A Bunch of Construction: January, 2017.

 Rite-Zone Progress
The old diamond windows have been filled in. AutoZone did a pretty nice job covering them up; by the time they were done, you couldn't even tell those windows were here.
 Under where the awning used to be, the windows on the right were removed. There was still a net gain of window space here, as the opaque panels along the bottom were replaced with more glass..
 Some old diamond windows that had yet to be stuccoed-over.
 Former Drive-Thru. The window was filled in, but the rest of the structure was left in place. I'm a little disappointed they didn't remove it, as it really doesn't look right anymore.
Hampton Inn, Lionville, PA
This opened in 1992, and was redone in 2017. The new look is a much-needed upgrade from this. I always thought that brown roof looked ugly.
 Hometown Buffet?/Hoss's, Lionville, PA
This building was built in 1992, but Hoss's didn't open until 1996. I'm not entirely sure what it opened as, but I see some resemblance to a Hometown Buffet (which might have relocated- an Old Country Buffet opened nearby in Downingtown in 1996). If anybody knows what it cold have been originally, please let me know in the comments! The area with the pitched roof was added on when Hoss's moved in, but I don't think they changed anything else on the façade. Unfortunately, Hoss's closed in 2011, probably due to its distance from all the other locations in the chain (All the other locations are in central or NE PA; Lionville's pretty far southeast.) It sat vacant until summer, 2018 when it was demolished without replacement. I'm assuming this was done to make the site more appealing to other restaurants.
 The concrete wainscoting isn't holding up too well.
 Between the blinds and dirty windows, it was hard to get a good picture of the inside. Don't worry- I was able to sneak in during demolition and get a few decent pictures. Even though this wasn't built as a Hoss's, they did completely redo the interior to fit their prototype.
They still left the place mostly furnished, too. It's a little hard to see in this picture, but the big lights on the ceiling were really cool- bulbs in mason jars hanging around an antique wagon wheel. Unfortunately, Hoss's has been remodeling their other locations and getting rid of these. Their Pottsville location looks  lot like this one did when it was open.
 Demolition, Ardmore, PA
I saw a news article about a new apartment complex coming to Ardmore that mentioned demolishing 6 existing houses. I was able to find some information on most of them, the oldest being built in 1885 and the newest in 1925 (The one pictured was built in 1916). Since these were somewhat historic, I decided to get some photos before it was too late.
Even though it was less than a day after I read the article, half of them were already gone by the time I got there.
 This house was most recently home to an exterminating service. I feel like the exterminator probably lived here too.
 I was a little late for the largest house, which looked the coolest on Streetview.
 The garage was still standing for now. I'm assuming this was original to when the house was built.
 Some cabinetry, a shed, and a grill were just about all that was left from the 1885 houses. They were two smaller wooden houses, to the left of the one pictured in the Streetview I linked.
 This one was built in 1925. It most recently was split up into apartments, which surprisingly still have a listing posted, albeit with imagery of one of the buildings that replaced it..
 I'm not sure if it was just that demolition had already started, or if the building was in rough shape to begin with. I believe it was occupied up until the end.
 The original siding was exposed when the porch was taken off.
 This house was built in 1920, and also still has a listing posted- complete with pictures! The old shingle siding was stripped off before demolition, probably due to asbestos issues. I think the wood that was exposed was probably the original siding.
 Berwyn Tavern, Berwyn, PA
This tavern opened in 1956 in what I'm assuming was originally a building for Fritz Lumber (which you'll read about in the next photo). Fritz surrounded this on three sides. Plans for redeveloping the site have this building staying in place and the new building making a "c"-shape around it.
 Fritz Lumber, Berwyn, PA
This lumber yard opened in 1863, and operated continuously until 2016. Afterwards, the site was sold to a developer, who plans to build high-density housing on the site. Demolition began Summer 2017, but wasn't finished. As a result, most of the buildings are still standing, with the exception of half the lumber shed. I believe this was stopped because the developers kept changing their plans and didn't want to proceed with work until they had a definite plan going forward.
Even though the buildings are closed and condemned, a local holiday decorator used them to promote their work every Christmas.
 Not quite sure what these little buildings along Rt. 30 were used for in the end. I'd guess they were originally smaller shops the lumber yard absorbed as it grew. They're also unfortunately the probably the oldest buildings along this stretch of road.
I think this was the main lumber yard building originally, which relocated its office to the other end of the complex sometime more recently. This building was abandoned for as long as I can remember, but they've been doing a good job keeping it sealed up and painted.

Comments

  1. Retail RetellFebruary 11, 2019 at 9:50 PM

    That's a shame that half of those six houses were already gone by the time you got there. That's a very quick turnaround for a demolition published in an article only the day before! At least the other three were still standing, though...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PlazaACMEFebruary 12, 2019 at 12:56 PM

      My thoughts exactly! I'm assuming the article wasn't published until after construction had already started. It focused mainly on the new buildings that were going up more so than the ones that were coming down.

      Delete

Post a Comment

The Stuff You Like:

Toys R Gone... But the Food's Still Whole

Image
 It should be an easy guess what two stores we'll feature today, but as usual we've got some stuff to go through before we get there. Let's get started! Colonial Theater, Phoenixville, PA If there's one building in Phoenixville you might recognize from something other than my photos, it would be this one. And that would mean you've seen 1958's The Blob . It opened as a playhouse in 1903, and switched to film in 1928. Occasionally a new movie makes it in here, but for the most part they show classics and have concerts here now. Rec Room, Phoenixville, PA Across the street from the theater, in what I am almost certain was an old 5-and-dime (From the 80's until a couple years ago it was a variety store), Conshohocken Brewing has opened up the Rec Room. It's about what you would expect, primarily restaurant/bar space, but with a few shuffleboard and ping-pong tables in back. Rapps Dam Bridge, Phoenixville, PA This old covered bridge was originally built in 1...
Read more

Indoor Tour

Image
A lot of my posts lately have been outside looks at stores, but today I'll make it up to you. Like 75% of what I'm covering this post are store interiors. Without further ado, let's get started! Malvern Federal, Exton, PA Here's one of the more interesting bank buildings in the area. Its early history is a little complicated but I can tell you what stands today dates back at least to 1810 and was originally a farmhouse. The 1810 portion, made of stone, was added onto a log house constructed in 1771. This part may still be here, but nothing standing today obviously jumps out as a log structure so if it does still stand, it has been covered in stucco. It maintained its original use for close to 200 years, before Malvern Federal Savings bank bought the structure in 1964 and converted it to a bank. That lasted over fifty years, but then rumors began swirling that something bad was going to happen. Malvern sold the building to PREIT, who then announced plans to demolish the...
Read more

2020 Halloween Post: The American Cyanamid Labs of Princeton, NJ

Image
 The story of how I wound up here goes all the way back to the beginning of Quarantine. Like the very beginning, where we literally weren't allowed to to be out in public on nonessential business. I, like most people, was stuck at home and bored out of my mind. To pass the time, I would find urbex sites (most of which are very stubborn about not giving out locations) and track down the buildings they featured. It was a fun challenge, almost like detective work. One site, Abandoned NJ , had a neat page on an unnamed Agricultural Research Facility. I became instantly obsessed- it was so modern but so decayed at the same time. It also had practically no clues on how to find it. It took me a few days, but ultimately I was able to track it down using a product name that appeared in one of the photos, finding the company that made that, then ultimately discovering that they still had a helipad registered at this address. After a few months when things had settled down virus-wise, I calle...
Read more