and caretaker's house.  In 1851, the church secured a legislative charter ensuring "the grounds are protected for any purpose."

House of Pizza is located at 21-23 West Chestnut Street in downtown Lancaster.  It is overshadowed by the Davidson Building to the east, but this 1873 store is an early example of commercial architecture in Lancaster.  The majority of the city's surviving commercial buildings date from the late 1880s through the 1910s.  It is the only surviving cast-iron storefront in Lancaster and would not be out of place in New York's Soho neighborhood.  The facade is well-preserved and remarkably intact, including the roof cornice and wooden windows.  The design of the police station took its design cues from this building, including use of a cornice band at the top of the third-story level.

The Bethel AME Church is located at 450 E. Strawberry Street.  It is considered part of three-part complex that reflect the role of the 19th-century African community in the southeast, still part of the church's mission and presence.  The current church building dates back to 1879, but Bethel AME Church was founded in Lancaster in 1817, making it one of the oldest African congregations in the country.  A frame building was constructed by the congregation in 1849, just south of the church, to house an African public school and Sunday school.  A new school built in 1895, designed by C. Emlen Urban, echoes the design of other public schools of the time throughout the city.  The building wa acquired by Bethel AME in 1989.

Constructed in 1883, Eastern Market is the oldest survivor of Lancaster's five Victorian market houses.  Central Market has the distinction of operating continuously as a market.  The angled construction still gives the building a prominent presence along East King Street.  It was designed by Lancaster builder-architect John Evana (1824-94), whose career reflects the progression of carpenters and builders to the early profession of architect.  While closed as a market house in 1927, the building escaped demolition and has had several lives through adaptive reuse, including car dealership, boat showroom and office space.