It was an ordinary day. Not like most ordinary days, since the author of Lancaster Newspaper's "Lancaster In Style", Gregory J. Scott, had decided to make his Friday, January 13 edition of his great column "Lancaster In Style" his final edition. Greg wrote that "Our community is fortunate to have many fine intact examples of each architectural style dating from the early 1700s through to our present time and all within a very tight geographic footprint. Other Colonial East Coast cities may claim to have the same number of types, but certainly not within reasonable walking distances that Lancaster offers." He went on to give the reasons why Lancaster has grown like a tree with the many different styles of architecture that are represented in the city of Lancaster. He listed the many styles and always managed to give us examples so we could understand exactly what he was showing us. Lancaster is equidistant from Philadelphia and Baltimore and we are lucky enough in Lancaster to experience the many styles of architecture that fill those two prestigious towns. So what influenced the design styles and trends that we have inherited from both of those areas? World and domestic wars, international expositions, increased world travel, the development of photography, advancements in industry and technology, societal shifts and archaeological discoveries all contributed to and influenced architectural styles. The many buildings that line the streets in and around the center city of Lancaster have all been inherited from our cultural friendly cities near us. Very few architectural styles have been homegrown with the majority of design styles arriving from Europe and Asian cultures. Even though Mr. Scott will not be filling our architectural interests with more styles from the past, he will be bringing back his popular "Design Intervention" series that he once wrote every week. I just loved trying to figure out which style would come next week based on the letter of the alphabet that followed. I have heard Greg speak a few times and love hearing his talks on architectural history and how each style arrived in our neighborhood of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I'm sure his next tour through the alphabet will be as interesting. Can't wait for letter "A"...how about you? PS. - I have posted a few of the previous architectural studies that have been a part of his stories from the past. See if you recognize them. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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| Hager's Department Store - French Renaissance Style |
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Masonic Lodge - Gregorian Style
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Shaub's Shoe Store - Art Deco Style
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| Grace Lutheran Church - Gothic Style |
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Lancaster YMCA - Beaux Arts Style
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Reynolds School - Gothic Revival Style
Really Bros. & Raub - Beaux Arts Style
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