I'm not going to tuck myself into a nice by forcing a theme to this blog, but here you can expect retail, architecture, and urbex photography focusing on Philadelphia and the Main Line suburbs!
Hanging Out in Paoli
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Bravo Pizza, Paoli, PA
Bravo Pizza is a local pizza chain that expanded a lot in the early 2000's. I'm not sure if they're exactly a "Broken Chain" yet, but the 20-ish surviving locations don't seem very connected with each other. There's no central website anymore, making me think whatever corporate entity was franchising them is gone now. The absence of a website also makes it difficult to track down the remaining locations. It's a really generic name so a Google search will return a bunch of places with the same name that weren't part of the chain.
Former Ametek Headquarters, Station Square, Paoli, PA
Plans to demolish the Station Square office park and put an apartment complex on the site had been floating around for years. I was in the area and had some time to kill, do I decided to wander around here before stuff started happening. This building was added as an expansion to the park in 1985. Prior to visiting here, I had never heard of Ametek, but apparently they're a pretty big name in the Electronics industry. According to Wikipedia, they have 220 factories across the world. You'd expect a company like that to run out of something a little larger than a single 2-story office, which is perhaps why they moved to a slightly larger building in Berwyn (one town over from here) in 2012. The building sat vacant until its demolition in 2018.
Looking inside, it seems the space was gutted out in hopes of attracting a new tenant, which never came to fruition. I feel like if somebody were to go through the effort of rebuilding the interior, they wouldn't be reusing these rather ugly 30-year-old doors, which I suspect are not solid wood.
The staircase and a few rooms behind it were left intact. I'm guessing there would have been wood paneling or something on the wall behind the stairs; something was obviously glued over the drywall.
The same block of rooms, as seen from the back of the building. I'd assume the restrooms and elevator were in here somewhere. Another room remains on the left, which looks like it might have been mechanical.
The very 80's front of the building. I've been trying to learn more about architecture lately, and I think this is what would be classified as a Postmodern design.
Since this building was an expansion to the original park, it had its own parking lot which connected to the rest of the park's lot with a driveway. This sign was on the edge of the main lot. It still had a readable labelscar.
The original part of the office park consists of 3 brick offices. I couldn't find the year these were built, but the mailboxes out front had 1950 and 1951 manufacture dates, which sounds a little old but is in the right ballpark. At the time I visited, the buildings were starting to empty out but still had a few businesses left. I visited on a Saturday, which is why nobody else was in here. In hindsight I definitely should have gone inside, the hallways should have been unlocked. The fact that nobody else was here made me feel like I shouldn't be either though, so I chickened out.
One and Two Station Square were set up longways, three was sideways. Its main entrance was in the middle of the building, with side entrances on one end.
Looking around the back of Three, to the rear entrance of Two. I liked the architecture of these buildings a lot. The boxy 2-tone brick design reminded me a lot of my elementary school, which was torn down back in 2007.
The three main buildings were arranged around what I guess you'd call a courtyard. In the middle of the parking lot, there was this grassy area with a little modern gazebo and some benches. I was sorta hoping they'd at least save the gazebo for the apartments, but it came down with the rest of the complex.
Along the side of One. I thought the overhang was kinda neat. The offices on the second floor must have been significantly larger. This complex had all sorts of offices, but by the time I got here it was mainly medical and legal ones. With its imminent redevelopment, Station Square was only giving its tenants month-to-month leases so most of the larger operations left as soon as they got the chance.
The second tier of the tower was added on at some point. I'm guessing there's some sort of mechanical equipment hidden behind that. It looks bad, but probably better than it would with exposed AC coolers.
Looking down towards Two. This basically served as its main entrance since it faced the road, but I feel like the other end was supposed to be the front.
Two's rear entrance. I'm convinced this was supposed to be its main entrance, it looks better than the other side. There was a driveway leading out to a different street by here, so maybe that was supposed to serve this building?
Three's main entrance, which is on the long side of the building unlike the other two. I've also noticed all sides of this building have the brick design the other two only have on the short ends, and no second floor overhang.
Three's side entrance. I realized that all three buildings have different kinds of lights over the entrances, which doesn't seem like it would be a design preference. What I'm thinking is that maybe these buildings were built at different times, and they just used what was available at the time.
Rear entrance to One, which doesn't look as inviting as either of Two's entrances.
Not a great picture, but I liked it. This was the courtyard in the middle of the complex, which had some nice dogwood trees around it.
Inside the gazebo. I don't remember if there was a skylight in the middle or if it was just left open. I liked how the roof framing looked.
Sign by the street. Apparently this park only adopted the Station Square name in 1985 (when Ametek opened). I'd assume this sign just had the building's addresses originally.
Across the street there was a very early LED Streetlight. Tredyffrin Township installed these back in 2010. They didn't put a ton of these up but if you look around they're not too difficult to find. The technology still had a long way to come when these were installed, so these were pretty dim to start with and only got dimmer with time. I don't think Tredyffrin has installed any more LED's since then. In fact, this light in particular was replaced with a Sodium Vapor one last year. Most other old LED's are still hanging around, but it seems like they're going to start switching back as these break.
Beginnings of the Paoli Station Project
I think these boxes were part of Paoli Station's power substation, and are probably original to when Pennsylvania Railroad electrified the line in 1915. Last I saw these were still in place, but I'm sure they'll be replaced within the coming months. The substation itself is being rebuilt in the former rail yard across the road.
I'd hazard a guess that this light was also original to 1915. I was hoping they'd see some historic value in this and keep it, but it was yanked out not long after alongside the everything else along the north side of the tracks.
The bridge carrying Valley Road over the tracks. The bridge was originally built in 1893, which coincided with the construction of the original Paoli Station. I'd assume the bridge's span has been replaced since then, but there's a chance it's still the original. This will be removed in the next phase of the station project, when Darby Road will be rerouted to connect to the station instead.
The platform by the upper parking lot and stairs coming down from it were the only part of the 1893 station left, most of it was rebuilt in 1953. A few months after I got this picture, everything on this side of the tracks was torn down. They had to push the hillside back to make way for the new rail alignment, which will have a third platform in between the tracks.
To give you an idea how steep the stairs here were, this picture's looking straight forward. They weren't taking great care of the 1893 station towards the end here. This part also still had T12 lighting, which in the rest of the station has been upgraded to T8.
The north platform. I think the replacement will begin where the hill used to end here.
The 1953 ticket booth on the north side had been abandoned as long as I could remember. Ticket sales are all done now either by machine or on the south side.
Heading under Valley Bridge. It was widened at some point to allow for pedestrian traffic, which is what those green poles are supporting.
On the other side of Valley, looking towards the former Rail Yard. Most of it has been repurposed as parking. The site will be developed once the station project is finished, since there will be a large garage across the street.
Looking back under Valley Bridge from the other side. Sorry, I really like bridges.
Heading back up by the Ametek building, the trees have been cleared giving us a good view of the south side of the station. Where I'm standing will soon be the extended Darby Road.
For the record, I'm not a roadgeek yet but am quickly falling into becoming one. My Streets Department internship is taking me down this rabbit hole.
And here's today's song. It's been stuck in my head all week.
Ah, a "roadgeek in training" I see. I'm just waiting to see photos of road signs and extensive tours of new roads being built, at which point we can make the title official! There are a lot of very roadgeeky things in PA too (like Breezewood and the old Turnpike stretch), and even things in Philly itself (like the sad western end of the PA 63 Expressway, the stub ramps at the PA 23 and US 202 junction).
I've always wanted to check out the abandoned parts of the turnpike! There's a bit of road stuff I have photographed, mainly the rebuilding of the I95 viaduct through Philly and US 322's widening through Delco (going from 2-lane to a 4-lane divided highway). For my internship I've had to approve several trucking routes over 63 and noticed the dead end, I then found some plans from 2003 showing what it was supposed to look like. I think the plan's still to finish it but it's a very low priority now.
I drive over 23 on 202 all the time. I found out about those stub ramps and have been meaning to get some pictures, but there's really no safe place to pull over there. I'll find a way at dome point. ;)
Up until recently there were some stub ramps in Philly where I95 and the Betsy Ross Bridge came together that were supposed to one day connect Adams Ave to it as well. They finally finished the project, but rebuilt all the ramps. Those stubs were never finished.
The abandoned turnpike is on my list of things to see someday too. However, when I'm up that way in the summer the rest of my family isn't quite as motivated to go stare at an abandoned highway like I am, so I've never made it out there yet.
If you look closely at satellite imagery west of where 63 currently ends as an expressway, you can make out the right of way that was set aside for the extension. Interesting to hear those plans aren't officially dead though, as many of these planned expressways have succumbed to around PA.
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...
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...
RadioShack, Paoli, PA This location closed down with the chain in mid-2017 after an incredibly long closing sale. It sat vacant for a little while, but recently reopened as an F45 Fitness. Abandoned Garage, Spring City, PA This place has been empty as long as I can remember. A few years ago, the side wall of the office portion collapsed and the property was fenced off. Strangely, they patched the collapsed wall with more cinderblock but didn't mortar any of it together. It's just a stack of blocks. White Hall Inn, Spring City, PA The long-abandoned White Hall Inn was restored when a veteran's assisted living community was built on the property. I'd say they did a nice job although I am a little irritated this happened before I could get some better abandoned pictures of it. Gulf, Spring City, PA The former Gulf station, which operated for the last 30 years or so as an exterminator's office, has returned to automotive use. It's now a repair sho...
Ah, a "roadgeek in training" I see. I'm just waiting to see photos of road signs and extensive tours of new roads being built, at which point we can make the title official! There are a lot of very roadgeeky things in PA too (like Breezewood and the old Turnpike stretch), and even things in Philly itself (like the sad western end of the PA 63 Expressway, the stub ramps at the PA 23 and US 202 junction).
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to check out the abandoned parts of the turnpike! There's a bit of road stuff I have photographed, mainly the rebuilding of the I95 viaduct through Philly and US 322's widening through Delco (going from 2-lane to a 4-lane divided highway). For my internship I've had to approve several trucking routes over 63 and noticed the dead end, I then found some plans from 2003 showing what it was supposed to look like. I think the plan's still to finish it but it's a very low priority now.
DeleteI drive over 23 on 202 all the time. I found out about those stub ramps and have been meaning to get some pictures, but there's really no safe place to pull over there. I'll find a way at dome point. ;)
Up until recently there were some stub ramps in Philly where I95 and the Betsy Ross Bridge came together that were supposed to one day connect Adams Ave to it as well. They finally finished the project, but rebuilt all the ramps. Those stubs were never finished.
The abandoned turnpike is on my list of things to see someday too. However, when I'm up that way in the summer the rest of my family isn't quite as motivated to go stare at an abandoned highway like I am, so I've never made it out there yet.
ReplyDeleteIf you look closely at satellite imagery west of where 63 currently ends as an expressway, you can make out the right of way that was set aside for the extension. Interesting to hear those plans aren't officially dead though, as many of these planned expressways have succumbed to around PA.