Roadwork on East Market Street linked to Trolley

A circa 1939 photo looks eastward along East Market Street from the vicinity of Findlay Street in the Olde East York neighborhood. The highway is being graded following the removal of trolley tracks. For orientation purposes, street address numbers are noted for several of the buildings. (Source: Archives of Springettsbury Township Historic Preservation Committee; Annotated by S.H. Smith, 2022)

Posted by Stephen H. SmithNovember 18, 2022November 28, 2022 All Posts, Buildings, Businesses, Pennsylvania, Railroads, Roads, Springettsbury Township, Talks, Transportation, Various Locations, York County

Roadwork on East Market Street linked to Trolley

This is one of the slides in the October History Night presentation about stations, stops, and stories of “Rails through Springettsbury.” The circa 1939 roadwork photo provided several questions in the queue of one-on-one discussions later in the evening. This post provides expanded answers and additional illustrations to clarify those responses.

The YouTube video of the “Rails through Springettsbury” presentation at History Night on October 12, 2022, can be accessed through this link.

The ca. 1939 photo looks eastward along East Market Street from the vicinity of Findlay Street in the Olde East York neighborhood. The highway is being graded following the removal of trolley tracks. For orientation purposes, Market Street address numbers are noted for several of the buildings.

In the presentation I noted: “When East York was developed, the availability of access to the trolley was heavily promoted. The trolley tracks shared the southern lane of East Market Street in the early years of that development. A third traffic lane was built on the south side of East Market Street in 1932, sandwiching the trolley tracks in the center of the street.”

“When trolley service to Wrightsville was discontinued February 1st, 1933, the residents of the East York neighborhood were able to convince the company that enough riders would use it, such that trolley service, out to Kershaw Street continued, until all trolley service ended February 4th, 1939.”

The requested source for that statement comes from the 1998 National Register Application for the Olde East York Historic District in Springettsbury Township, per combined oral histories and documentation. The Olde East York Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 12th, 1999.

There were two inquiries if any photos exist of a trolley in East York during the time period when the tracks went down the middle of East Market Street, i.e. between the years 1932 and 1939.

I discovered the following, then undated, trolley photo in the Archives of Springettsbury Township Historic Preservation Committee. In that trolley photo, the utility poles at the left and right sides are consistent with earlier versions of those utility poles seen in the circa 1939 roadwork photo. And it appears the tracks are located between two motor vehicle lanes.

Trolley, which appears to be on tracks located in the middle of East Market Street, within the Olde East York neighborhood of Springettsbury Township. (Source: 1936 Photo from Archives of Springettsbury Township Historic Preservation Committee)

The photo can be dated to 1936, per the advertisement on the Trolley; i.e. The Strand is Now Playing, Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell in “Colleen.” Per a Newspapers.com search, the musical comedy movie “Colleen,” staring Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell started its run at the Strand Theatre in York during March of 1936.

A gentleman made the comment about the scarcity of buildings on the south side of that section of East Market Street. With that thought in mind, he surmised the circa 1939 roadwork photo might be much earlier than 1939; i.e. maybe it is 1932, when the extra vehicle lane was added. That did not make sense to me, because in 1932, the trolley tracks would still be showing, when the south vehicle lane was added.

To further confirm the circa 1939 roadwork year, I utilized the following March 19th, 1938 Historic Aerial photo, showing that section of East York. The buildings seen in the ca. 1938 roadwork photo are consistent with those within a viewpoint from Findlay Street. Also a darker line down the middle of East Market Street, is likely the trolley tracks; since lubricant and air cooled DC motor dust does tend to slightly darken the pavement where trolleys operated.

1938 Historic Aerial Photo of Olde East York neighborhood in Springettsbury Township. (Source: 3/19/1938 Photo on Penn State’s ImageryNavigator; Annotated by S.H. Smith, 2022)

Bringing the investigation to the present, the following 2012 eastward view is along East Market Street, from the Findlay Street intersection, in the Olde East York neighborhood. For comparison with other illustrations, corresponding Market Street address numbers are noted for the buildings not shielded by trees.