Copper top of York Square’s ‘Teapot Dome’ needs to be recharged
Dave Herman of the Kinsley Education Center shows the old trolley kiosk that sat for years in York’s Continental Square. Kinsley is renovating the kiosk and found that its copper roof could not be saved. The cost of a new roof will be $8,000. The door, windows, glass and some of the framework at all originals. (See video by the York Daily Record/Sunday News’ Paul Kuehnel below.) Background posts: Hanover trolley bed work seen as ‘springboard to accelerate future phases of the trail’, Research offers insights about York County’s trolleys and From war bonds to pets and people .
Last time we looked into the old trolley kiosk, Teapot Dome, it was in the shop.
Well, it’s still in the shop awaiting funding to replace an $8,000 copper roof.
A recent York Daily Record/Sunday News story on its status brought comments typical of those who look at such costs either as a waste of money or an investment in our heritage… .
Someone wrote: “Only the historians would give two craps about this restoration. DORKS!”
And another commenter wrote in reply: “Waste of funding? It was clearly stated that the restoration was done gratis. Even if it hadn’t been, the kiosk really is an icon of York’s rich heritage and truly deserves to remain prominent in the square. If you want to talk about wasteful spending lets talk shot-spotters (devices that detect gunshots as a aid police .)”
We’d side with the latter, although if police think shot-spotters are useful, let’s give them the resource.
But a third way to look at the restoration project is that it gives Kinsley apprentices experience working with a before-the-turn-of-the-20th century artifact. That could come in handy in the future.
Anyway, if the roof is funded, the kiosk would be back in the square in the spring.
Here is more info on the domed, octagonal building, published in the York Daily Record/Sunday News and based on Dan Meckley’s “Time of the Trolley:”
· When trolley service stopped in 1939, the kiosk moved to the car barns on the Avenues.
· Donald R. West acquired it and moved it to a parking lot at 101 S. George St.
· Attorney J. Eugene Stumpf bought it and put it in his backyard as a playhouse.
· The city took ownership and turned it over to the York County Vocational Technical School for refurbishing.
· It was put back on the square but removed in 2004 because of its poor condition.
