Prelude: In each century, there are a handful of individuals who define a city and make their stamp on history. Written by architect Gregory J. Scott, FAIA, Urban Legend is a book about C. Emlem Urban and 25 of the architectural masterpieces which left an indelible mark on the City of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Urban, a true legend, designed 700+ commissions with no formal education beyond the age of 17. On the pages of this book, Scott shares insight gathered from years of research including Urban's personal diaries, sketchbooks, and linen drawings. This landmark book was produced locally with photography by Matthew Tennison and design and marketing by Fig Industries.
If you treasure history, appreciate architecture, or love the City of Lancaster, get your copy of Urban Legend. Go to egganddartbooks.com or follow @egganddartbooks on Instagram and Facebook for book signings and retail locations.
It was an ordinary day. Just left the auditorium of Woodcrest Villa, where I am a resident, after listening to a stirring presentation by Lancaster's Mr. Gregory Scott about one of Lancaster's most famous residents, C. Emlem Urban. Greg recently finished his book, "Urban Legend: The Life & Legacy of C. Emlen Urban" and was giving a presentation to the residents of Woodcrest Villa about the life of Mr. Urban and what they might find in his new book. A story in the local newspaper began with ....."You won't find author Gregory Scott's name on the cover of "Urban Legend: The Life & Legacy of C. Emlen Urban" - a new book detailing the work of Lancaster's most iconic architect.
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| Mr. C. Emlen Urban |
But the omission of Scott's name is not an oversight, it was by design. "It's not my book, it's Urban's book," says Scott who is a resident of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. "At the end of the day, I had the privilege of putting this book together for Urban and for the community." I had just spent the past wonderful hour listening to Greg tell the story that he has now placed in his new book about the life and times of Mr. Urban. Fantastic story that was extremely interesting. The book is a beautiful book, both in size and content. The story inside the front cover tells the life and legacy of Mr. C. Emlen Urban, one of Lancaster's most famous and prolific architects. Gregg is an architect himself who's been practicing for more than 50 years with 42 of them at Lancaster's RLPS (Reese, Lower, Patrick & Scott). He told his audience that he was destined to write the book since both he and Urban were the second of five children and struggled scholastically. They both married their high school sweethearts in their early 20s, had two children and lived in Lancaster. They both spent their careers in architecture and Scott says, "we're notorious for underestimating the cost of our projects." But, for Scott, the kicker came last fall, when he acquired a formal coat once owned by Urban from a young woman who found it in a Denver, PA based thrift store. "We're living parallel lives. These mysterious connections kept happening. It was just meant to be." Greg said, "I'll pit our boy Urban against any other national architect for his ability and depth of knowlwedge." The talk that Greg gave to his audience at Woodcrest was both fun and interesting. He added just the right amount of background information to let his audience know about his connection to Mr. Urban without overdoing it. I was amazed at his wealth of knowledge he presented about Mr. Urban. One of my former high school students, James Mehaffey, had worked with Greg and told me about the connection between Greg and Urban. Well, the talk today was both informative and interesting and I'm hoping to be able to buy one of his new books he has recently finished. I'm sure I will be amazed with the magnitude of work that Mr. Urban has contributed to Lancaster's city and county. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. Following are photos of a minute few of Mr. Urban's many buildings in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
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| Lancaster's Southern Market |
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| The Watt & Shand Department Store Building |
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| The Greist Building |
The Woolworth Dept. Store
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