We sometimes seem to have a love/hate relationship with old buildings. We act like we would love to save them for their historical ties or architectural significance. On the other hand we often seem to hate committing funds to preserve them. This isn’t a new problem. There have always been
In the 1970s the York County Bicentennial Commission painstakingly researched the dimensions of the first York County courthouse, which stood in the center of York’s square from 1754 to 1841. This was the building that housed the Continental Congress from September 1777 to June 1778, when the British occupied the former capital,
See below for the transcription of an interesting clipping from the September 23, 1937 York Gazette and Daily found in the York County History Center files. It reads:
Last month I did a blog post about the impressive turn of the century York County courthouse and its narrow escape from the 1950s mentality of tear it down and build something new. The nicely restored building now serves at the York County Administrative Center in the first block
The third York County courthouse, now the York County Administrative Center, with its beautiful domes reminiscent of Florence’s Duomo, came close to joining other York County landmarks razed in the 1950s and 1960s. A clipping from the July 21, 1953 York
For over a month I have been putting together a slide show on York’s square in commemoration of the 275th anniversary of the laying out of York in 1741. The information on the square at the York County History Center Library/Archives, an abundance of maps, drawings, photographs and clippings, is
We lament, and rightly so, the loss of impressive York buildings, such as City Market and York Collegiate Institute. Still, it could have been worse. Here is an example of one urban renewal project that thankfully didn’t happen. While looking through the York Square file at the York County History
The enlarged section of the center of York above is bounded by Philadelphia, Duke, King and Beaver streets. It shows the square with the courthouse in the middle. I have flipped it form the original so that it is oriented to the north. As explained in my last post, in
I have read that one reason for tearing down the two later market sheds in York’s Center Square in the 1880s was that they were unsanitary. Evidently, there were some problems with the single market shed that stood east to the courthouse in the square much earlier. It looks so
Anyone who has passed through York has probably noticed the Colonial Court House on West Market Street by the Codorus Creek. It is a replica of York County’s first courthouse, which originally sat in the middle of York’s square. Now part of York County Heritage Trust, the impressive building is