A photo sent to me during recent civic association meeting…
I spy with my little eye a new Inquirer article on the 19035. No not about the grifters currently visiting Club Fed or wherever that the civic association didn’t want mussing up their “vibe” but the article is about the equivalent of the hypothetical company town owners.
(Inquirer article has a pay wall and you have to subscribe to read it, unless they are still allowing people a few free reads a month?)
What do I say company town owners? Easy. In part this reminds me of our history when it come to factory / mining / mill towns when they were first settled (think 19th century.)
These company towns were controlled by the owners of the factory / mining / mill towns. They built the houses, school, local store, etc. etc. (Related aside: Gladwyne already once was a mill etc. town once upon a time, so is that the rich man poor man vibe the developers are going for again?)
Anyway these company towns had the ability to control every single person. They had literally a monopoly on everything. Workers and their families were dependent upon the owners of factory / mills / mines for their survival, which was a great way to control these people yes? Of course, history refers to boom and bust cycles with these towns which is why tourists visit ghost towns out west to this day, yes?
If you are interested in learning more about these types of towns see:
Yeah I know you think I am off on a tangent but the origin of the Gladwyne Village is HELLO a MILL TOWN. Do the upwardly mobile of nouveau 19035 really want to be owned again in a sense? Sociologically it’s a fascinating point to ponder.
So the article also talks about the mythical green space that is so fake sounding I can practically feel the sickly sweet taste.
Here is a link to what they presented to HARB at the beginning of May, which is what they presented to the 19035 gated community errr I mean Gladwyne Civic:
(I will tell you that Lower Merion Township’s website sucks, it’s as if it was designed to hide things, but I digress.)
So once again they are with the green space and fakakta gazebo with parking butting up against existing residents’ homes like it’s a city and WHY? Do they not see the big assed park that is 14.8 acres DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET?
I mean I am told that developer guy Andre worked in the village as a kid before he became an Andre? Does he have selective male Alzheimer’s or something? Are they literally BLIND as to the amount of green space, open space, natural water features, etc etc that ALREADY FREAKING EXIST IN GLADWYNE FOR ALL TO ENJOY? Are the residents also green blind?
Literally WTF in Gladwyne?
They don’t need a developer manufactured pocket park in essence….there is one across the street that is HUGE. Then there is Rolling Hill, Saunders Woods, Flat Rock Park, need I go on?
So these people and Lower Merion Township are either not listening hard enough, not caring enough to hear, or are just freaking green blind aren’t they?
Do the historic preservation and adaptive reuse. Rebuild the Gladwyne Pharmacy etc building, as that was probably just a favor for some pal that Walter Durham designed it in the first place because he designed houses, not mini malls. But leave the zoning alone which will threaten a well established historic district that is recognized on a local, county, state, and federal level. (Unless of course they plan to add a Trump Arch like planned for Washington DC?)
Listen harder and hear developers.
Don’t tart up the village. Do better, be better.
If these developers want their legacy in the 19035, they need to respect the legacy that already exists. Right now they are merely paying it lip service in my opinion.
For anyone interested in the bougie nightmare that they’re trying to create in the 19035 there is a meeting tonight. It is a PUBLIC civic association meeting.
The regular business of the Civic starts at 6:45 PM and I have been told the location this time is Gladwyne Elementary School. I am told the Haldon House stuff starts around 7:15pm?
The only reason I’m bothering with this is because the Civic doesn’t update their website anymore and there’s nothing on any of their meetings found easily- which of course speaks volumes. I doubt very much they are recording or zooming it so you need to show up if you’re interested.
The address of Gladwyne Elementary is 230 Righters Mill Road, Gladwyne, PA
I also have to ask is it wise to have the potential developer of the village as a business sponsor of the Gladwyne Civic Association? Is it just me or does it make you wonder about the people in charge of the civic? (I mean any more than their secretiveness in general about Gladwyne like it’s a gated community?)
Anyway, if you are so inclined, please show up. If they allow a zoning change, that historic village is DOA. Adaptive reuse and historic preservation aren’t the problems. A potential zoning change and nouveau development circus are. And yes, I can have that opinion because if you know Gladwyne, that is simply the truth.
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?
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.)
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 doknow 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.
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.
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.
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.
This is in “City and Suburban Architecture” by Samuel Sloan, published in 1859 by Lippincott in Philadelphia. Sloan was partnered with Hutton when the house was built, but Hutton seems to get all the credit! The book is at the Athenaeum of Philadelphia
I am a lover of old houses and I love the quirky and fanciful. But I had no idea that so many of you out there shared my fascination with Loch Aerie or the Lockwood Mansion in Frazer, PA. When I said yesterday that Loch Aerie was like Bryn Mawr’s La Ronda was, well, hmmm maybe I am not so far off base?
It’s a shame that Loch Aerie isn’t loved and cared for like Granogue, Irenee Du Pont’s Estate in Delaware. Granogue is privately held and once upon a time Mr. Du Pont was kind enough to give me a tour, let me check out the green houses and the amazing view of the Brandywine Valley from a top the water tower.
The house was originally named Glen Loch, but when the Pennsylvania Railroad named its last Main Line station “Glen Loch” without asking permission first, William Lockwood the mansion’s owner changed the name of the estate to Loch Aerie.
I found this information in a book by Brian Butko called Lincoln Highway. Because of Mr. Butko’s book, I also learned that William Lockwood made the mistake of granting access to his springs to the railroad. After all, the Pennsylvania Railroad needed water to power their steam locomotives. Apparently Lockwood had to really go after the railroad and the legal battles depleted his fortunes, even as he prevailed in court against the railroad. I find this part of the history fascinating because I think our railroads of today are lousy neighbors, and this shows that lack of consideration along this rail line in particular is historical.
The seller, the Estate of Lockwood Mansion, a Tabas family trust, turned down the winning bid of $720,000 by a New York businessman.
Yet Brian Butko in his book Lincoln Highway says in 2002 (and I quote):
So that is most curious? Did the estate ever leave the Tabas family after Daniel Tabas purchased the house? I am sooo curious. Thanks to The Library of Congress, we all have access to a Historic American Buildings Survey (mind you there are lots of other Chester County-centric stuff too.) I found several copies on the Internet of the one in particular about Loch Aerie to and will embed a copy below, but it appears to have been done in the 1950’s. So maybe this Tony Alden did not actually own the house as was implied in Butko’s book?
Now take a minute and check out this article from 1992 from The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Here again is where I find more curiosity: was this definitively designed by Addison Hutton as an original idea? I ask because a friend from the Radnor Historical Society Greg Pritchard (he is one of my favorite people and helped me so much as I was going through the approval process to gain a PA historical marker for what once was The Wayne Natatorium) sent me a message last night with a photo he took from a plate in a book that was published nine years before Loch Aerie was built. The photo is above and the first one in this post. It is a photo of a plate in a book titled “Rural Villa” and I can’t quite make out the name on the bottom right hand corner of the plate. But that is Loch Aerie, is it not? So was this drawing done for/by Addison Hutton before Lockwood commissioned his mansion, or was this drawing the inspiration for Hutton’s design? If it was inspiration, is there a Loch Aerie look-alike somewhere?
Around 1974, Elizabeth Biddle Yarnall wrote a biography on Addison Hutton (Addison Hutton, Quaker Architect 1834-1916). On page 41, she writes of what appears to have been a visit to the home with her husband. William Lockwood’s daughters were still living there.
Apparently, as per this book, Loch Aerie/Glen Loch/Lockwood Mansion was one of Hutton’s favorite commissions because it was an independent one. I also learned thanks to Elizabeth Biddle Yarnall how William Lockwood made at least some of his money: paper collars. Mrs. Yarnall remarked upon her 1958 visit how intact the house still was at that time that it seemed that they “…had stepped into the Victorian world of Addison Hutton“.
Flash forward to 1995, and another Philadelphia Inquirer article about Loch Aerie. The Philadelphia Inquirer used to do all sorts of cool pieces like this, but their issues and various changes of ownership means that not only don’t you see articles of interest like this very often, they also don’t seem to give the reporters the time or encouragement to write articles like this. I find that a shame. Anyway back to 1995:
Ahhh what a tangled tale. So with all due respect to the late Dan Tabas, if he had such a “love affair” with the house, why did it rot for many and have motorcycle gangs hanging out? Why does it in essence sit and rot today? Let’s get real, this was always a juicy plot of land. Someone who has a love affair with a home like this, restores it, doesn’t sell off all the land around it to a big box store, effectively marooning it like a small desert island. Someone with a love affair, restores it and moves his family in to enjoy the splendor and privilege of living in such a home. Or they find a suitable adaptive reuse. Yes, think Addison Hutton’s Beechwood on Shipley’s campus which the Committee to Save Beechwood saved – yes volunteers did that, not the school although the school reaps the ultimate benefit now. Or up closer to Bryn Mawr Train Station (around 802 W. Montgomery). That is also an Addison Hutton designed home, and if memory serves it could have been the house Hutton built for his family. In any event, this property was recently converted to condos. Mind you, I will never be a condo girl, but in this case, it provided a viable adaptive reuse that saved the structure.
I also love how Home Depot described their store design as “more characteristic of the Main Line.” And then they woke up. I have been to that Home Depot several times, and Ardrossan it ain’t. Not even close. It is what it is: a big box with concrete floors.
Of course I wonder given another article unearthed from the Philadelphia Inquirer if East Whiteland could have said no? According to this article, not only was the sale of the property on which Home Depot now sits contingent on this approval, Home Depot went to this “township to amend its zoning ordinance and create a special classification for retail and home and garden center use.” This article also says how the reason Home Depot wanted to big box in was traffic from the Exton Bypass on Route 202.
That just kills me. Big boxes might have their uses but not only do they slowly starve out independent businesses, the big boxification and strip mallification of Chester County is something which astounds me. So many Chester County municipalities seem to an outsider completely thoughtless when it comes to preservation and the future. All these plastic mushroom house developments, and countless big boxes and sub par strip malls, not all of which have full occupancy. Look at what has been built over the past 25 years or so. Is any of it spectacular? No.
I don’t get why Chester County doesn’t have a more cohesive plan for commercial development county-wide, and it is obvious in some of these municipalities that they see the short-term salivation over ratables, and not much else. Of course if you ever watch any public meetings, eleted and planning officials love to fall on the sword of Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code which in my humble opinion needs an updating. Suburbs and exurbs are vastly different and Pennsylvania needs better comprehensive planning, so that many local municipalities run out of excuses on why they don’t need better planning. Not all local municipalities are horible at historic preservation, but a lot of them could do much better, or simply pay less lip service to the idea of preservation and employ more doing.
I also think that Pennsylvania as a state needs to have more that means more in the area of historic preservation. People need incentive to preserve, and I wish that Pennsylvania would follow the lead of other states in this country who offer more enticing incentives to preserve historic structures.
Now the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission administers the federal rehabilitation investment tax credits , but it just seems a lot of other states simply do more. At a minimum the Municipalities Planning Code needs to be more in sync with historic preservation in a top down approach in Pennsylvania. Of course that opens other cans of worms as Pennsylvania is most definitely a private property rights state. We all learned that lesson again when it can to La Ronda. La Ronda was demolished I think as much as anything else because the owner could demolish it.
It is a crying shame that Loch Aerie has never made it to The National Trust for Historic Preservation. I wish in addition that preservationists in Pennsylvania and Chester County would take an interest in preserving this La Ronda of Chester County. No, we can’t save every old house, but once in a while it would be nice if some of the more important homes, of which this mansion is definitely one, were not left to rot. We are in a crappy economy no doubt, but still so much our past in our communities is left to rot. There seems to be plenty of money to build new, but not much money or incentive to preserve. Private property rights state or not, once the architectural history is gone, it’s gone and not coming back.
What kind of adaptive reuse do you think could fit Loch Aerie? I would like to see something that preserved the exterior and enough of the interior. It would make a cool B&B or boutique hotel. Even a restaurant. Or a quirky office space. Antique store or art center. The landscaping would be key as it’s views are now either highway or big box. Given how it was cut off, it wouldn’t make an ideal single family home. If I were an official in East Whiteland, I would be looking for a way to make preservation of Loch Aerie happen. But we all know the reality of that as it is far simpler to approve a demolition plan and look the other way. Or to let many old structures rot and look the other way until no one wants the properties except for another doofy strip mall, drive thru pharmacy, bank branch, or fast food restaurant.
One last question. Has this home ever been on a Chester County Day Tour? There certainly are enough cool Victorians in Chester County that they could do an entire Victorian Day, or given all the historic homes at risk ALL over, they could do an “at risk” themed tour. I love my barns, don’t misunderstand me, but there are a lot of cool houses in Chester County that are in desperate need of rescuing from various points of time in history.
Here are the documents I loaded on SCRIBD and also check out The Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society’s Historical Quarterly Digital Archives “A Brief Glimpse of East Whiteland“:
Chester County is at a critical point in its history. We must make a choice for our future. We can let the unsustainable development pattern of the past continue, or we can choose to work together toward a new pattern of development that preserves the unique character of Chester County.
Chapter 1 of the comprehensive policy plan, Landscapes2, outlines how the Board of County Commissioners and the Chester County Planning Commission plan to address growth management and preservation strategies in collaboration with public, private and corporate citizens.
