The Continental Building

Posted by on Aug 29, 2025 in | Comments Off on The Continental Building As Pennsylvania prepares for the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding, much attention will be given to Independence Hall and the surrounding mall in Philadelphia. But it’s not only these colonial buildings that deserve our attention. In the adjacent blocks stand several significant modernist structures worth noting, too. One such example, the Continental Building, was listed in the...
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Margaret Esherick House

Posted by on Feb 24, 2025 in | Comments Off on Margaret Esherick House Nestled to the east of Chestnut Hill’s Pastouris Park in Philadelphia, along a quiet cul-de-sac, sits an architectural masterpiece that exudes the International style, popular in the mid-20th century. Completed in 1962 by prolific architect Louis Kahn (1901–74), best known for his institutional works, in collaboration with prominent artist Wharton Esherick (1887–1970), this one-bedroom,...
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Historic County Prisons in Pennsylvania

Posted by on Oct 21, 2024 in | Comments Off on Historic County Prisons in Pennsylvania This 1906 postcard shows the castle-like Montgomery County Prison in Norristown. It has stood guard over the city since it was first built on Airy Street in 1851. The building was designed by notable Philadelphia architect Napoleon LeBrun (1821–1901), who was also responsible for the 1852 Schuylkill County Prison and numerous churches, courthouses and other important public buildings. LeBrun was...
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Victorian Modern vs. Midcentury Modern: West Chester’s Old Main and New Main

Posted by on Sep 18, 2023 in | Comments Off on Victorian Modern vs. Midcentury Modern: West Chester’s Old Main and New Main   The West Chester University campus originated in 1871 as one building situated on 10 acres. This multipurpose building, the sole campus structure for 20 years, housed all the functions of the normal school: boys’ and girls’ dormitories, faculty quarters and home for the principal’s family, classrooms, study rooms, administrative offices, laboratories, library, dining room, infirmary,...
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Louis Kahn Receives a Pennsylvania Historical Marker — in Estonia

Posted by on Mar 17, 2023 in | Comments Off on Louis Kahn Receives a Pennsylvania Historical Marker — in Estonia We stood on a grassy knoll in Kuressaare among ambassadors, Estonian cultural officials, members of the Louis Kahn Estonia Foundation, and locals. Behind us was a 14th-century stone castle with battlements and towers and behind that, the Baltic Sea. In front of us was a tall pole topped by an official Pennsylvania Historical Marker honoring architect Louis I. Kahn (1901–74). A men’s choir began,...
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Germantown Jewish Centre

Posted by on Dec 15, 2022 in | Comments Off on Germantown Jewish Centre Rising dramatically above curving Lincoln Drive in the Mount Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia is the Germantown Jewish Centre. Part synagogue, part school, the stone building is entirely striking. The synagogue section facing Lincoln Drive suggests a mountainside breaking open to reveal a limestone tablet bearing the Ten Commandments. The opposite end features a smooth black granite wall within...
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Centre Avenue YMCA

Posted by on May 13, 2022 in | Comments Off on Centre Avenue YMCA Pittsburgh’s African American Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) originated in 1893 as a men’s Bible class at Old Bethel AME Church, which then formed a social and recreational club for young men and boys. This group was not officially recognized as a YMCA affiliate group until 1906, at which point they rented meeting space at 1847 Centre Avenue in the Hill District and became the third...
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Preservation Success in All Shapes and Sizes

Posted by on Dec 1, 2021 in | Comments Off on Preservation Success in All Shapes and Sizes In May 2021 the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office (PA SHPO) asked Pennsylvanians to send in their preservation success stories to celebrate National Historic Preservation Month. Now, PA SHPO is welcoming success stories all year long — not just in May. A preservation success story can be an activity, event, person, organization or place that shines a spotlight on efforts across the...
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Cambria City

Posted by on Nov 29, 2021 in | Comments Off on Cambria City Nestled between a bend in the Conemaugh River and a steep bluff, Cambria City is a distinctive, dense neighborhood that tells the story of hundreds of immigrants who came to work in Pennsylvania’s steel mills and coal mines in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Following the founding of the Cambria Iron Works in 1852, investors purchased land across the river from the mill, subdivided it,...
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Parkside Chapel

Posted by on Aug 13, 2021 in | Comments Off on Parkside Chapel Located near Henryville, in Paradise Township, Monroe County, Parkside Chapel stands as an architectural reminder of the growth of the Pocono Mountains region as a popular destination for affluent outdoorsmen and vacationers in the late 19th century. Following the American Civil War, logging was the leading industry in the region; however, as the forests were quickly being depleted, it became...
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