I was passing by the Chesapeake Crab Connection yesterday on Columbia Avenue near Centerville Road, Lancaster, PA.
Next door to it was a house in the process of being torn down (you can see it in the corner past the sign).
The roof had already been torn off. As I passed by, I noted, to my surprise, that underneath the clapboard, the home was an eighteenth century log house!
I was dismayed, thinking that yet another piece of Lancaster County history was about to be destroyed. I turned around, which in rush hour traffic on Columbia Avenue took me a mile of driving and fifteen minutes of stop lights to be able to get back to where I could go back and ask some questions.
It turns out that the Crab Connection owns the property on either side of the restaurant. They're doing a major expansion of their parking lot, and had planned to tear down the old, nondescript houses on either side.
When the contractors removed the asbestos siding over this home, they found old clapboard underneath. When they started to remove the clapboard, they found original 18th century logs! The good news is that the owner is allowing a father and son team to remove the house at their own expense and relocate it to a more appropriate site!
Meanwhile, the Chesapeake Crab Connection is planning an expansion of the "beach", as they call it, for outdoor dining in the warmer months, along with the larger parking facilities. Kudos to everyone involved for recognizing and allowing a valuable, though hitherto unrecognized, piece of Lancaster County, PA history to be preserved.
This log home is one of the oldest buildings still in existence on Columbia Avenue.
Copyright2008BrianSchulman©
Brian Schulman offers expert personalized real estate representation and services in Lancaster County, PA. To contact him, visit http://www.FindLancasterHomes.com/ |
Copyright2010BrianSchulman©
|
Brian Schulman offers expert real estate representation for buyers and sellers of homes in Lancaster County, PA. To learn more, visit http://www.FindLancasterHomes.com/ |
Trey, definitely worth saving. I haven't figured out yet, from the rear, whether it originally began as an even earlier, smaller building.
Love the pictures and the story. We have 'refurbished' log homes here in WNC and they are treasures.
Wow, Brian! That was really interesting! You just never know what's underneath the rough exterior! Glad to hear that this treasure is being lovingly restored and retained.
~Renae
Nice positive story. I can't believe they didn't want to incorporate it into their own restaurant plan - you can't buy ambiance like that.... but maybe it needed too much work.
Georgina, it was just lucky that the underlying log home was discovered at all before it was completely torn down. I'm sure that the restaurant would have had no interest in saving it at all except for the fact that they found someone who was willing to remove it for free.
You make an interesting point - that it could have been incorporated into the expansion plan. Unfortunately, development and historic preservation often don't have much in common.
Wonderful! I am so glad it will be saved. I live in the suburbs of Dallas, TX. Not too long ago the "Hard Rock Cafe" was demolished. I just couldn't believe the historic commission could not save it. The story is below.
By RUDOLPH BUSH / The Dallas Morning News
rbush@dallasnews.com
The 102-year-old structure that started out as McKinney Avenue Baptist Church came crumbling down Saturday, but the dust hasn't settled yet.
Dallas City Council member Angela Hunt says she feels misled and betrayed by Uptown developer Brett Landes, who she believes gave her public assurances that he would preserve the building better known as the old Hard Rock Cafe at 2601 McKinney Ave.
But Mr. Landes said Tuesday that he never made such a promise, and a number of people familiar with the historic preservation fight over the building agreed that they understood demolition was a possibility.
Reached at his Uptown office, Mr. Landes expressed frustration that Ms. Hunt feels he wasn't forthright about the decision to tear down the building.
"I said my intent was to keep it. I never said, 'I promise not to tear it down,' " he said.
Ms. Hunt said that she specifically recalls a promise from Mr. Landes not to take the wrecking ball to the building.
"It's frustrating for me to be in a public meeting where a developer pledges to preserve a building and says that he has plans for how he's going to make that happen. ... And not only does he not do it, but he doesn't advise anyone or ask for any assistance in trying to make his plan more financially viable before destroying the structure," she said.
Mr. Landes said that for more than a year he sought businesses to lease all or part of the building.
"We sent brochures and packages out to at least 50 potential tenants, all of whom either declined or requested substantial modifications to the building, which would have rendered the church completely different," he said.
The cost of trying to spare the building came in at around $250,000, he said.
A number of historic preservationists, including the chairman and vice chairman of the city's landmark preservation panel, said they long understood the old church could be demolished.
Last year, the Landmark Commission declined to designate the building as a historic structure because it had undergone a series of significant structural changes. When Hard Rock moved in, the changes were dramatic, including the re-facing of the exterior and the installation of guitar handrails on the outer stairwell.
Mattia Flabiano, vice chairman of the Landmark Commission, recalled that Mr. Landes fought having the building designated as historic so he could maintain the right to tear it down.
The commission ultimately agreed with Mr. Landes not to designate the building as historic because it wasn't the same structure it once was, he said.
"There was very little left of the original church," Mr. Flabiano said.
Landmark Commission Chairman Chris Gonzales said he couldn't recall any pledges to spare the building and long felt it would be demolished.
"I drove by it Sunday, and it did give me chills. It made me sick to my stomach. But it wasn't a surprise," he said.
Becky, thanks for including the article on the hard Rock Cafe. It may have undergone significant changes, but from the one wall left standing in the photo, it's obvious that the original building was still there underneath.
It's a shame that there isn't more representation in favor of preservation on zoning boards and city councils. City councils in particular seem more interested in increasing the tax base than in preserving historical landmarks.
Brian,
I agree. The wall is no longer standing either. It was a beautiful old church that was converted to the Hard Rock. It's really ashame.
On another note, The City of DeSoto, Texas (where I live). recently purchased the oldest house in Dallas County. The City Council and all the good people of DeSoto fought hard to get it back in the hands of the community. We are all very grateful. It sets in the center of a sub-division on acreage. I'm not sure what we are going to do with it. I have been asked to serve on the committee to look at options. I am going to post this as a blog.