Category Archives: historic preservation

what to do about the gladwyne of it all?

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This whole billionaire is buying up a Main Line area village is disturbing, yet expected at the same time, isn’t it? Is it as simple as nothing says I’ve arrived like “I own you and all of this?”

Ok yes, slightly generalized and sarcastic but that is how this feels, doesn’t it?

Screenshot from Lower Merion Historical Society Website

Why Gladwyne village? Some might say “why not” but I honestly want to know why don’t you? To me, in my opinion, this doesn’t feel altruistic or having a love of historic structures. I can have that opinion, unless of course in this process the first amendment was purchased as well?

Doesn’t this feel more personal to you? I mean look, Jeff Yass, who is very much part of this is a self-made man of an extraordinary level? An impressive career and financial trajectory is undeniable. After all when you look up his Wikipedia page you see he was a guy from Queens, NY. Described as growing up in an average middle class family and now he’s the Sheriff of Yasswyne, err Gladwyne?

All snark aside, on its face it is impressive. BUT. And this is a big BUT. But why Gladwyne? Is it to be able to look out from what we grew up with as The Guard House, now part of the Union League Club to be able to wave and arm and declare ownership? I don’t have that answer only the little voice inside me says this is still not just about sprucing up a historically listed village, but most billionaires play things close to the vest don’t they? (Not actually a dig, it just makes sense.)

Screenshot from Lower Merion Historical Society

But this whole thing leaves me uneasy. It just does.

I like the idea of preservation and adaptive reuse.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15450897/Pennsylvania-town-Gladwyne-fight-billionaire-Jeff-Yass.html

I don’t know that I like the idea of this all being bought up by a new entity who doesn’t seem to truly understand the history of Gladwyne or Gladwyne village. Or maybe it’s just I truly wonder do they care? Is this a passion project or an enormous exhibition of ego meets narcissism?

Things I really don’t like are the word of mouth and direct conversations with people who have been having land agents or realtors or whomever showing up unannounced and uninvited. Whomever these people or this person is, they are trying to chat people up to sell their property and why? They don’t seem to wish to disclose who they are representing and why? Is this deliberate vagueness? A question I have NOT heard asked is DO THEY HAVE SOLICITATION PERMITS FROM LOWER MERION?

What these smiley doorknockers are doing is door to door soliciting, so has the commissioner now representing Gladwyne actually looked into that matter? Shouldn’t he and shouldn’t Lower Merion? They aren’t exactly peddling Girl Scout cookies, after all.

In my opinion (again allowed to have) the more properties acquired means the project gets bigger. I found the house bought at the end of 2025 close to other acquired properties:

So this house is zoned residential, right? I guess then it has to be moved to like some kind of commercial zoning in order for it to be a viable part of the revamped village concept or whatever the hell they’re calling it?

When it comes to bending over for developers, the current director of building and planning at Lower Merion Township is an expert isn’t he? I mean, we all remember or some of us remember the days of eminent domain for private gain in Ardmore don’t worry?

I don’t trust Lower Merion Township. When Bob Duncan was head of Building and Planning you could always count on him doing the right thing, or at least giving you an honest answer, even if it was hard to hear. In my opinion, those days are long gone at far away. And then you look at the manager’s office – the guy formerly from West Chester Borough. He was at that job for 27 years until 2014. He is super development loving manager, look no further than the path he set for West Chester Borough, yes? So in my opinion, is he going to actually care about preserving the historic village center of Gladwyne, PA?

I don’t know enough about the composition of the current Board of Commissioners in Lower Merion to know if any of them really give a good goddamn about the Historic Village of Gladwyne being preserved and not turned into Peddlers Village do you? What I do know is Lower Merion is prone to historically bad decisions. Look at the failed attempt at eminent domain for private gain years ago?

And for those who think houses can’t be torn down by subsequent owners? Remember La Ronda.

I grew up in Lower Merion and enjoyed it and loved the quirkiness of old Gladwyne. I laughed when with the presentation for the Yasswyne of it all people were ooohing over picnic tables. Why? Had they never visited the Gladwyne Lunch? Not new.

Courtesy of
Lower Merion Historical Society

Again, adaptive reuse and restoration? Not a bad idea. But wobbly plans that seem too good to be true? Shall we contemplate they probably are? I’ve been looking at their plans and again no problem with restoration and adaptive reuse but there’s big question marks over the Walter Durham building that houses the pharmacy, etc. and it’s always been an awkward building.

That’s nothing new. I actually don’t think it’s worth saving as it doesn’t work. BUT what replaces it? This is listed historic district, correct? It can’t be too huge and average retail looking it has to be special. It has to fit with the historic district. Size and scale matters. Design matters and this is a historic village, it’s not a beige beige world with loads of stucco.

When you look at the back of the parking lot, which actually isn’t that expensive now you can’t help but wonder are those townhouses over that wall an eventual target of this “reimagining”?

And no matter what happens who protects the residential residents around this “reimagining” ? Why do I feel like the Civic Association isn’t doing much here? Are they afraid? Are they unsure? Are they ignoring it hoping it’ll all go away? And what about the commissioners, including the new guy in Gladwyne?

A wonderful piece of art on a building not owned by the current buyer uppers of the village

And other than the legal wrangling and wondering about commercial and residential deeds and commercial and residential zoning of it all, what about traffic and practical things? Like current traffic? The car rider lines for the Montessori school are no joke and even I have seen those over the years. And then there’s the car rider lines for the elementary school.

And parking. I think it’s a no secret that the Guard House doesn’t have sufficient parking right? So how do we know there will be sufficient parking for this proposed Shangri-La of a Main Line Peddlers Village?

I mean, come on wouldn’t that be better to start smaller and see how this all works? Restore and work with what they have and not tear down houses? or did they buy that house in December to put a business there? If so, what kind and where will the people park for that?

Should we ponder that this is about the soul, moral values of a community and what people want it to be in the future? Do these village purchasers actually want meaningful input from the community or are they paying the community lip service just to get what they want? Come on now, don’t act surprised that I said that because developers do that all of the time, don’t they?

I have written before that there’s a whole history here. That history should neither be ignored nor denied. One of the problems overall on the Main Line in general as newcomers have moved in is they’re there for the lore not the reality. You have all the funny bullshit of what the Main Line is supposed to represent and a lot of. It’s just realtor marketing, take Malvern, which isn’t actually the Main Line but every time you turn around somebody is saying it is.

The village of Gladwyne I first saw as a kid wasn’t perfect. It was quirky, it was old, it was historic, and it was kind of awesome. It still is kind of awesome and it doesn’t need to be tarted up, just spruced up and restored a little bit better.

But nothing is going to happen if concerned residents don’t get off of their behinds and start going to commissioners meetings. Every resident in that municipality has a right to public privilege of the floor as they call it. There is a section set aside for that for non-agenda items at every commissioners meeting. There is also public comment on agenda items, should any of these things about the village of Gladwyne come up on the agendas.

https://www.lowermerion.org/government/lower-merion-connect/e-subscription

I have noticed that the Township of Lower Merion offers Zoom. I don’t know that they offer comment on Zoom but residents can ask. People can keep up with the agendas and things that have been filed that are loaded on the website as well.

https://www.lowermerion.org/

Years ago, the then director of building and planning also often used to have specific mailing list for specific issues within the township. I don’t know if they still do that. But again, I do know that residents can’t depend on the civic or going to those civic association meetings alone. People have to go to the township meetings, when they can in person, an alternatively on Zoom. The residents need to speak for themselves.

But people should be polite. And I know it can be difficult when you’re dealing with a municipality and you don’t feel like you’re being heard. But taxes pay for those bureaucrats, etc., remember that.

It’s not hard to organize, but the people of Gladwyne have to want this for themselves. Because if they roll over now, no matter what happens they’re going to end up with stuff they’re not happy with because they did not participate.

These are just my opinions and observations. In my opinion on the specialist of Gladwyne, as in the village has lived in me since I was a kid. It does not have to be super expensive and overpriced. It just has to be nice. Gladwyne used to be a bit more inclusive.

At the end of the day, I’m also concerned because I have seen what random development does and I’ve seen it in Gladwyne in other parts of the 19035.

Wake up 19035 before it’s too late.

https://www.businessinsider.com/jeffrey-epstein-helped-les-wexner-build-model-town-ohio-2019-7

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gladwyne_Historic_District

Can the ultra-rich buy up and reshape a town? Gladwyne’s would-be fairy godparents Janine & Jeffrey Yass and Haldon House plan to remake the historic village in one of the Main Line’s toniest zip codes
Gladwyne
What on earth is going on in Gladwyne, the Main Line’s priciest zip code? We’ve got some answers.
gladwyne village is fighting for survival from bad development.
should gladwyne’s historic village be reimagined to be like peddler’s village-lite?
the gladwyne market house, once known as delaware market house closes and is sold…again

https://www.change.org/p/stop-one-family-from-controlling-a-town-s-future

This is a very amusing post from a slezoid realtor whose last name is amusing:

https://www.tomtoole.com/blog/gladwyne-downtown-revitalization-whats-planned-whats-not-and-why-it-matters/

Lower Merion to create new neighborhood zoning center for some commercial areas

https://www.lowermerion.org/departments/building-and-planning-department/long-range-plans-projects/township-wide-planning/previous-comprehensive-plans/1979-comprehensive-plan/existing-land-use

Zoners OK demo plan in historic Gladwyne

https://montco.today/2026/01/gladwyne-jeff-yass-redevelopment-vision/

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/billionaire-jeff-yass-is-behind-a-plan-to-revitalize-downtown-gladwyne/ar-AA1TUPWs

should gladwyne’s historic village be reimagined to be like peddler’s village-lite?

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Historical Gladwyne Photo belonging to Lower Merion Historical Society.

Yasswyne? Really?

Gladwyne, is kind of a special to me. Circa 1975 was my introduction, and it was magical. Sledding on crazy hills off of Monk Road and Rose Glen. Free range kid wandering from the historic village through to the haunted feeling sanatorium buildings of the once “Gladwyne Colony”. Halloween and sleepovers and birthday parties with my friend whose dad went to high school together. The Gladwyne Library and its wonderful stacks and things like the plant sale. (And the cookbook fundraiser- I still have a copy!)

And the horses. Gladwyne then was still an equestrian hub. Sledding and carriaging with Mr. Gwinn. Leaning how to ride. Watching pony club. I didn’t belong to that I was not good enough.

The old village. It was just so nice. One of my friends was related literally to founding fathers of the village. Tree lined streets and marvelous old houses from so many eras. Whimsical Victorians. Charming Bungalows. And even 18th and early 19th century houses, mostly frame.

I realized this morning that the Gladwyne I stumbled upon as a kid was actually reminiscent of parts of Chester County I love so much. And to that end, sprucing up the village is not a bad idea, but this mass appropriation of buildings in the center as well as talks of tearing things down including one of the houses near the library I guess that was purchased? My opinion is a HELL NO.

It’s hell no to Peddlers Village-lite complete with all those absurd picnic tables scattered about the village that will not in my opinion be maintained long term. It’s hell no to making it a faux tourist attraction bringing lots of traffic to little streets with barely enough parking for residents.

Look I felt something was up in the fall, when I went digging into who supposedly was doing this, and that was not when any of us knew a big contributor to the destruction of the White House and the East Wing and the McMansioning of the people’s house.

https://www.phillymag.com/news/2025/11/04/trump-ballroom-donation-jeff-yass/

Read Victor Fiorello’s article it’s fascinating.

And this:

https://readsludge.com/2025/08/01/tiktok-billionaire-donates-millions-to-trump-as-he-repeatedly-delays-ban/

And this:

https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2024/12/pennsylvania-election-top-donors-pacs-attorney-general-jeff-yass-state-house/

I remember when I first started nosing around about this Gladwyne thing people on the Main Line were really odd with their reactions and I even had my comments taken down in places. And literally what I was sharing was who bought the place and was on the deed records with Montgomery County. That was before anyone even knew Yass was involved. But now I wonder what Gladwyne’s new commissioner knew and when?

the gladwyne market house, once known as delaware market house closes and is sold…again

And I remember when I figured out who these Bryn Mawr people were without knowing that anyone else was involved, I had reservations. Mostly because they just seemed like they were about themselves.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/realestate/brynmawr-pennsylvania-house-luxury.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/realestate/brynmawr-pennsylvania-house-luxury.html

So they live over on Rock Creek Road and I knew a lot of people growing up and into adulthood that lived on that winding road and it had cool houses and beautiful trees and gardens, still does. So they restored their house and reinvented it and that’s their right but I remember looking at it thinking it’s really brown and it’s not quite here but I could appreciate some of the design elements.

https://www.haldonhouse.com/about

But the Historic Village of Gladwyne, and it is a historic district, turned into some odd thing that it’s not? That’s not worth the renovation of the older buildings in my humble opinion thank goodness I don’t live there. 

But I had no idea the scope of this project until I saw the website and some of what the people who want to do this were posting:

https://www.gladwynesquare.com/

To follow are four screenshots from their public website below. Go onto their website and read every word.

It’s Gladwyne Village as in the Village of because literally that’s what it is. Then I noticed that they magically weren’t doing a zoom of the meeting and when you don’t want to record a meeting that always set up red flags in my head. If you’ve got nothing to hide on a project, you put it out there for the world to see, including the meetings don’t you?

So it was a busy week and then came the Savvy Main Line article and I was gob smacked.

Can the ultra-rich buy up and reshape a town? Gladwyne’s would-be fairy godparents Janine & Jeffrey Yass and Haldon House plan to remake the historic village in one of the Main Line’s toniest zip codes

Excerpt:

Colonial Wiliamsburg had John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

Northern Delaware had Pierre du Pont.

And now, it seems, historic Gladwyne has Jeff Yass.

The richest man in Pennsylvania, and his wife, Janine, have partnered with a younger husband-and-wife development/design team to both turn back the clock on Gladwyne village AND propel it into the next century.

The partnership spent millions over the last several months to buy or lease key properties in the heart of historic Gladwyne: the former Gladwyne Market, Gladwyne Village Shoppes (which house the beloved pharmacy and Homeroom luncheonette), Gladwyne Post Office, the former longtime OMG Salon building and, as of Dec. 31, a private home in the Village….The designated face of the partnership, Andre Golsorkhi revealed the quartet’s vision….At the outset, Golsorkhi (below) emphasized that his investor/development  group is 100-percent local and, believe it or not, was NOT doing this to make money….The first resident who spoke felt blindsided….Another speaker feared the conformity of a Gladwyne Square. “It’s going to end up looking like Nantucket, she said. “This presentation makes me even more nervous about what you guys are doing …You’re saying Gladwyne needs branding… it’s gonna be a certain architecture that you think is important when you’re destroying a quirky Walter Durham house… I like communities that are organic and grow up in different ways. We have other buildings in Gladwyne that are just as important for the community that are not owned by Mr. Yass. I just wonder what the end game is. There’s always a price for this.”….Architect Ed Lewis (below), a 60-year Gladwyne resident told Golsorkhi that he “started the historic district in my living room with a meeting of neighbors concerned about overdevelopment.”

My photo

Read the entire Savvy article. It is very long and gives a lot of detail and thank you Caroline for what you do.

OK, I’m going to be 62 years old this year so why mince words? I think this plan is bullshit. This is about someone’s sanitizing and reinventing a place that first and foremost is a historic district.

I have no problems with people restoring things, but this isn’t about restoring. This is about changing history. And it’s not really the history of the people who bought the buildings.

To these four individuals, this is about making money. It’s not necessarily so all realistic, and I am allowed to have that opinion.

Again, I have no problem with someone fixing up old buildings and creating an adaptive reuses. But when you start to want to add parking lots and a random nouveau village green with lots of picnic tables that never existed within the history or framework of this village, it stops being about preservation and switches to just being about profit, doesn’t it?

Now I will agree the Walter Durham buildings that comprise the pharmacy, etc. are awkward. I’m really familiar with them. My mother was a realtor with a real estate office that was in the lower level years ago and for all the years that I banked at PNC, my branch was Gladwyne because they were the nicest people. And Gladwyne Pharmacy was our first pharmacy out here when we moved here and I still used to use them here and there until I moved to Chester county because I wanted to support them because they were independent like Parvins in Bryn Mawr.

I also have to admit when the Union League club took over the Guard House, I wondered what the future held for Gladwyne because that was a big change. But I didn’t anticipate this. And I have to say that The Union League respects the village. They have done a fine job with the place, although I do miss the ability to just go in there on a Friday or Saturday because I don’t belong to the Union League. I have been there for dinner several times since it reopened as part of the club and I love it and why do I love it because it’s still retains what we knew as its history. Even down to some of the dishes that were signature to Albert Breuers.

Found this on Wikipedia and I can’t find my photos and I have tons of The Guard House somewhere 

I know change will happen, but the change doesn’t have to be this drastic and it shouldn’t be. These people have the money to restore what they bought in the village of Gladwyne without making it look like Disney or a more expensive Peddler’s Village with insufficient parking.

I did dig out some of my photos of Gladwyne and why is still so special to me. And a lot of that includes things like the Memorial Day Parade. or walking down the little streets in the village and hearing the ghosts of my childhood passed and it’s a simple as knowing who lived where and things we explored St. John Vianney was our parish. Our first vet was Gladwyne vet. And the library. That library is still my favorite library anywhere. I won a Martha Stewart cookbook years ago as an adult in a raffle, I used to bury myself in corners as a kid and read, and I loved the plant sale. And I have a copy of their cookbook they used as a fundraiser. They could’ve had more than one cookbook over time, but I have the original one. and at one point in time, one of their librarians was actually a princess.

Yes a princess. She died in 2005 and her name was Maria de Pasquale. She was a friend of my parents along with her husband, Joe, who was one of the famous DePasquale brothers of the Philadelphia Orchestra and my friend’s aunt. She was a descendent of Napoleon‘s first wife, Josephine and Czar Nicholas I. She was born Maria Madgelena, Duchess von Leuchtenberg in Nice, France, daughter of Duke Serge Nicolaievitch and Duchess Anna. She renounced her title somewhere around 1949 to marry Joe.

So yes, my childhood librarian was once a princess. And she was tough. You didn’t have your books over to you returned them on time. but she always had books to recommend, even to kids. She also spoke five languages. and I remember being in the library one time when her inner princess came out because she was annoyed with someone on the phone.

I found her fascinating. So these are the little things that make up the history of Gladwyne that creating some artificial version of a Nouveau Gladwyne will never capture.

Of course, I bet they don’t know about things like in the early 2000s when the pharmacist went to jail.

https://www.phillymag.com/news/2005/03/01/society-another-scandal-in-gladwyne/

Or the scandal of the village realtor and gadfly.

Main Line socialite held on fraud charges

Or all the contretemps over the years with a now deceased member of a founding family of Gladwyne who at one time owned a lot of the things in the village. He’s long deceased now and could be so cranky.

Or the whole controversy over the Gladwyne lunch years ago or Barker Mill or Oddfellows.

A rare glimpse inside Gladwyne’s historic but threatened Barker Mill

These people wouldn’t even know anything about the log cabin, probably.

Lower Merion considers giving added protection to Gladwyne log cabin
New developer could bring new life into Gladwyne’s old Barkers Mill

Or the original Gladwyne Luncheonette which became the Lunch Box.

The Gladwyne Lunch Box is Small but Mighty
What on earth is going on in Gladwyne, the Main Line’s priciest zip code? We’ve got some answers.

Now, of course, the 19035 has become known in recent years as being the home of shall we say Main Line grifters, correct ? And the McMansion ridiculousness?

https://www.phillyvoice.com/gladwyne-mansion-sold-main-line-philadlephia-real-estate-andrew-barroway/

Or what places like VISTA Today want you to think courtesy of certain marketing types Gladwyne is.

https://montco.today/2025/04/wsj-million-dollar-views-gladwyne/

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2023/09/06/gladwyne-estate-mansion-main-line-homes-for-sale.html

https://montco.today/2025/04/gladwyne-mansion-hits-market/

And of course you can Airbnb or VRBO in Gladwyne.

https://t.vrbo.io/9d4ehYr0OZb

And we can’t forget about all of the controversy surrounding what will be the redevelopment I guess eventually of the Dorrance estate on Monk Road. Course I was also on that property as a kid and it’s nothing sort of spectacular even if the old apple orchard no longer exists.

And I remember when the estate on Waverley Road was sold to become Waverly Heights. And there were other surrounding properties that got fed into it and when I was a kid, there were lots of horses with swishy tails hoping for a pat at the fence or maybe an apple. The Junkin Estate.

The Gladwyne I grew up with was always a mixed bag originally it had been like mills and farmers and people with grand estates who owned lots of horses. It was very much like parts of Chester County, including Willistown.

Report of Revolutionary War burials complicates Gladwyne development proposal

Then slowly, I watched it change. It started with average sized houses that people I knew lived in growing up that were super sized.

ML History: Proud tradition of Scouting on the Main Line

Or my one friend‘s house across the street from St. John Vianney which was sold and bulldozed and it had the nicest pool. It was the best house. In its place? A McMansion so big I don’t even say you can. I don’t even know how you can say they have green space or a garden. Of course Lower Merion planning really didn’t say much about that. Did they? and that will be a definite hurdle here because that planning department is so pro-development, along with the fact that the new commissioners, including the one for Gladwyne have not been there long enough to understand the place. And that even includes River Road.

https://findingaids.library.upenn.edu/?f%5Bplaces_ssim%5D%5B%5D=Gladwyne+%28Pa.%29&f%5Brepository_ssi%5D%5B%5D=Lower+Merion+Historical+Society&per_page=10&sort=relevance

Again, I know, change happens, but here it shouldn’t be so drastic. It should truly be keeping the history in mind and the current plans in my opinion do not.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=146338

https://www.change.org/p/lm-zoning-hearing-board-save-historic-gladwyne

Settlement possible in dispute over historic Gladwyne house

The ghosts of Gladwyne past may rise up over this. The historic core of the village is known as Merion Square, it will never be “Gladwyne BS Square.”

Gladwyne

Enjoy the photos to follow that are mine. Please band together and say no to Yasswyne as currently presented. It’s too much and not right.

Sign me glad that I can’t see this from my window. I guess this is why people don’t like it when someone buys a small town?

development at swedesford road and valley creek blvd. has begun

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For years, we have watched the former faculty housing for Church Farm teachers deteriorate. No that’s not the fault of the school, the land was sold decades ago at this point.

I have followed it here on my blog and so have many in the community. The land has been for sale and vacant forever and we knew this development was coming.

The development is 55 and over so it won’t be putting kids in the school district. It’ll be like a Hershey’s Mill in West Whiteland. However it’s rather dense, and it is yet another reason why in my opinion, whatever happens at the Exton Square Mall needs to have less density. It’s so much development not too far apart.

And even if the mall developer and his attorney, don’t like my opinion, I’m allowed to have it.

Anyway, it’s New Year’s Eve 2025 and the development has begun. 

I wish this was less density here because I do not know where all these developers think we are going to put and care for all these additional people? We don’t even have a hospitals to care for our residents now. (Of course this is also why I think that the Exton Square Mall would be the perfect site for a new hospital but developers won’t make enough money on a new hospital will they? What do they care about us getting sick? )

So again, it’s not like this wasn’t approved or we didn’t know it was coming. It’s been very much out there. But it is quite jarring to see the land stripped bare bit by bit as this development begins.

On New Year’s Eve I’m going to make my last play of the year for lawmakers and Harrisburg to get off their asses and do a comprehensive update of the municipalities planning code. There hasn’t been one since it arrived circa 1969 and as I have said innumerable times before, that’s what gave us Chesterbrook.

I’m going to share some of my old photos taken over years past for many years, and a little video compilation.

First the photos:

These were at one time really nice little houses. They could’ve remained nice little houses as starter homes or step down homes for people downsizing.

Here are some additional photos from today:

Here is the video and that’s all I’ve got:



north wayne is a beautiful and historic area.

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I have been in love with North Wayne, PA for years. It’s an amazing and historic area, and ironically was a quasi planned development in the late19th century. The North Wayne Historic District is actually a national historic district. Most houses were built between1881 and 1925, and include notable examples of Shingle Style, Queen Anne and Colonial Revival architecture. Among the famous area architects who contributed to this were the Quaker Price brothers (William and Frank, who also did a lot of Rose Tree in Media.)

Allow me to share something I wrote many years ago in 2011:

https://patch.com/pennsylvania/radnor/north-wayne-worth-preservingbetter

Allow me to quote myself but click on the above link for photos I took years ago as well:

I first became a fan of North Wayne when I was a kid. The fanciful Victorian architecture in particular had me at hello, just like Cape May, NJ.

North Wayne has grand Victorian homes with sweeping porches and smaller homes of a more fanciful bungalow style. Many of these homes have been lovingly restored. You see Queen Anne, Second Empire, Tudor, shingle style, stick style, craftsman, and colonial revival homes dot the streets neatly laid out on a grid pattern.

Like many other towns on the Main Line, Wayne popped as the Pennsylvania Railroad developed and connected Philadelphia to points west–Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. The Main Line itself received its now famous name as a result of this train line.

Wayne as we see it today can be ironically described as an early planned development. Streets were orderly and on a grid. Houses were large, but convenient to downtown Philadelphia. They embraced the Victorian sensibilities and importance of hearth and home, yet were so modern. Steam heat, the train, public water and sewer, electricity, indoor plumbing, paved roads. There were even swimming pools–like the famous Wayne Natatorium.

The Wayne Natatorium, which was recognized in the fall of 2010 with a historical marker from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, was located in North Wayne on what we know today as Willow Avenue. Among the largest open-air, in-ground swimming pools in the United States, and some still argue the world, this Victorian folly existed between 1895 and 1903. It was 500 feet by 100 feet and played host to national swim meets during its existence. And in the winter, when this fresh water pool froze over? There was ice-skating and winter carnivals held under colorful lights.

The area in which the Wayne Natatorium sits is in North Wayne, but outside the boundaries of the historic district. The historic district in North Wayne only extends so far, and doesn’t encompass a lot of the more modest streets with working class roots that abut the Wayne train station, and I think that is a mistake. For example, if it hadn’t been for vigilant neighbors who live on some of the streets NOT in the historic district, 236 North Aberdeen Ave. might have been lost a couple of years ago to ill-fitting new development.

What was so special about 236 North Aberdeen Ave.? It was the home of builder Jonathan Lengel. Lengel was a builder who brought a lot of the whimsical architectural visions of such greats as David Knickerbocker Boyd. Lengel was responsible for the construction on some very interesting Radnor landmarks.

North Wayne not only boasts the homes out of the imagination of David Knickerbocker Boyd but also among others, the Price brothers–William and Frank Price, Philadelphia Quakers who were originally protégées of Frank Furness before venturing out on their own starting in 1881…..Radnor residents, take the time to become more active with your local Radnor Historical Society and get to know your local streets. They are delightful and charming, offering a real sense of community. Get out of your cars and walk these streets if you haven’t in a while. You’ll be glad you did.

Yes, I mentioned the Wayne Natatorium. I raised the money, found the non-profit sponsor and got the PA Historical Marker approved years ago in 2010. And guess what? Didn’t live there. I just loved the quirky history. See next link to learn about the Wayne Natatorium.

https://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php%3FmarkerId=1-A-400.html

The Radnor Historical Society has tremendous archives of the area. Here is their website:

Home
https://radnorhistory.org/

There is also the North Wayne Protective Association:

https://www.northwayne.org/default.php

Both organizations continue to do their thing, although I wish they would be less insular and more active.

One house that got torn down just outside the historic district of North Wayne a few years ago was the one built by Jonathan Lengel for his own family on N. Aberdeen. I had helped stop the demolition a bunch of years ago, but Radnor Township didn’t give a damn a few years ago and down it came. I wrote about it:

it’s just ugly in north wayne.

Here is the 1985 application from when North Wayne formed a historic district:

NW HDDownload

Also see:

https://delcohpn.wixsite.com/dchpn/national-register-sites-3

Here are some photos I took of North Wayne from around 2007:

Oh and what else did I do back in the day for North Wayne? Well I got stormwater improvements out of Septa and some safety issues addressed with a giant drainage pipe that frequently flooded out parts of Pennsylvania Avenue.

How did I do that? The lead engineer for Septa at the time was a super nice man named Jeff Knueppel. (Yes, the one guy in recent past who was eventually the general manager of Septa before the wheels fell off and people like former politician or perennial politician Leslie Richards came to be there.) Jeff Knueppel was a great General Manager and accessible to the public. But I digress.

Anyway, I had written an editorial for Main Line Media News when Tom Murray was the editor, and Jeff Knueppel read it and contacted me. At the time, Wayne train station and their parking lot was getting a makeover. Jeff Knueppel said the budget had room for added stormwater infrastructure underneath the parking lot, and they did some stuff with the embankment facing Pennsylvania Avenue and put a grate over the giant pipe to keep dogs, cats, and kids out of it (which had been a problem.) Next photo is what this looked like before Septa added the grate cover thing and did improvements.

So this was something I did with my writing and activism because it was the right thing to do.

I used to belong to the Radnor Historical Society because I loved North Wayne so much. (I am thinking of rejoining, actually.)

Anyway…. before Christmas I was over there and I took photos of some of the houses on Poplar Avenue because it is one of my favorite streets back in North Wayne. In an other life, I almost lived in North Wayne, a couple of streets removed from there.

Now I hadn’t posted most of these photos yet because I had not gone through them and was editing a lot of December photos and still am from volunteer non-profit photo taking amounting to a few hundred photos. When I started going through the photos from Wayne, I shared one particular house on my blog’s Facebook page:

The ONLY thing I said of the above house is “this house in North Wayne could be fabulous….”

Nothing else. It’s one of my favorites and is one that I have watched for YEARS. For years it has gone through phases where it was tidier and repairs were happening but over the past couple of years in particular it has devolved into this. Here are photos going back to 2007 where you could see the house, 2012 when there was gardening going on, and 2017 when it started to slide into the condition you see today in 2025. These photos incidentally are from Google:

This house was fabulous and could be again if the decay is stopped. It was built around 1905-1906 by Jonathan Lengel whom I mentioned earlier in this post. Here is a screen shot from Radnor Historical Society of Poplar:

Radnor Historical Society see https://radnorhistory.org/archive/photos/?p=6931

So yeah…I posted about this house because it is one of the quirky houses of Wayne I think are so cool. But of course the moral judgement squad of a lack of reading comprehension on Facebook jumped on my back:

So yeah, I love the judgmental who can’t read. Literally ALL I said was the house could be fabulous. The Judgey Judgersons came from West Goshen, Downingtown, Malvern, and I don’t know where else…but none from near this house in North Wayne. As a matter of fact a woman who grew up across from there left a comment saying the house was once fabulous.

All of these people completely missed what the post was about and decided I was targeting whomever lives there. I mean HUH? I was talking about the house, no clue who lives there or what is going on. All I said is the house could be fabulous.

But if we are going to talk about the deterioration, it is happening. Like I said, I have been watching this house from the early 2000s. For a while it looked like repairs were happening, and gardening was happening so it was a shock when I went down this block this holiday season and saw it. This is a neighborhood of old house proud and other houses disappeared for McMansions literally have appeared across the street and down.

I was not doing anything other that taking photos on a public street. I wasn’t peering in windows although with this down on her luck North Wayne house the windows aren’t clear on the second floor. I saw it when I was taking photos and chose not to take that photo. But if the inside indeed resembles the outside then whomever knows the owner maybe should help them?

I am sick of people who lack basic reading comprehension and interpolate whatever is on their mind, not mine, as my actual thoughts or reason for writing about something. This happens with almost everything and it’s old. I am not going to stop writing and people did this when I started writing about Loch Aerie before she was restored, and even more recently the Joseph Price House in Exton.

Get. Over. Yourselves.

No one has to read what I write, and no one has to comment on my blog’s Facebook page or here. And if you don’t even know what it is you are bitching about, it’s even more pathetic.

I am talking old houses here, in an area I find immensely special in spite of the crazy municipality it is in. And Jonathan Lengel? The guy who built the house I spoke of having the ability to be fabulous? In the area he was also responsible for The Saturday Club, Waldheim mansion – (VFMA’s Sullivan Hall, torn down in 2001), Walmarthon estate (Now still there minus historic log cabin), and Waynewood Hotel – (Still standing AKA Wayne Hotel.)

Check out the history in North Wayne and better yet check out the Radnor Historical Society at Finley House. The Finley House is open Tuesdays and Saturdays from 2-4 p.m.
113 West Beechtree Lane, Wayne PA. They also have amazing photo archives. (https://radnorhistory.org/archive/photos/)

I take photos. A majority involves old and often historic houses.

Ciao haters. Go look at some cool old houses and enrich your sense of why they are important.

back to demolition by neglect at 310 lancaster avenue malvern, pa (the rotting clews and strawbridge house)

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I took this photo in March, 2025. It continues to rot.

Let’s go back to East Whiteland. To 310 Lancaster Avenue in Malvern, you know where Clews & Strawbridge Boats is?

Once upon a time that farmhouse looked normal. It is part of 3 separate parcels of land totaling about 5 acres. Main Line Watercraft Realty is the name, but looking into the deeds and mortgage, a name emerged. I will post those documents and you can look for yourselves. But hey, this man sits in a very nice house on pricey real estate in the region (not Chester County), while one of Chester County’s historic assets just ROTS and that is so truly terrible isn’t it? And if this property owner cared about the house and historic barn, wouldn’t they be better looked after? Now I am not writing this man’s name, although he has appeared in many public facing media things, especially for his day job so to speak right? No he’s not a real estate developer is he?

All I know is this historic house was once owned by artist Margaret Strawbridge Clews, who died at 91 in 2010. She must be turning over in her grave at the condition of that house, right?

I found her obituary. Here is a link and allow me to share from it:

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/seacoastonline/name/margaret-clews-obituary?id=24425566

HANOVER – Margaret Strawbridge Clews died August 6th at the age of 91 – just six days after she warmly welcomed each of her children, grandchildren, and all eleven great grandchildren as well as nearly 100 friends to the opening of her one-woman art show at the Howe Library in Hanover, NH. Born into the postwar debutante world of Philadelphia in 1919, the year women got the right to vote, she was a life-long activist and artist – devoting much of her art to her favorite causes of women’s rights and peace.

Mrs. Clews was the granddaughter of the founder of Philadelphia’s landmark department stores, Strawbridge & Clothier. With Mancha Madison Clews, her husband of 66 years, she was the proprietor of their family boat business, which thrives to this day in Malvern, Pennsylvania. Their company, Clews and Strawbridge, was the only combination marine & Saab automobile dealership in the USA.

She was a graduate of The Shipley School and of Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Exhibiting her first work at the age of 16

Do we think Margaret would love this decay? The decay of a once lovely 18th century farmhouse? She came up in a post I wrote in 2019:

chester county memories

Here is Margaret’s engagement announcement from the New York Times in 1940:

Here are some more clippings including Margaret’s husband’s death in 2006:

Here’s a post about Margaret’s in-laws and their French Chateau:

The Weird World of Henry and Marie Clews

Another bunch of posts written by one of her children, and Mr. Clews’ obituary:

https://www.snodoglog.com/Margaret-S-Clews.html

https://www.snodoglog.com/10-Family-Photo.html

https://www.fosters.com/story/news/local/2006/12/19/mancha-clews/52554614007

https://www.snodoglog.com/M-Madison-Clews.html

Now Lincoln Highway/Lancaster Pike/Lancaster Ave was laid out in 1732 according to the Tredyffrin-Easttown Historical Society. This farmhouse I was told years ago was built in 1734. And the current property owner just lets it sit and rot? And the rest of the property looks pretty shabby too, doesn’t it? I remember how nice it once looked because years and years ago when the Saab dealership was there, I had friends who got their Saabs there.

310 lancaster ave for sale brochureDownload

I found a brochure advertising the property from a realtor. Don’t know if this is still being marketed by this person or not. So who else is concerned about this property? It narrowly escaped being a very dense residential development a few years ago correct? So now what?

demolition by neglect, east whiteland township, chester county

The house COULD be saved, but not unless the owner sees the light right? He lives far enough away he doesn’t drive by it every day so it’s just something in an investment portfolio, correct?

Is there anyone who can encourage him to see it as the valuable historic asset that it is? Maybe he can make an old house call? Do the right thing?

To follow are the deed and some other things found on public records. Perhaps some reporter somewhere will be inspired to write a real story about the history of this house and the current ownership?

If not, tick tock East Whiteland. It’s time for this guy to respect Chester County’s historic architecture, right? And yes I can have that opinion.

10325928 deed 2Download
10325930 another part to deedDownload
deed p480Download
2007Download
2018- 19 mortgageDownload
Clews and Strawbridge tenant estoppel thingDownload

after a brief hello, it’s goodbye from vanner house

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Wow. They dressed up the area and now they’re going. I’m always sad when a small business doesn’t make it.

I will not say I was a customer of this business because I wasn’t, but they put a lot of work and their whole heart into it and it’s a bummer.

Vanner House is sadly, toast.

I literally just had never had the time to make it down there. And one reason why I was glad they were there is I love that location. I love those old buildings. Years ago when there was a rent sign up there for residential living I went and looked at the property and it was just so cool even if it’s sat smack on Conestoga Road.

I don’t know if everyone remembers but Savvy Main Line did a big article on them. Here is the link:

Historic Ithan market restored as Vanner House, a dapper destination for all things equestrian

Again, I’m sad to see a small business close. Retail for the independent individual person is tough. If you’re a big box store, it can be tough, but it’s not this kind of tough.

So another one bites the dust. Maybe if Pennsylvania and these various municipalities made it more attractive for small businesses to stay they would be able to. 

I am guessing that this event tonight is the Swan song for the store as far as things like that⬇️

It’s a shame. Is this our country winning?

the gladwyne market house, once known as delaware market house closes and is sold…again

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Facebook and Google Photo

Once known as The Delaware Market House, The Gladwyne Market House is in a building has been a market at the corner of Youngs Ford and Righters Mill roads in Gladwyne since the early 1900s. It could be longer. I’m just not sure.

Delaware Market originally was a beloved small gourmet grocery with prepared food as well in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, that closed in September 2009. It was like the Instacart of its day because you could get groceries delivered. Now mind you, that was a paid privilege and the market was pricey, but the quality was amazing of pretty much everything.

I do not know or remember when they started doing more prepared foods because when we ever use the market, we didn’t use it for prepared foods per se.

I actually went to the Delaware Market House the day it closed and that was around 2009.

My photo

I still have my Delaware Market House bag from that last day they were open and the last chance to shop. It was a really nice store run by really nice people. At the time those owners were successor owners to the original owners who had sold it to them. It was reported back then that economic downturns made it too expensive for them to stay open.

My photo. Last day of Delaware Market House 2009

I never went back there after it closed as Delaware Market House, but it was resurrected thanks to a caring local resident. It then became the Gladwyne Market House or Gladwyne Market. So when it was resurrected at that point it became a slightly more modern iteration of what it had been. And there was catering and more prepared food, and it was still beloved by the community.

Well, we all recently learned if you ever follow things in Gladwyne that the market had its last day the other day forever.

Once again the property has been sold and the business closed.

From Facebook

According to a social media post I saw the new owners do not have a desire of just getting rid of the market building or the shops across the street which also sold from owners different than the market to these new people “RMR Property Holdings LLC.”

It seems that their goal is restoration, revitalization, and reimagining what could be. Again, saw it on a social media post.

But it sounds like it’s not an end per se in Gladwyne, but a new beginning. I am going sign off feeling hopeful.

Thanks for stopping by.

yes, the historic joseph price house has a NEW owner and they are doing work already.

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I took the above photo around August 18, 2025. In Delaware a LLC was filed August 21, 2025. On August 22, 2025 the deed transferred from the old dude from Ambler and his buddy. It kind of took until now for Chester County to upload everything. I have been checking rather frequently.

Note that Downingtown address for where mail goes for this new 401 Clover Mill LLC:

Oh wait? Really? County Propane which is a great company incidentally is owned by the guy Harry Miller who owns Regal Builders and all of the constant years long guyak or chiacchiere surrounding Lloyd Farm in Caln, right?

Allow me to set the stage. A few months ago I was told a name of rumored interest in the Joseph Price House. That name was Justin Olear. Why did I remember that name? From Lloyd Farm and Regal Builders and isn’t he Harry’s nephew? According to Regal’s website and a 2018 post on their website, he is isn’t he?

What is Lloyd farm and Lloyd Farmhouse? How quickly people forget. Next are shots someone did for some zoom thing according to Cheryl Spaulding who has led a courageous battle to preserve Lloyd Farmhouse which did not look like this when the developer purchased the property did it? Also below is a screenshot of plans for part of this property in Caln Township. Main Line Health is adding some sort of campus, but not a hospital.

1. Environmental Impact Assessment: Includes maps of roadways and improvements on their lot.
https://www.calntownship.org/…/2025-07-02_pac220255.00…
2. Erosion and Sediment Control Report: This has many details about storm water management before, during and after construction. Has some very good maps.
https://www.calntownship.org/…/pac220255.00-e_sreport…
3. Stormwater Management: Many pages of details, final results begin on page 299 of 377 ages.
https://www.calntownship.org/…/pac220255.00-swmreport…
4. Building Layout: Includes drawings of the interior of all three floors & exterior elevations.
https://www.calntownship.org/…/20250702_mlh_downingtown…

But what I do not know is what happens to the farm house? People have been watching it just ROT for years, and the land was part of a William Penn Land Grant as in the gent who settled PA, right? And Caln residents have not forgotten that a demolition permit was filed in 2019 for Lloyd, have they? And who was the media trying to get a comment out of then? Harry Miller and Justin Olear?

Also interesting is people who live in Caln have been told that Justin Olear wants to preserve the Lloyd farm house at this point. He is now the president of Regal Builders, and I was told that he (Olear) wants to preserve the Joseph Price House a few months ago when I first heard his name in the Joseph Price of it all. I have literally been holding my breath hoping it was sold to someone who will preserve it and are we here? Remember, the Joseph Price House is a federally state and locally recognized historic asset.

Joseph Price House West WhitelandDownload

Time will tell but the house is sold. I am hopeful that she stands a better chance of survival now. I don’t have a problem with someone restoring this for an office as an adaptive reuse

I actually drove by on Monday and they were ripping off one of the add on wood frame additions that had been rotting. Here are a couple of rear photos from March 2025 and the deed transfer, and thanks for stopping by.

12084355 Joseph Price Deed TransferDownload

still rotting: the joseph price house in exton, pa

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I drove past the historic Joseph Price house at Clover Mill and S. Whitford Rd. in West Whiteland today.

It continues to fall into more and more disrepair. Yes, it is technically a historic asset and it is federally, locally, and state recognized as being such, but that basically isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on in Pennsylvania.

This house is built from the most fabulous looking funky green stone that was quarried nearby at the time. I think it is called green serpentine limestone from what I remember.

This house is a wonderful quirky example of Victorian architecture. it is called a rural Queen Ann Gothic style. Built around 1878 and altered around 1894.

Supposedly a developer is in the process of acquiring the property, only it doesn’t show a transfer occurring yet.

At this point in time if this developer is indeed buying this property, it would be nice if they stepped forward into the light and told us they were saving it or whatever they’re planning for the property.

It is also important to note that I do not trespass on this property. Everything was viewed from across the road.

did you know historic yellow springs got beaten up by storms recently?

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I’ve been meaning to write about this and I just have had time get away from me, and not enough hours in the day. Historic Yellow Springs is one of my favorite places in Chester County. I was introduced to the village many moons ago by my late father who loved this little piece of Chester County. (He also loved the antique show they used to have that they should bring back.)

Anyway, it’s no joke that we keep having these series of thunderstorms with accompanying winds and more that are wreaking havoc on places. And the ones just after Fourth of July did significant damage to Historic Yellow Springs.

They are working their way through it, but I never saw any local media pick up the fact that this beautiful historic village was a storm victim. They showed lots of other storm damage, why not Historic Yellow Springs Village?

For example, the poor library experienced damage from a storm in February, it sustained more damage in early July.

According to what they wrote, and I will share screenshots and their photos more than 100 trees were damaged or destroyed. That’s a significant amount and this is a place with very old growth trees as well. Cleanup is going to take months, and they are in a township that I think leaves a lot to be desired as far as being clear about anything, and if West Pikeland can’t be trusted with keeping a police force, how can they be trusted with the village?

So I think Yellow springs is doing a marvelous job of navigating the process of doing what they have to do to take care of the structures that were damaged and storm cleanup, but I’m sure that right now they could use a little extra help in the donation department because as homeowners we know how expensive this work is, let alone being responsible for an entire village of historic assets.

Chester County has a lot of deep pockets who could help one of our county treasures, so I’m putting this out there with their words to follow in the hopes that people can even give a small contribution.

https://yellowsprings.org/support/donate/

Now to follow, is life in the village in their own words published on their socials yesterday after this storm in early July:

Storm Impact Update

Having climbed the fields of shattered and fallen trees, and listened to the chainsaws for days on end, we feel incredibly fortunate for the relatively limited damage to buildings that occurred with the dangerous storm on July 7th. Additionally, I am incredibly thankful for the forethought of our programs team to heed weather warnings, and decide to cancel classes proactively, likely saving lives, given the severity of the event.

This storm tore through our property with extraordinary force. Estimates are showing nearly 100 trees were destroyed or badly damaged, with cleanup efforts likely to continue for months.

The days following the storm were focused on safety assessments and clearing access. Staff and volunteers mobilized quickly, working tirelessly to make the village safe again. Every tool in our arsenal was leveraged just to try to move enough limbs to uncover all corners of the village and reach some sense of normalcy.

Once paths were cleared, hidden structural damage began to emerge:

  • The glazing space behind the old studio barn was smashed.
  • The courtyard fountain, power supply, and roofing on the Washington Building suffered major hits from a fallen sycamore limbs.
  • The Chester Springs Library, sustained new roof damage that allowed water infiltration.

As you may recall, a previous extreme weather event in February, led to structural damage to the roof of the Library. Since then, HYS and the Library have worked closely with insurers, engineers, and contractors to bring this historic structure up to code and safely reopen the Library. We empathize with the public for the loss of resources during the library’s closure and have offered alternate village spaces for free programs whenever possible.

While the temporary protection applied to the roof after the February event held up impressively, wind torn limbs and the fierce rain from the most recent storm punctured new holes on the opposite side of the roof and allowed water to reach inside the building. Within a day of forging a path through the storm debris, we had professional carpentry crews on site ensuring the roof was watertight and not in danger of falling, and commercial-grade air handlers and dehumidifiers were added to move out moisture. Cleanup continues and collaboration between HYS, the Library, engineers, and insurers is ongoing with the goal of getting this historic building bustling again.

During this recovery period, programs continue in unaffected buildings across the village, and we maintain a robust calendar of events to keep our community engaged and inspired. We are constantly discussing new opportunities with partners, and looking for creative ways to make programs happen.

We are deeply grateful to those who have already offered time, talent, and funds. We will keep you informed about progress and ways you can help as we restore every facet of the village for a vibrant future.

Now I’m going to show you the screenshots I took today off of Facebook and everything is from the village’s social media, including their photos. This place is a little slice of heaven, and if you can help them out with a small donation, it would be great. You can also maybe let the county commissioners know when they’re finished designing bad logos, and hiring lots of people that this is a historic asset worth supporting. (sorry not sorry, sometimes I think they need to get out of the Borough of West Chester more.)

With the United States having a big birthday in 2026, and Chester County being a big focus, we want this jewel shining bright and strong.