The "Housing For Skinny People!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Driving around the city of Lancaster searching for a few houses that I had heard about that were over 100 years old and less than 10 feet wide.  Seems simple, right?  Now, the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania has a storied history.  It originally was called Hickory Town and eventually renamed after the English city of Lancaster by native John Wright.  Lancaster actually was part of the 1681 Penn's Woods Charter of William Penn, and was laid out by James Hamilton in 1734.  It was incorporated as a borough in 1742 and incorporated as a city in 1818.  So you see, looking for a few houses that are more than 100 years old was a big task.  Well, as I scoured the 7.413 square miles of buildings in the city, I came across a few other pretty neat places that I thought I'd share with you.  I may have briefly posted something in the past about a few of these, but I will list them once again along with photos of them from now as well as in the past.  And then, at the end of my story, I'll show you some of the 10 feet wide homes I found.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

416 S. Queen St. which was known as the Shiffler House.  It was the Shiffler Fire Company from 1854 to 1886.  I have found minutes, constitution and by-laws from the fire company as well as an invitation to the annual ball that they held.  At the time there were a few other private fire companies in the city of Lancaster such as the Humane Fire Co., Washington Fire Co., American Fire Engine and Hose Company and the Friendship Fire Company.  Most ended service in or around 1882 when the first paid City Fire Department came into existence.

This is what the building looks like today.  Remarkable shape for the age of the building which is now a private residence.

This is the Sehner-Ellicott-von Hess House at 123 North Prince Street in downtown Lancaster.  It was built in 1787 by German builder Gottlieb Sehner.  It was here that Andrew Ellicott, commissioned by U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, taught Meriwether Lewis surveying techniques for the Lewis & Clark Expedition (1803-1806) of western territories.

This is a current photo I took.  The house was restored from 1978 to 1981 by the Louise Steinman von Hess Foundation and now houses the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County.

This is a postcard showing 533 S. Prince Street.  The house was built in 1873 because of a bet.  It was built in 10 hours by 100 workers.  Turned out great. 

This is what the house looks like today.

This residence at 213 Church Street was built in 1890, also in 10 hours.  The house is in "Olde Town Lancaster" and is 10 feet wide. Under the Hamilton Plan of the 1740s, standard lots in Lancaster were 64 feet wide.  At times there were spaces between houses as well as alleyways.  Could be this home, and the two that follow, filled one of those open spaces.

This house at 428 E. Orange St. is also less than 10 feet wide.  Certainly would be easy to heat and cool, but might be tough to turn furniture around inside of it.

This is 216 1/2 West Walnut Street in the city.  It is the narrowest house at 8 feet, 9 inches wide. It was built in 1840. 

   

The "Tiny Home Mania" Story

A tiny home on Rt. 30 in Lancaster, PA which is for sale.
Notice the upper level is very small.

It was an ordinary day.  Driving east on US Route 30 from Lancaster, PA to SR41 to a small town known as Gap when I mentioned to Carol that there were a few tiny home builders who occupy the sides of the three-lane highway along that stretch that are now building tiny homes.  We noticed a few new shows during the past year or so on Home and Garden Network that featured these tiny homes.  I should begin by telling you that the typical American home is around 2,600 square feet in size while the size of a tiny house is somewhere between 100 and 400 square feet in size.  Some of the homes are built on a trailer bed while others ware built on a concrete slab or built in a shipping container.  

This tiny home is built on a wooden platform.
This home didn't even have a second level.

Why would anyone want a home that you had a hard time turning around in or had to sleep on a mattress where you couldn't even stand up?  Seems that tiny home owners buy their homes because of freedom of debt, freedom to travel, freedom of location and having the option to pursue dreams versus working a thankless 9-to-5 job.  But, the homes are necessarily cheap to construct.  They can cost anywhere from $20,000 to maybe $100,000 depending on what small amenities the buyer wants.  There are a few home builders in Lancaster County, including Amish builders, who now seem to specialize in the tiny houses.  I believe it is just a fad at present and many people who begin with a tiny home and eventually have a family would have a tough time raising that family in a 100 square foot home.  The cost and mobility ideas are great, but when I was growing up, people who had the same idea bought mobile homes, but I must admit they are slightly larger than the tiny homes produced today.  

Another tiny home on wheels.

While watching the shows on H&G TV, I wonder how owners handle water and sewer issues.  Will they be hooked to running water?  How about a sewer hookup for sink and toilet waste.  And, what about power hookup.  I must admit that some of the homes featured on TV are rather unique.  Some have an eat-in kitchen with a small living area on the first floor and a crawl space for sleeping.  And, what about heating and cooling issues?  Can large sized pets be kept in a tiny home with you?  Carol and I have been talking about downsizing to make it easier to maintain the house and property, but we really aren't interested in a tiny home.  No way would I want to, or could, climb a ladder to go to bed.  I read an online article telling that tiny homes has been a slow-growing community that started about 15 years ago and only became well-known because of TV networks picking up on the fad and making it look like a fantastic lifestyle.  I would like to see what people think ten years or more after buying and living in a tiny house before I would recommend the lifestyle to anyone.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Remembering Formstone? Story

This city home has Formstone on the front of
it.  The side of the home still remains stucco.
The home next to it on the right is painted white
while the home to the left is red brick. Click on
photos to enlarge them.

It was an ordinary day.  Driving south on Prince Street, Rt. 222/272, thru center city Lancaster, PA and mentioned to my wife about all the homes in the city that still have Formstone on them.  I can remember when I was a child and the rooming house/local bar at the other end of our block on North Queen Street covered their brick walls with Formstone.  At the time it was a popular way to make you home stick out from the rest of brick homes in the block.  Many also added Formstone because of home additions whose brick didn't match the original home brick.  And, if you didn't look too hard, it did look similar to real stone.  Mom and dad talked about doing it to our semi-detached home, but finally decided the cost didn't justify having it done and Deb and Bob, the owners of the other half of the semi didn't plan on having it done.  For those who have no idea what Formstone might be or what it might look like, it was patented by Albert Knight of nearby Baltimore, MD in 1937.  

The boarding house/bar still stands at the
south corner of the last block of North Queen
Street.  The old building's Formstone is beginning
to break away in some places.  An old phone
booth still stands in front of it. Still looks like
a structure in the 1950s or 1960s. 

There were four other very similar products on the market at the time, but around our area, Formstone was the big fad.  Formstone was applied in three layers, much like stucco, anchored by a metal lath which was attached to the brick underneath it.  The layer that you see contains the coloration used to imitate stone and is textured using waxed paper and an aluminum roller.  Simulated motar joints were scored into the Formstone to give it the "real stone" look.  In 1997 a 30-minute documentary was filmed about the practice of applying Formstone.  The coproducer of the documentary, Lillian Bowers, got the idea for the film after dreaming that her father's gravestone was being covered with Formstone.  

You can see the depth of the Formstone and how it is
coming loose from the original building in this photograph.

For those who purchased a house with Formstone and hated it, it could be removed from a three-story building in a weekend, but repairing the damage the metal lath did would take much longer.  Restoring old buildings and old neighborhoods along the east coast with many houses that had Formstone, or something similar, are being done by communities who are trying to restore all homes to their original condition.  As for my old home on North Queen Street, it still remains the old stucco that it used to be.  Years ago the home owner enclosed the front porch to add a room which looked terrible when finished.  That was recently removed and now the house looks like it did when I lived there.  That is except for the huge pine tree standing in the front yard that totally ruins the look of the home.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

My childhood home, the last home on North Queen Street, with it's new front porch.  Years ago the porch, on which I played throughout my childhood,  was enclosed to make another room.  It was recently torn down and the porch refurbished.

The "The Streets Of Old San Juan" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Walking on the deep-blue cobblestone streets in the heart of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.  The stones were originally used as ballast on Spanish ships, but eventually were used for the streets in the old city.  Old San Juan, founded in 1521, is the oldest city that flies a United States flag and is a compact, colorful mini-city that seems to be made for walking.  The town of close to half a million residents is only three square miles and is dominated with Spanish colonial-style buildings that date back to the 16th and 17th centuries.  On either end of the north side of the city stand their two forts, El Morro and Castillo de San Cristobal which are less than a mile apart.  Old San Juan, the second oldest European-founded city in the Americas (Santo Domingo being the oldest), is one of the most vibrant cities in the Caribbean that features overhanging ironwork balconies, pastel facades and courtyards galore.  The city is known as La Ciudad Amurallada, since it is surrounded by over 3 miles of walls that at one time circled the entire colonial capital.  Sometime in the 20th century the city partially removed some of the wall to incorporate expansion into Miramar, Santurce, Condado Hato Rey and Rio Piedras.  The city with its fortresses and walls was recognized by the United Nations as a World Heritage Site, one of only 12 U.S. National Park units to be so designated.  Today I will take you along as Carol and I explored the city by foot as well as by trolley.  I hope my photographs are able to capture the uniqueness and old-world charm that lines the walls of the city of Old San Juan.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - Remember to click on the photos to enlarge them. 

To start the tour ….. This Government building built in the 1840s is known as the Asilo de Beneficencia and is the home for the poor and indigent people of the city.

The Totem Telurico is located in Quincentennial Plaza and was designed by Puerto Rican artist Jaime Suarez.  It's made of clay from across the Americas.

Colorful buildings line this street in Old San Juan.

This pastel stucco home has the overhanging balcony that is featured on many of the homes in the city.

I love the way the street's names are embedded into the walls of the house or store.  The signs are mostly in tiles.

More ironwork balconies and one house in the foreground has a wrought iron light.

A variety of musicians were seen throughout the city with a hat or jar presented for tips.  This gentleman was playing my favorite, Lady of Spain, on his accordion.  Almost stopped to ask if I could try playing the song.

The pastel colors, tiled street and balconies make this automobile deficient street a wonderful sight. 

These tiled steps direct the viewer towards the Crucifix in the open window above.

Another minstrel playing his guitar along the sidewalk.

This archway between two city homes leads to a courtyard in the distance. 

This tree-lined street was just so romantic!  Too bad the cars had to be along the curb.

This photo was taken through an open window that had wrought-iron bars for protection. 

Another lovely home with wrought-iron balconies and arched openings.  

This home added the canvas awnings to protect from the afternoon heat.

Strays and feral cats were abundant on the streets of the city.  This little cat had such a forlorn look.

I took this photograph in what is known as the Plaza de Armas.  The plaza stands in front of City Hall and there you will also find this bench with a statue called Tite Curet Alonso, a world famous Puerto Rican "Salsa" composer who wrote over 2,000 songs during his career.  He is sitting on the bench, waiting for people to sit and have their photo taken with him.  Tite was humble, friendly, open and inviting just as his statue is today.

All the trolley signs are displayed above the stop which carries the number of the stop.

The trolley is approaching us.  Notice how little space it has to traverse the streets of Old San Juan.  A few times we had to stop and wait for someone or something to move before we could continue.

A church to the left with another beautiful home lined with wrought-iron balconies.

This is actually a Pizza Hut restaurant placed in an old building with beautiful architecture.

Corner home with pastel colors and a tile roof.

I was not at a loss for buildings to photograph.  Here is another example of the Spanish architecture of the city of Old San Juan.

Some of the tile work on the edges of the second floor of a home in the city.

And here are some architectural enhancements to another home.

Another sculpture which lines the streets of the city.  This one is dedicated to Eugenio Maria De Hostos on behalf of a grateful homeland.

This is the roofline of the Cathedral de San Juan built in 1521.  I have already posted a story about this beautiful cathedral. 

This roofline of the Capillo de Cristo or Chapel of the Pigeons is located along the wall of the city.  I have also written a story about this beautiful location.

The final two photos are of the San Juan Gate which is near the Governor's House on the San Juan wall.  It is reached by walking down the street across from the Cathedral towards the water.  The street is beautiful, lined with old trees and gorgeous houses.

The "Writing's on the Wall …… and Ceiling" Story

The Landon House in Urbana, MD

It was an ordinary day.  Recalling one of the stories that I wrote last year about the Landon House in Urbana, Maryland.  My granddaughter, Camille, and I made a visit to the historic mansion and while there got to see inscriptions and writings that were above one of the fireplaces in the house.  They were placed there by both Confederate soldiers and Union soldiers during the Civil War.

Inscriptions on the wall found beneath the old wallpaper.

The charcoal drawings were of General Lee and President Lincoln, among other things.  You can read about it by clicking on "History" and leafing back through the stories.  Well, today I was reading the newspaper about a fellow who lives in the Grandview Heights area of Manheim Township.  Carol and I lived at 925 Janet Avenue in Grandview Heights for 29 years where we raised our three children.  We moved into our three-story semi-detached Tudor style home about a year after we were married in 1967.  Neat place that had three bedrooms, one bath, a full basement and a full third-floor.  Did quite a bit of remodeling and made some neat discoveries along the way.  The story in the newspaper told of a family who was also doing some remodeling and made a great find.  While removing some old wallpaper the couple discovered inscriptions behind it.  

Newspaper photo of inscription on wall of Janet Ave. home.

On October 1,1929 Lester Brinkman, wallpaper hanger, signed his name on the plaster wall before he papered over it.  Other hangers did the same thing in 1943, 1969 and 1979.  Seems that Mr. Brinkman was the one who re-papered the house in 1943 along with a Ray Greider.  They identified themselves on the wall as fire policemen as well as Mr. Greider signed on as an air warden.  One of the things they also wrote was: "Who won the war?  U.S., Japan or Germany."  The inscriptions probably pre-dated the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki so they had no idea about who might have won the war.  The fellow who made the discovery in his house plans to paint the walls, but will place glass over the spot where the inscriptions were discovered.  Also brought back memories of my time on Janet Avenue when Carol and I decided to redo our bathroom.  We had a leak in the plumbing and I had to take the tile off the floor to find out the location of the leak.  This all took place while Carol was 8 months pregnant with our first child.  After finding the leak, we decided to redo the entire bathroom and as I was removing the old medicine cabinet I discovered on the wall behind it the date that the house was built.  There on the wall was written "constructed in 1929."  Pretty neat discovery, but I had to remove that part of the wall and while doing so the plaster crumbled and I lost the inscription.  History displays itself in many mysterious ways.  I often wonder what future owners of the house on Janet will think when they read what I had written when I put suspended ceilings in the living and dining rooms of the house.  Did date it, but also added a few other comments which after selling the property realized I should have dropped the ceiling tiles and painted over the inscription.  I'd give you the info, but don't want to get in any trouble.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

The "From Fireplaces to Cupcakes" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Walking around the interior of the  Lancaster County Convention Center in downtown Lancaster.  Reason why Carol and are attending the Suburban Pennsylvanian Spring Hone Show is to look for an electric insert for the small fireplace in our bedroom.  When we first moved into our "Beach House" in the mid-90s we loved using the fireplace in the bedroom.  

Had a basket with firewood stationed next to the fireplace which we would burn when we went to bed.  Only problem came when the dog and cats took an interest in the fireplace and if we fell asleep with the fire burning, we feared the animals might cause a fire.  So, we are looking for a less dangerous alternative that we can, remotely, turn off without getting out of bed.  The show has displays of just about anything related to the home from appliances to home construction to roofing to landscaping to cupcakes.  Yep, Lancaster Cupcake company had a large display with plenty of samples.  Didn't find anything that would help us, except the cupcakes, so we wandered around the Lancaster Mariott Hotel which connects to the Convention Center.  

Lobby area of the Lancaster Mariott.

Beautiful building that has kept the historical facade of the Watt & Shand Department Store as their hotel front.  As we entered from the parking garage we walked through a long hall of the Mariott that displayed photos of the building when it was Watt & Shand.  Watt & Shand was designed by Lancaster native and

The Montgomery House can be seen
as part of the lobby of the Mariott.

well-known architect C. Emlen Urban in 1898.    Looking skyward from the lower level of the Mariott gives open multi-level views of the old department store.  But, the most interesting view from the lower level is the exposure of the outside of the Montgomery House which is part of the interior of the hotel.  Really a neat feature that displays the house that was built in 1804 for prominent Lancaster attorney William Montgomery.  It was designed by Harrisburg architect Stephen Hills and contains a rare oval room on the first floor of the Early Federal Period home that is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  That's the reason why the rear of the house is inside the Mariott.  When the Lancaster Convention Center and the Mariott were constructed in the late 2000s, the house was preserved externally and became an added feature in the Mariott's main lobby.  

One of the many blueprints displayed in the hall as you enter
the hotel from the parking garage.  This view of the exterior
of the Watt & Shand building was drawn by C. Emlen Urban.

The interior of the house is being restored to it's original state and then will be opened to the public for viewing as well as being used by the hotel for meetings.  The combination of hotel, with the original exterior facade of the old Watt & Shand, and the convention center are beautiful, both outside and inside, but the inclusion of the Montgomery House into the construction makes for a remarkable addition to the center of the city of Lancaster.  Saving our historical past is necessary for future generations to learn how Lancaster was established and how they played a prominent part in the development of our country.  Great job!  Bravo!!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.