One of the best known and prolific architects to have called Radnor home was David Knickerbacker Boyd. Over the next few weeks "From the Archives" will look at some of Boyd's work in the township. Boyd designed the Central Baptist Church while partnering with his brother, Lawrence Visscher Boyd. The church was built ca. 1898 on a prominent piece of land between the Wayne Title & Trust Company (built in 1890) and the George W. Childs Memorial Library (built ca. 1893). This created a row of attractive gray stone institutional buildings along the south side of Lancaster Avenue in the center of …

One of the best known and prolific architects to have called Radnor home was David Knickerbacker Boyd. Over the next few weeks "From the Archives" will look at some of Boyd's work in the township. David K. Boyd briefly partnered with his architect brother, Lawrence Visscher Boyd, in a firm they called Boyd & Boyd. Perhaps the most recognizable example of their work together is the Central Baptist Church in downtown Wayne, designed in the late 1890s. This image was probably drawn by one of the brothers, and graced the cover of the program commemorating the church's cornerstone laying on August…

  One of the best known and prolific architects to have called Radnor home was David Knickerbacker Boyd. Over the next few weeks "From the Archives" will look at some of Boyd's work in the township. In 1899, Boyd designed the clubhouse for the Saturday Club, which had been meeting in a shared public building since 1886. The Club is considered one of the oldest women's clubs in the United States, and still operates to this day. The clubhouse was designed by David K. Boyd in the Tudor Revival style, supposedly mimicking the home of William Shakespeare. Though the building's porch has been …

One of the best known and prolific architects to have called Radnor home was David Knickerbacker Boyd. Born in 1872, some of Boyd's earliest designs were for the Wayne Estate and developers Wendell & Smith. This was in the 1890s, when the neighborhoods of North Wayne and St. Davids were largely built, but a few lots were still to be built upon and exciting new ventures such as Overbrook Farms were on the drawing boards. David Boyd is hardly a household name in Radnor today, although his work is still immediately recognizable by anyone familiar with the township.  This image is the first in a …

The mansion known as Bloomfield, which was nearly destroyed by fire on April 4, had been a largely intact example of a typical 1920s-era Main Line estate. While the French Chateau-inspired house was designed by Horace Trumbauer, its equally magnificent interiors were decorated by Lucien Alavoine. Alavoine originated in Paris but worked extensively in the United States, often collaborating with Trumbauer. When Bloomfield was recently up for sale, photographs of its impressive interior were used prominently in sales materials. - Greg Prichard, Radnor Historical Society

Residents of Radnor, and indeed the entire Philadelphia region, were captivated last week by the fire at one of the Main Line's great mansions. In its current form, Bloomfield was built in 1923 from a design by famed architect Horace Trumbauer. The estate was well-known for its large formal gardens, part of which was subdivided within the last 30 years into the Trianon development. Bloomfield was home to cotton broker George McFadden Jr., in whose family the house remained until the mid-1980s. Other Horace Trumbauer mansions in Radnor include Ardrossan and Woodcrest, which is now the central …

This photograph, dated 1979, shows the iconic glowing "TV Guide" logo that adorned the magazine's national headquarters on King of Prussia Road here in Radnor. The huge building still stands today, though it has been enlarged and transformed into Penn Medicine at Radnor. This dramatic entrance with its welcoming lobby is no longer an entrance at all, but the facade is still visible near the corner of Radnor-Chester Road. The headquarters was built in 1957, and the datestone can still be seen just to the right of the former lobby entrance. The former TV Guide headquarters is an often …

Few of today's Radnor residents know that TV Guide magazine, the most circulated magazine in the country in the late 1950s and '60s, had been produced right here in Radnor Township. Under the management of Walter Annenberg's Triangle Publications, the magazine moved to its national headquarters here in 1957. Designed by the architectural firm of Rosengarten & Kraemer, the headquarters was one in a cluster of the most modern buildings in the township, all built in the late 1950s. This rendering was printed in a newspaper to announce TV Guide's adoption of Radnor as its new home. Though it …

This snowy scene of Conestoga Road at Wayne's "5 Points" intersection has a hidden piece of history: one of Wayne's 1920s-era Keystone Markers. The marker was located here as it was considered a major entry point to the downtown area on a state road (Conestoga Road was then part of Route 301). Wayne had six of these markers originally (see the photos from the last two weeks here and here), and two remain, including this one, except it is no longer in its original location. Hit by a car and lost in a ditch decades ago, it was re-discovered by a St. Davids resident who fixed it up and re-…

The Radnor Historical Society values every photo of Radnor, no matter how mundane it may seem. Here is a perfect example of what can be learned from a seemingly unimportant photograph. This is a color Polaroid of North Wayne Avenue from Eagle Road after a snowstorm in the 1960s. The signage shows not only that North Wayne Avenue was part of Route 252, but also that a Pennsylvania-standard blue and yellow Keystone Marker was located there on the west side of the avenue! There were thought to have been six of these markers in downtown Wayne (two exist; see last week's photo). The one pictured …

This week's photo is the same as last week's, but it highlights a part of Wayne history that's easy to miss. The corner of Lancaster and Aberdeen Avenues is of course a major entry point to downtown Wayne. In this photo, a sign known as a Keystone Marker peeks out just behind the utility pole by the Atlantic gas station. Starting in the 1920s, the Pennsylvania Department of Highways installed thousands of these signs across Pennsylvania, many of which acted as gateways to major downtown areas along state roads. Wayne is thought to have had six of these blue and yellow Keystone Markers along …

Wayne was home to a number of classic American gas stations, though all have been replaced with more modern structures. This station was one of the originals. None of the structures in this view are still standing. Can you guess where this Atlantic station once stood? The answer will be posted Tuesday, February 28. - Greg Prichard, Radnor Historical Society From the Archives was recently nominated for the Heritage Commission’s Annual Preservation Award in the Publication category. Answer: Thanks to everyone who guessed! Wayne's Atlantic gas station was located where the current Sunoco/A-Plus …

The Suburban Building on North Wayne Avenue is one of downtown Wayne's most attractive, up-to-date commercial buildings. However, its long life has not been without calamity. This undated photograph, found in the archives of the Radnor Historical Society, shows the interior of the building (then called the Maguire Building) after a severe fire. This view, on the second floor at the top of the stairs, shows the railing at right, which still remains. See a photo gallery of the Suburban Building as it was being renovated here. - Greg Prichard, Radnor Historical Society

There has been much discussion lately about a developer's plans to modify and renovate Wayne's famous Louella mansion. Built between 1867 and 1868, Louella was home to J. Henry Askin, the first entrepreneur to consider turning the area that would become Wayne into a suburban development. Louella, now the oldest building in downtown Wayne, is set to become a 12-unit condominium, which, according to the developer, will require many historic elements to be replaced. Among these are the entrance doors, seen here in 1870, which will supposedly be replaced by similar copies. Other features in place…

These two houses, shown around the turn of the 20th century, are on the west side of Summit Avenue in South Wayne, or what is now the portion of South Wayne Avenue south of Audubon Avenue. The house at right is at the corner of Summit and Audubon. This snowstorm, also seen in the last two installments of From the Archives, must have been pretty monumental for the relatively new town of Wayne; the photographer kept the glass plate negatives of the storm and a scrapbook of prints. - Greg Prichard, Radnor Historical Society

This scene shows the aftermath of a snowstorm on Summit Avenue, which is now the south end of South Wayne Avenue, around the turn of the 20th century. These houses, which still stand, were relatively new at the time. Indeed the neighborhood was so new that the absence of large trees made it easy to see across the town. On a post in front of the right house is a street corner mailbox. - Greg Prichard, Radnor Historical Society

This snowy scene is one in a series of glass plate negatives found at the Radnor Historical Society depicting the aftermath of a snowstorm in South Wayne, dating back to the turn of the 20th century. A horse-drawn sleigh is pulling two passengers through an unidentified street. Can anyone identify the house on the right?

On December 30, 1914, the Wayne Opera House, long the center of cultural activity in Wayne, caught fire (as described in the "Your Town and My Town" column mentioned a few weeks ago). The top floor, which was home to the Masonic Lodge, was a total loss, but because the building was so substantially constructed it was able to be salvaged. It has lived on, without the original mansard roof, through today. Cole Wellness Spa and Scottrade are among the businesses occupying the first floor. A photo of the Opera House following renovations in 1916 is seen here.

  Built by "Louella" owner J. Henry Askin in 1870-71, the Wayne Opera House was the center of life in Wayne for more than 40 years. Located at the corner of Lancaster and North Wayne Avenues, it was the venue of various stage productions, musical performances, and even the first motion pictures shown in Wayne. This photo dates from the early 1880s, when the "Wayne Estate" was first being constructed. The buildings visible in the background were largely made of brick, and are all under construction in this picture. The house immediately to the left of the Opera House was where Mr. Askin lived …

One of the most recognizable symbols of the holiday season in Wayne is the community tree, located in the "triangle" at the intersection of North Wayne and Walnut Avenues. This photo is undated, though it was taken sometime in the mid-20th century. The sign below the tree reads: "The North Wayne Community Tree Sponsored By The North Wayne Protective Assoc. and Made Possible Through the Generosity of the People of the Community." This tree is still decorated with lights each year, and remains at the center of North Wayne's holiday festivities. The North Wayne carol sing, which took place last …