Monday, February 18, 2013
While most residents concede the 79-year-old building needs major repairs, the overriding question is whether to fix it or tear it down and start over. Here's a bit of the history of the former post office at Vine and Broad streets
In recent weeks there has been much discussion about the future of Lansdale’s Borough Hall. While most residents concede the 79-year-old building needs major repairs the overriding question is whether to fix it or tear it down and start over. Is the former post office a landmark worthy of preservation or just another old downtown building to be demolished along with the 75 others – including the Hotel Tremont and the Lansdale Theatre – that were razed over the last half century? A recent study concluded that both borough hall and the adjacent police station desperately need attention. The police station, originally built in 1957 as a library, has little historic significance and, in fact, served its original purpose for only 15 years. …
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Time wasn't kind to the Tremont, according to Lansdale Historical Society President Dick Shearer
It's been 15 years gone, and longtime residents still lament its demise and demolition. In its place is a Rite-Aid - an eyesore to many where the ghosts of power business lunches and mom and dad anniversary dinners exist. According to a "Back in Time" feature by Dick Shearer of the Lansdale Historical Society, the Tremont was the go-to restaurant when it was owned by Marcel Winniger. Yet, perhaps the Tremont was destined for failure, for demolition; its destiny may be that it would be talked about for decades, a story for grandmom and mom and dad to reminisce about with the good ol' days of Lansdale. Shearer said the Tremont had a troubled past that haunted it to the very end. The Hotel Tremont was built in 1890 by Isaac Heebner, son of …
Thursday, January 12, 2012
The Lansdale Historical Society presents its fifth volume in a series devoted to showcasing over 100 years of borough development
Borough residents were treated to a photographic trip down memory lane on Tuesday night, as the Lansdale Historical Society presented its fifth installment of the "The You Saw It, Now You Don't" series at the Lansdale Parks and Recreation building. With some photos dating back to the 1890's, historical society vice-president Steve Moyer narrated an hour long slideshow that compared old structures to their modern counterparts. "All these pictures came to us this year, which is kind of neat," said Moyer. "A lot of the pictures are over 100 years old" Some of the locations - such as the district court building on West Main Street - seem to have stood the test of time, showing few changes over the previous century. Others - such as the Wendy'…
Sunday, December 4, 2011
The public turned out en masse to view the collection of one of Lansdale's most cherished individuals. Plus, we finally find out about the history behind those bowties.
There was everything but the bowtie. More than 400 visitors got a glimpse into the private life Saturday of late Mayor Mike DiNunzio during a Lansdale Historical Society tribute to the life of DiNunzio. "They’ve been telling me it's one of the biggest and I've seen a lot of people come through," said DiNunzio's son, Mike DiNunzio Jr. "We’re very pleased with the fact that everybody has an interest." Lansdale Historical Society President Dick Shearer and historian Steve Moyer invited the DiNunzio family to show off Mayor Mike's collection to the public as part of its "Holidays at the Homestead" event. "They did a wonderful job," DiNunzio Jr. said. "They really put a lot of work into this and we really appreacite it." From a sampling of his …
Thursday, October 13, 2011
The year was marked by a polio vaccine, historic flooding, and three-cent stamps
A near-capacity crowd packed the Lansdale Parks and Recreation building on Tuesday night, as the Lansdale Historical Society treated guests to a presentation of all things 1955. The slideshow began with society president Dick Shearer displaying a few of his own pictures, which included school photos and an image of his family's first non-black vehicle. From there, the presentation covered several national and international stories, including the beginning of the civil rights movement, the opening of Disneyland, and Jonas Salk's polio vaccine. "It (polio vaccine) received its federal approval on April 12 of 1955," said Shearer, while displaying various images of the polio epidemic. "Two days after the drug received the approval, the county…
Monday, May 2, 2011
Saturday's tea and luncheon took guests on a trip back to the early 20th century.
Nearly 50 people attended a fundraiser Saturday at Elm Terrace Gardens in Lansdale, hosted by the Lansdale Historical Society. "We're having a tea and luncheon to raise money for the homestead. We want to refurbish the second floor room of John Jenkins' study," said Marti Drumheller, a trustee with the historical society. Without a doubt, the main attraction of the fundraiser was Ellie Laubner, who has written several books, including "Fashions of the Roaring '20s" and "Collectible Fashions of the Turbulent '30s." Laubner treated guests to a slideshow titled "The Fabulous Flapper," which highlighted the flapper-girl movement during the 1920s. Afterwards, Laubner hosted a "Guess What This Is" presentation, and finished up with a display of…
40.246349
-75.278975
Elm Terrace Gardens
660 N Broad St, Lansdale, PA
/articles/lansdale-historical-society-holds-flaptastic-fundraiser
854223
/locations/4205373
Friday, April 8, 2011
Mike Hart of Hartland Demolition is knocking down the stone structure today and Monday. Destroyed by a fire Jan. 13, it was one of the oldest homes in Lansdale.
The walls are tumblin’ down on one of the oldest homes in Lansdale. Mike Hart of Hartland Demolition Group in Lower Salford is in the process of demolishing the Mattero farmhouse at the corner of Seventh Street and Kenilworth Avenue. The farmhouse was ravaged by a fire in January. “I’ll be hot and heavy into it on Monday,” he said. “I’m chewing into the front of it a little bit. There’s a load in there. We’ll be knocking the walls down and everything else.” Hart said there was no chance of rebuilding the home. “Anybody can see the place is totaled,” he said. “The stone was all scorched, and all the internals were burned out completely. It would be a costly rebuild. It’s just not worth it.” Hart, who demolished the burned-down Lans-Bowl …
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Wachovia Bank, soon to become Wells Fargo Bank, shows its support of Lansdale through a historic display
Historic Lansdale has been taken to new heights recently. Walk into the Wachovia Bank on West Main Street in Lansdale – which will be come Wells Fargo Bank on April 16 – and you’ll find the Lansdale Athletic Association football team from 1894 staring down at you, including football pioneer Amos Alonzo Stagg. There’s also the Lehigh Valley transit trolley and the Montgomery Traction Company trolley captured through the lens at Susquehanna Avenue and West Main Street in 1902. In the background is the First National Bank of Lansdale. Coincidentally, that is the same location where these pictures are now featured, as part of a mural dedicated to Lansdale, Pennsylvania. The mural was installed March 15. These murals are part of a corporate …
40.24314
-75.28639
Wells Fargo
210 W Main St, Lansdale, PA
/articles/mural-depicts-history-of-lansdale
854902
/locations/3780812
Monday, March 21, 2011
Mike Hart, of Hartland Demolition and Restoration, will be given the 2011 Edwin G. Holl Historic Achievement Award for saving historic structures in Montgomery and Bucks counties.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
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Monday, March 21, 2011
Preservationist Mike Hart, of Lower Salford, will receive the seventh annual Edwin G. Holl Historic Achievement Award at the Lansdale Historical Society’s annual banquet April 19. Hart, owner of Hartland Demolition and Restoration Co., has intervened to save dozens of historically-significant structures over the past decade, many of them in Montgomery and Bucks counties. He is the founder of the nonprofit Foundation for Historic Building Rescue, which was created to preserve historic architecture and enlighten the public to its value in our changing communities. In cases where structures cannot be saved intact, the foundation dismantles them and reuses the materials. A recent example is the former Salford Station railroad bridge, which …
40.23889
-75.2813
Lansdale Historical Society
137 Jenkins Ave, Lansdale, PA
/articles/local-preservationist-to-be-honored-by-lansdale-historical-society
854294
/locations/3753125
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
The Lansdale Historical Society delivers part four of its journey through our area's past
Despite the bone-chilling cold and unforgiving winds, members of the Lansdale Historical Society made their way to the Lansdale Parks and Recreation center for part four of the "Then You Saw It, Now You Don't" series, which showcases the many changes the North Penn area has undergone over the past 100-plus years. After a brief introduction, Stephen Moyer, second vice president of the historical society, began a picture-by-picture narration of the many buildings, homes and businesses that used to be located in the area. Through the use of comparative photography, Moyer would show the audience pictures — some dated prior to 1890 — and then ask the audience if they could identify the locations. After a moment, he would then cue up a picture …
Shellie Cavallaro
1:32 pm on Tuesday, February 19, 2013
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