Sunday, April 21, 2013
A look at the history of our area, through photographs on Facebook.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
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Sunday, April 21
This week's "Old North Penn" was posted by resident Rob Gerhart on the "Lansdale, PA" open Facebook group, and shows West Main Street in Lansdale, circa 1957. The current Wells Fargo Bank at Main and Susquehanna is seen at left. What else do you remember or recognize in the photo? (Interesting item: The Madison Parking Lot sign on the right). See more photos at the "Lansdale, PA" Facebook page.
Monday, March 18, 2013
A seller on eBay has a 14-by-22 window ad from the 1950s from the former Lansdale Movie Theatre for sale.
At least one bid is in for a piece of Lansdale's defunct history of days gone by. A Lansdale Movie Theatre window card is being sold by a Harleysville eBay seller. One bid has been made at $10. The card advertises "Glamour Boy" with Jackie Cooper; "Secret of the Wastelands" with Bill Boyd; "You're In the Army Now" with Jimmy Durante and Phil Silvers; and "All Through the Night" with Humphrey Bogart and Conrad Veidt. The seller believes the card is from the 1950s; it has showtimes for the week of March 16. The card is an aged condition, and the seller will restore to near-perfect condition. Check out the listing here.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
An opinion piece on why and how Lansdale Borough Council should keep a part of Lansdale's past — and why 311 W. Main should be completed first
When I was a boy, growing up in Towamencin, I was surrounded by amateur carpenters who do impeccable work. My father, uncles and Pop-Pop Di Domizio would take their etched- or permanent marker-monogrammed tools and construct a new deck, back patio, addition, mantel, bookshelves — you get the picture. I can’t speak for the other members of my family, but at least for myself, I also grew up in a home where six projects were going on at one time. I love my parents’ finished basement; I don’t love how they can’t use the other half of the attic. The plywood only covers the joists so far. It wasn’t until I was nearing my wedding when their back porch finally got enclosed. I don’t live in that home anymore. I do live in Towamencin, but in an …
Monday, February 18, 2013
A look at rare finds on the online auction site. Today's find is an apothecary bag containing medicine vials from a former clinic on South Broad Street
At one time, Dr. J.B. Jacobs, Dr. D.D. Northrop and Dr. P.L. Bradford practiced medicine from The Lansdale Clinic at 202 S. Broad St. in Lansdale. The clinic may be long gone, but eBay member bottledigger1072 is selling a remnant from its past — an apothecary bag, complete with empty medicine vials with powder residue and paper labels. According to the description, the case is intact and closes securely; the sides of the bag are missing stitching. The vials contain labels reading "The Lansdale Clinic" and there are empty spots in the case where vials are missing. Asking price is $49.99. Check out the listing at this link.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Judith Boyles has begun to capture moments from Lansdale's heyday. Giclee prints of two oil masterpieces are available for purchase to benefit Lansdale Historical Society
You could call Judy Boyles a memory preservationist. She has a knack for capturing majestic moments in nature via camera and recreating them on canvas, moments beautifully embedded in your mind or abstractly described as words in some memoir. Her latest oils are neither flora nor fauna, but this: nostalgia. Stand at West Main Street and N. Towamencin Avenue and look in the direction of the water tower; you see a parking lot for a Univest Insurance building that spans the entire block. In the 1920s, it looked much different. In fact, it was the crown jewel of town, frequented daily. On March 5, 1928, Lansdale Theater opened and remained on that site until its demolition in 1979. In its heyday, it was the place to see “All Talking Pictures…
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Chief Robert McDyre told the public safety committee that measures need to be taken to protect the 'valuable' assets at the Jenkins Homestead on Jenkins Avenue
After dealing with recent instances of vandalism at the Jenkins Homestead, the Lansdale Historical Society is getting some help from Lansdale Police and the borough public safety committee. Lansdale Police Chief Robert McDyre told the committee last week that no trespassing signs and surveillance cameras will soon be installed at the homestead. "I think the items are too valuable to suffer loss any further," McDyre said. Lansdale Historical Society President Dick Shearer said he has been very appreciative of the increased surveillance that the borough has provided ever since the increase in vandalism, which has ranged from graffiti on a historic home to damaged shakes on the roof of an 18th-century spring house. "I am very concerned about …
Monday, May 21, 2012
The second annual Spring Tea fundraiser at Elm Terrace featured a look back on eight decades of wedding traditions
Here came the brides, all dressed in white (and black too). The ladies of the Lansdale Historical Society board and its membership pool held the second annual Spring Tea at Elm Terrace Gardens on Saturday with the theme "An Affiar to Remember." Female family members of the ladies of the society sashayed in through the Dorothy Stiteler Dining Room in wedding gowns from the 1920s through the 2000s. Colleen Peterson, of Harleysville Bridal, emceed the fashion show. The event also featured photos of notable Lansdale residents present and past on their wedding days. There were also wedding tradition artifacts donated by various members. The Mennonite Heritage Center in Franconia provided a dress from the 1880s that was for display only. Check …
Monday, March 12, 2012
"Sights Unseen," presented by Lansdale Historical Society, looks at the architectural and ethereal features right in front of our eyes
This month’s Lansdale Historical Society presentation is about history hidden in plain view. It does something else – it looks to the history of one man’s work that parallels the meaning behind “Sights Unseen” on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. At the Lansdale Parks and Recreation building, LHS will present “Sights Unseen” in all its unpredictability. Go look at the circular window at borough hall that’s been there since the 1930s. Drive past the old Hammer’s Moving building on West Main Street (now a furniture store, across from the old West Coast Video) and I bet you, at least subconsciously, recognize those two explorer ships on it. “Sights Unseen” doesn’t stop at buildings in plain view; it also goes underground. You know where Schwenkfelder …
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'…
Linda Donaldson
10:35 am on Wednesday, February 20, 2013
When the masonic lodge still owned their building, Dr. Strohecker's vast collection of historical artifacts graced their Main Street windows. For 2 days during a downtown festival, the Doctor's entire collection of memorabilia was on display as an open house. It was fantasic! He even had merry-go-round horses from the West Point amusement park. Afterwards, I wrote to the Borough Manager to … more ›