First a House, Then a Post Office

Today we continue our series of highlights from the George W. Schultz photo album. Schultz documented many scenes of early Wayne and St. Davids.

In the early days of Wayne, a few blocks of East Lancaster Avenue were just as scenic as Midland Avenue. From Aberdeen Avenue to St. Davids Road, picturesque houses lined the south side of the Pike. They were identical in design to those throughout South Wayne.

Decades of development has changed the look and feel of Lancaster Avenue, and now only one of the original houses from the 1890s still stands. It is today's St. Davids Post Office, described earlier this week on Patch as being one of 3,700 post offices under evaluation for .

This photograph shows the house in ca. 1893-4, while still under construction. The house was one of the first buildings designed by famed architect Horace Trumbauer, and it is not unique; other examples of this design are found in North Wayne (Chestnut Ln., Beechtree Ln.), and South Wayne (Upland Way). The house in the right of the photo was demolished within the past 10 years to create a parking lot next to . If the post office leaves, the future of the last remaining "Wayne Estate" house on Lancaster Ave. will once again be in flux.

- Greg Prichard,