Lost and Found

Lost

Proving that it is as important as the buildings and structures it documents, Pennsylvania Architecture: The Historic American Buildings Survey, 1933-1990, recently released by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, boasts more than sixteen hundred entries. The 1787 Joseph Dorsey House near West Brownsville, Washington County, had long been recognized as a fine example of a well-preserved eighteenth-century house. For the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Jack E. Boucher photographed, in 1963, the house’s main entrance facing the Monon­gahela River. This doorway was framed by fluted pilasters and capped by an impressive pediment. The Joseph Dorsey House graced southwestern Pennsylvania for nearly two centuries, until destroyed by fire in the Winter 1993-1994.

Found

Pennsylvania Architecture gives vigor­ous new meaning to the old adage, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” In 1962, HABS photographer Ned Goode documented the Hopewell Academy, built circa 1815, in Hopewell, East Nottingham Township, Chester County. The building is noted for its especially fine Federal period details, including identical doorways on its southern and western facades. These entrances are distinguished by intricate carving and monumental fanlights topped an inset keystone. Pennsylvania Architecture cites the building as one of the excellent neoclassical buildings in the Commonwealth. In addition to an elegant central hall, the former Acad­emy building features carved mantels similar to the exterior carving. It has been refurbished as a private residence.