D.K. Boyd's Unbuilt Spanish Mission Radnor School

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 the late 1890s, when the Radnor school district was considering building a new school in downtown Wayne, architect D.K. Boyd was hired to conceptualize on the style of a new structure.

Before the Colonial-inspired scheme , Boyd came up with this concept: a school building using a Spanish Mission design that would have been unique to the area.

This drawing and plan were published in the nationally-distributed "American Architect and Building News" in 1897. Inspired by the Alamo, the building would have likely been clad in light-colored brick.

When built, the resulting school building, now used as the district's Administration Building, settled on red brick and a somewhat Colonial design more in keeping with the area's surrounding architecture. Still, this early design is a fascinating study in what may have been in downtown Wayne!

- Greg Prichard,