From the Archives

North Wayne Small Cottage

This house, located at 308 North Wayne Avenue, is pictured in the mid-20th century.

  When builders Wendell & Smith first started work in Wayne, they primarily built three different designs of houses: "Small Cottages," located along North Wayne Avenue; "Medium Cottages," along West Wayne Avenue (one of which is now the Radnor ABC House); and "Large Cottages," on Lancaster Avenue and West Wayne Avenue. All of these homes were designed in the "Stick" style, an offshoot of the Queen Anne style which was very popular in the early 1880s. The style is exemplified in the Wayne houses by clapboard siding, shaped wood shingles, and a grid-like pattern of timbers on the facade that would originally have been painted a much darker color than the rest of the siding. This house, located at 308 North Wayne Avenue, is pictured in the …

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John Dallas Bowers

7:22 pm on Tuesday, April 9, 2013

I love the angles and proportions of that charming house (as pictured).   more ›

From the Archives

White Hall: An Overlooked Commercial Center

The historic White Hall train station, built in 1860, is the oldest railroad building in Radnor.

It was reported last week that several buildings in the "White Hall" section of Radnor Township are for sale, and that the appearance of this area could soon be changed drastically. The buildings in question are largely 1920s-era storefront/apartment buildings, though some may be older. This image from the Radnor Historical Society shows Glenbrook Avenue as it appeared in 1944. The building at left is the historic White Hall train station, built in 1860 and presently the oldest railroad building in Radnor (though it was only in use for about ten years). Glenbrook Avenue had been the location of the Pennsylvania Railroad before it was re-routed north. On the right is one of the commercial buildings that is currently for sale. The …

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From the Archives

Answer: An Unrealized Campus Plan of 1929

Which local school was to have this as its central building?

The building in this drawing may look familiar, but it's not what you think. Not exactly, anyway. This was to be the central building of a new academic campus in our area. Can you guess which school, and where it was almost located? - Greg Prichard, Radnor Historical Society Answer: Valley Forge Military Academy operated in just one building at its inception: the former Devon Park Inn next to the Devon Horse Show. When that building burned to the ground in January of 1929, the Academy took over the recently vacated buildings of St. Luke's School, a private boys' school close to North Wayne. The school's aspirations, however, were much larger and more grandiose than what the then-30 year old buildings of St. Luke's could provide to them. …

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From the Archives

Radnor's Lost Murals in 1940

This image, the only photograph known to focus on the installed murals, appeared in the 1940 Radnor High School yearbook.

  Over the past few weeks we have seen images of Radnor Middle School's well-recognized auditorium murals, which were in place from 1951-2007 and the ones that preceded them, installed ca. 1939. The earlier artwork was painted by Radnor student Charles Cajori, a senior in 1939 and now a celebrated contemporary American artist. The fate of Cajori's work for the school is unknown; they are presumed to be lost, though the art lives on, in a sense, through a few surviving black and white photographs. This image, the only photograph known to focus on the installed murals, appeared in the 1940 Radnor High School yearbook. Three of the four panels are visible here. It is unfortunate that we know so little about this massive, symbolic and …

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From the Archives

Radnor's Lost Murals

If anyone has more information on the lost murals, please contact the Radnor Historical Society.

One of the most fascinating mysteries of Radnor's history has to do with a long lost work of art. A few recent installments of "From the Archives" (scroll down to the bottom of this page) examined the 1950s-era murals at the old Radnor Middle School, painted by two students to educate on the history of Radnor. The group of four paintings were found on the west wall of the Radnor High School (which later became Radnor Middle School) auditorium, set within two-story-high Gothic arches.  It had been forgotten by most, including the School District, that the 1950s murals were not the first paintings to grace the auditorium walls. In early 2000, 1939 Radnor High School graduate Charles Cajori, then a 78-year-old painter of much acclaim, came …

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From the Archives

Adelberger's: In Wayne Since 1888

Adelberger's was built at a prominent crossroads of the day, Conestoga and West Wayne Avenues.

After the closure of L.K. Burket in 2005, Adelberger's Florist became Wayne's oldest business. Their operation began in 1888 (a year after Burket's opened), during a time when Wayne was in the midst of its first major development.During that time North Wayne was about halfway built, and South Wayne had relatively few homes. Adelberger's was built at a prominent crossroads of the day, Conestoga and West Wayne Avenues, where it remains today and is likely where this early photograph was taken. A developer is planning to erect townhouses on the property while retaining the commerical building there. - Greg Prichard, Radnor Historical Society

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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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Man Seeking Descendents of Architects that Shaped Radnor

Are you a relative of Lawrence Visscher Boyd or David Knickerbacker Boyd?

Writer and composer Peter Visscher Boyd is looking for relatives of his grandfather, Philadelphia architect Lawrence Visscher Boyd. Boyd is also looking for relatives of his grandfather's brother. Lawrence Visscher Boyd briefly partnered with his brother David Knickerbacker 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. The "Oak Lodge carriage house" at 306 Oak Lane in Wayne by Lawrence Visscher Boyd is listed on Radnor Township's Historic Asset Inventory. Central Baptist Church, Designed by Boyd & Boyd D.K. Boyd's Walmarthon D.K. Boyd's Proposed Wayne School An Architect's Imprint On Wayne

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From the Archives

An Everyday Scene at St. Davids Station 100 Years Ago

The author of this column will be speaking about St. Davids and the other 17 stations of the Main Line on Tuesday evening.

In this view, a vignette from a larger glass plate negative of St. Davids train station, a porter awaits an oncoming train. The locomotive is westbound, heading towards Paoli. On the left edge is the baggage building, now long gone, and behind it is the passenger platform shelter. This shelter still remains, and is subject to a planned restoration by the Friends of St. Davids Station (link to stdavidsstation.org). In the distance is a large water tank that stood between Radnor and St. Davids Stations. The author of this column will be speaking about St. Davids and the other 17 stations of the Main Line, Tuesday evening (January 8) at 7:30 in the Winsor Room of the Radnor Memorial Library. - Greg Prichard, Radnor Historical Society

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From the Archives

Answer: Wayne History, in Mural Form

Guess what two historic buildings are depicted in this panel of the mural (and read the answer to see if you are right).

  Many aspects of the old Radnor High School / Radnor Middle School on South Wayne Avenue remain in the memories of those who attended school there. Among the most memorable decorative elements of the school were the murals in the auditorium, painted by class of 1951 seniors Nancy Carpenter and Cynthia Satow. The murals were created with the goal of educating about Wayne's history. Can you guess what two historic buildings are depicted in this panel of the mural? Answer: On the left is the original 1889 public school, the first in downtown Wayne and the first building on the site of the old Middle School. The school (also seen here) is believed to have been designed by Thomas Mellon Rogers, with an addition designed by David Knickerbacker …

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Radnor Historical Society

4:03 pm on Thursday, January 3, 2013

The murals were painted while the students attended the high school. They replaced murals painted by another senior (just one of them!) installed in 1939. Likely intended to be a rotating canvas, the 1951 murals stayed in place for 56 years!   more ›