From the Archives

Answer: Name the Historic Buildings in the Mural, Part 2

Can you identify the three buildings from Wayne's history in the middle of this picture?

Two weeks ago we looked at a section of the old Radnor Middle School mural, which showed the old Wayne public school and Bellevue Hotel (the tops of which are at the bottom of this photo). Further up on the same mural, more historic buildings are shown. Can you identify the three buildings from Wayne's history in the middle of this picture? Answer: On the left is Wayne Hall, the original town hall built in 1870 or shortly before, located about where the Bateman-Gallagher American Legion post stands today. In the upper right is the George W. Childs Memorial Library, located on Lancaster Avenue, which still stands as an office building. It is shown here in its original Tudor Revival appearance, built in 1897 from a design by architects Dull…

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From the Archives

North Wayne Avenue's Park

Originally this land was set aside as a park for North Wayne residents, with tall trees and two ponds.

Here is one final look at the park that once existed on what is now the 200-block of North Wayne Avenue. Though homes were built there ca. 1919, originally this land was set aside as a park for North Wayne residents, with tall trees and two ponds. Last week's photo showed an almost identical view, before development had begun. In this view the old farmhouse is gone and several new homes on Walnut Avenue are visible in the background. The large home at 116 Walnut Avenue (just out of view to the right), best known as the residence of the Dr. George Miles Wells family, adjoined the parkland. Later atlas maps show that the park became part of the Wells property before the land was subdivided. - Greg Prichard, Radnor Historical Society

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From the Archives

Wayne's Other Milemarker

Near one of the entrances to Wayne Elementary stand several tributes to former teacher Mary Jane Schrader.

I am taking a break from old photographs this week to talk about an unusual object that can be seen at Wayne Elementary School. Many third graders at that school learned a great deal about our town in Mary Jane Schrader's class. Miss Schrader's social studies curriculum revolved around Wayne: what makes it special, unique, and a great place to call home. She taught about the town's old buildings, styles of architecture (what other third grade class could identify a Mansard roof?), and about some of the more unusual artifacts of Wayne. Among these was the series of stone mile markers that once lined Lancaster Avenue over 150 years ago; only a few are left, including the small "13 M to P" marker (meaning 13 miles to Philadelphia) at …

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From the Archives

South Wayne Pillar House

This image of a newly-built home in South Wayne in the 1890s was new to the Radnor Historical Society last year. It is a snapshot, probably taken by a resident of the home, giving a unique perspective on life in early Wayne. The home was built on Summit Avenue, now the southern stretch of South Wayne Avenue. It was designed for builders Wendell & Smith by F.L. & W.L. Price, and is by far the most prolific house style in all of Wayne. The so-called "Pillar House" was first designed by the Price brothers around 1887 and used for several homes in North Wayne, the first of which were built along Walnut Avenue (plus one on Oak Lane). The design was adapted slightly for the Midland and Lancaster Avenues in South Wayne, and in the mid-1890s the …

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Wayne Cricket Team, 1890

Herman Wendell, whose firm Wendell & Smith built many houses in North Wayne, was a Wayne sportsman.

This photograph, dated ca. 1890, shows a cricket team from Wayne. At the time many nearby towns had their own cricket teams and clubs (of which Merion may be the last), and Wayne was fortunate to have many sportsmen among its earliest residents. The man with the black beard, second from the left, was Herman Wendell, whose firm Wendell & Smith built the house where these men are gathered, as well as the so-called Merryvale Clubhouse, where the team met. Merryvale, which also went by the name Radnor Cricket Club and Wayne Country Club, was located between the railroad, West Beechtree Lane and the backyards of several homes on North Wayne Avenue. The old playing field is now North Wayne Park. Next week we will take a look at this old …

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From the Archives

The Anthony Wayne Theatre's Opening Night Program

Read a page from the program from the dedication of the Anthony Wayne Theatre, dated Wednesday, June 20, 1928

At the Radnor Historical Society, we are very fortunate to receive donations that expand our knowledge of Radnor Township. One of our most recent donations was a scrapbook that belonged to a resident who attended Radnor High School in the 1920s. One item in this scrapbook is the program from the dedication of the Anthony Wayne Theatre, dated Wednesday, June 20, 1928. The program describes what the audience saw that night: 1 - A presentation of the patriotic song "The Call To Freedom" by Victor Herbert; 2- Dedication address by Thomas W. Hulme, President of the Radnor Township Board of Commissioners; 3 - A response to the address by the theater's owner, Harry Fried; 4 - Movietone News; 5 - Two short Vitaphone presentations; 6 - An overture…

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From the Archives

Kahn's Vision of The Anthony Wayne

This drawing shows how the theatre was intended to look, and the finished product was executed rather faithfully.

The Anthony Wayne Theatre, one of Wayne's defining landmarks, was built in 1928 for local theatre magnate Harry Fried. Fried had operated a theatre on North Wayne Avenue in a converted 1880s house, but with the growing popularity of movies and the dawn of the "talkie," it was clear that Wayne would need a more modern movie house. The result was the Anthony Wayne, considered by some at first to be a futile attempt at a grand gesture that would never recoup its investment, and thus the nickname "Fried's Folly" was attached to it. The success of the theatre is evident in the fact that movies still play there 84 years later. Fried hired the preeminent theatre architect of the time, William Harold Lee, to design the Anthony Wayne. Lee also …

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From the Archives

The Anthony Wayne in 1930

It is still an operating movie theater after more than 80 years.

DeWitt Henry's recent blog entry "Episode From A Wayne Childhood" focused on the Anthony Wayne Theatre, the incredible Art Deco landmark of Wayne that has dominated the town's skyline and social life since its construction in 1928. So, for the 100th installment of "From the Archives," we present this image, taken from a 1930 newspaper article, showing the theatre looking something close to its appearance when Mr. Henry was growing up. The marquee seen here was replaced in the 1960s, and the box office in the center was moved to the side. Many of the theater's terra cotta tile decorations still remain, though some of them (including the colorful monolith in the center of the shell-like opening) were lost over time. Despite these changes, …

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Radnor Historical Society

4:42 pm on Thursday, July 26, 2012

Ted: The Theatre is not listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and no official local historic register exists. Even listing on the National Register would not protect it in any way; only a Township ordinance, whether it be listing specific buildings as historic and subject to review, or placing a "Downtown Wayne" district under the purview of the HARB, would protect the Theatre. That…   more ›

From the Archives

Walmarthon's Billard Room

The billiard room was turned into a prayer chapel in 1971.

"Walmarthon," the sprawling St. Davids estate of leather magnate Charles S. Walton, was architect David Knickerbacker Boyd's crowning residential achievement. The estate consisted of several buildings built with tan stone and tile roofs in a Spanish Mission style, including the main house pictured last week. Despite the mansion's outward appearance, each room inside was given its own unique character. The billiard room, pictured here, had a vaulted ceiling resembling a medieval interior. To further the eclectic appearance of the space, Native American rugs and pottery were used as decoration. According to the book "Great House" by John Baird (a wonderful account of Walmarthon's construction and conversion into Eastern College), the …

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From the Archives

D.K. Boyd's Walmarthon

Resembling an old estate on the Mediterranean, Walmarthon consisted of several buildings designed to complement each other.

For the past few weeks we have been seeing various buildings designed by David Knickerbacker Boyd in Radnor Township. Though he had many prominent designs built in Wayne, there is no doubt that his crowning architectural achievement was the Walton estate, called "Walmarthon," in St. Davids. Resembling an old estate on the Mediterranean, Walmarthon consisted of several buildings designed to complement each other. All of the buildings, minus the ca. 1912 log cabin, remain today as part of the campus of Eastern University. The building pictured, the main house, was built above one of the estate's man-made lakes. It now serves the university as Walton Hall. - Greg Prichard, Radnor Historical Society

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