Lost and Found

Lost

Pennsylvania Architecture: The Historic American Buildings Survey, 1933-1990, recently published by the Pennsylvania and Historical Museum Commission (see “Bookshelf” in the fall 2000 issue) contains a number of vintage images of buildings and structures that, regrettably, no longer grace the landscape. The Horace Coleman House in northwestern Pennsylvania is just one example. Built about 1812 near Port Allegheny in McKean County for Coleman, a physician, at the time of his marriage, the house exemplified the Greek Revival style fashionable during the first half of the nineteenth century. William J. Bulger photographed the house for the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1936. Four years later this architectural treasure was destroyed by fire after being struck by lightning.

Found

Pennsylvania Architecture: The Historic American Buildings Survey, 1933-1990, records not only the Keystone State’s lost architectural jewels, but it also serves to remind readers of the vast number of historic buildings and structures that still exist. The Silkman House in Scranton, Lackawanna County, photographed in 1936 by Stanley Jones, was built in 1840, also in the Greek Revival style. It was the residence of William Silkman, a prominent resident, prosperous entrepreneur in the city’s Providence section, and president of its borough council. Readers and book lovers in the anthracite region know the elegant edifice well. Since 1936, the landmark building has housed a branch of the Scranton Public Library.