York Town Square

Linked in/Neat stuff: Red Rabbit restaurant/Hardscrabble York? This view, courtesy of the York, Pa., Daily

‘Greater York in Action,’ a 1969 book, celebrated the restoration of the Golden Plough Tavern and the neighboring Gates House as ‘restoration of two of York’s most outstanding buildings.’ And that they are. The York County, Pa., Heritage Trust plans a 50th anniversary celebration of the complex on May 16-17. These images come from the hand of artist Cliff Satterthwaite,

The Bond building or the Bond Sanitary Products building, as it still known, has been the scene of several significant moments in York County, Pa., history. And now, empty for some years, the King and Queen street structure faces a new use connected to York’s future – part of a growing arts community.

Confederate Gen. Jubal Early greets recent opening night attendees at an installation by Wayne White titled ‘FOE.’ The exhibit was part of what White described as a ‘three-ring circus’ that included the downtown installation, a lecture at sponsor York College of Pennsylvania and a retrospective exhibit on campus. ‘FOE’ will be open to the public through May 20.

Those old comfort stations under York, Pa.’s, Continental Square. Well, some folks weren’t aware of them, as indicated in comments on YDR’s Facebook page. (See below). Probably fewer were aware that those stations went into during Prohibition to replace the bars that were no more. But here’s one thing even fewer know. A passageway connects the men’s and women’s comfort stations.

Picturing History offers this before-and-after, then-and-now look at Hannah Penn Middle School. Some quick facts: This York, Pa., school, soon to be reopened with New Hope Academy Charter School shutting down, was not the first to bear the Hannah Penn name. The west end schoolgrounds also represent the site where Poorhouse Run goes underground as it crosses under the city to the Codorus Creek. Its grounds also were on or near the site of the old York Fairgrounds, site of a Union training camp early in the Civil War. But all this brings on the question: Who was Hannah Penn?

East Berlin’s Dale E. Brenner has provided this aerial photo of the King’s Mill/Schmidt & Ault/Smurfit-Stone complex beside the Codorus Creek from about 15 years ago. Since then, York College of Pennsylvania has rehabbed part of the site, which is no longer used for papermaking or other uses. Among other things, this interesting photo shows York College’s movement toward the western part of York City, with the Penn Street Bridge serving as a connector. That’s a good thing for the city.

Linked in/Neat stuff: George Trout’s book/York City in motionThis rendering shows what the West Manchester

So we put out a call on this blog at in the York Daily Record for the present of busybody mirrors, aka ‘spionnetje.’ And a Facebooker gave us a lead to this one, just west of Union Lutheran Church on West Market Street. That’s the only one to be brought forth so far. Any other such mirrors out there?

The closing of a stone arch bridge on the Shady Lane estate in York County’s East Manchester Township gives YorkTownSquare.com an opportunity to provide more images from this beautiful place. The photo shows what most people know about the estate – those distinctive gates on the road between Emigsville and Manchester.