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Community Corner

Radnor Historical Society Produces First Preservation Watch List

Several endangered sites throughout Radnor Township now acknowledged.

For the first time in Radnor's history, concerned citizens have compiled a comprehensive historical preservation list for local treasures. Founded in 1947, the Radnor Historical Society has targeted 10 buildings in Wayne and Radnor in danger.

The preservation watch list’s purpose is to show the Radnor and Wayne community which buildings are endangered, are historical in age and architecture, and if they have a unique story behind them.

Historical society President Ted Pollard said that the primary goal of the society is to raise public awareness of the threat and loss of the towns and buildings architectural heritage.

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“We want to enlighten the public, architects and developers, as well as municipal officials about the rich architectural heritage of our community. Wayne and Radnor have a long history of development and people move here because of the historic character of the community. If you start to destroy this historic fabric, the value and attractiveness of the whole community diminishes,” Pollard said.

Gregory Prichard, historical society board member, is originally from Wayne and is currently studying in a historic preservation graduate program. He firmly believes that every site on the list is important in some way.

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 “People may pass by them each day and not understand why they deserve to be preserved, so the list was created to let the public know that each has value, and the descriptions were written to say why. We hope it will act to mobilize neighbors of these properties to take action and demand their preservation,” Prichard said.

According to Prichard, many people assume that the historical society has the power to save historical buildings and structures that are at risk.

“Although we do get involved in trying to preserve Radnor's architectural heritage, we are a volunteer organization with a small but dedicated group of historians and Radnor residents interested in local history,” Prichard said. “One of our main functions is to house the largest collection of historical documents, photographs and other archive materials in Radnor. We provide the sources by which people can research historic properties in order to try to save them.”

Although most of the sites are buildings, some of them are sites or simply walls. One of the buildings that Pollard finds to be fascinating is No. 1 on the preservation watch list— Ardrossan is located on Newtown Road in Radnor.

“The story of the Montgomery and Scott families and Ardrossan Farm adds so much to our history and the mystique of the area,” Pollard said.

According to Radnorhistory.org, Robert L. Montgomery, an investment banker with the firm now known as Janney-Montgomery-Scott, purchased his Radnor farm and commissioned Horace Trumbauer, codesigner of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, to design an estate house. Montgomery died in 1949, and the property passed to his widow and children.

The mansion contains 50 bedrooms on an 800-acre plot of land. The estate is also known to be the last working farm of Radnor, home to the Black Angus cow and a schoolhouse for children.

A favorite of Prichard’s is not a home or estate, but a wall.  The early high stone wall, No. 5 on the watch list, was built in the early 19th-century and is located on Radnor-Chester Road between Penn Medicine and other office buildings.

According to Radnorhistory.org, the wall was on former TV Guide building's property during construction in 1957. Because of other development on Radnor High School, Rowland Elementary School, Burroughs offices and the Treadway Inn, the "narrow eastern end of Radnor-Chester Road" was made insufficient.

“Believe it or not, the building on the south side of Radnor-Chester Road across from the wall was the new national headquarters of TV Guide magazine, one of the largest magazines in the nation at the time (the building is now Penn Medicine at Radnor)," Prichard said.

"TV Guide heard the pleas of their neighbors, and gave a portion of their land to re-direct the construction of Radnor-Chester Road, and the wall was saved as a result. The wall wouldn't stand today if it weren't for TV Guide, and it would be a shame if it were to be lost after such an amazing history.”

Besides these two sites, that are favorites to members of the society, there are also captivating houses, properties and plots of land. Each site’s description can be found on the group's Web site, along with pictures and addresses for your viewing pleasure.

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