Results tagged “Continental Square” from York Town Square

Philip Given of The Susquehanna Photographic blog captured this image from the men's restroom under York, Pa.'s Continental Square on the recent Harley-Davidson Bike Night. Also of interest: Researcher leaves detailed files on more than 300 York and Adams mills and York County photo collection adds to historical record and Noted photo archive captures York County treasures.

"For the non-biker, perhaps one of the most exciting parts about Bike Night was the bathrooms. That's right. The bathrooms."

So says a caption on Philip Given's compelling blog, The Susquehanna Photographic.

His blog provides several scenes of the old restrooms, under Continental Square's southeast corner, as part of his photographic coverage of Harley-Davidson's annual Bike Night ... .

This photo from Jim Hubley's "Off the Record" points out an unusual cellar door in the sidewalk outside Bear's Department Store between Market and George streets. "Frequently," Hubley wrote, "pedestrians would be started by the slowly opening cellar doors and the surprising emergence of the freight elevator." Hubley's book particularly focused on downtown life in York City. Background posts: Escaped bovine makes York newspaper headline and York's first mayor Daniel K. Noell named one of his sons and Longtime York sportswriter Jacque Tracy: 'He enjoyed writing features about athletes and coaches'.

When longtime York Daily Record/Sunday News columnist Jim Hubley died a little more than a year ago, people were asking around about how to get his book "Off The Record."

The book, available at local libraries, was out of print.

You couldn't buy a copy around town.

But now you can... .

York's Continental Square is shown in this undated photo from Jim Hubley's "Off the Record." This was the site that a World War II era cow toured early in World War II. Background posts: Perrydale's bovine: 'She's a wonderful, laid-back cow' and 'Boys, she's a Confederate cow' and When did York's square change from Centre to Continental?.

I've written about York's headline-grabbing cow before.

But the meat of the story is worth repeating.

Early in World War II, a runaway cow - termed a steer by a newspaper - rumbled around York's Continental Square, two men in a truck in tow.

"The steer," Police Chief C. P. Gerber told The York Dispatch, "obeyed the traffic rules."

It circled the square in the proper traffic lanes.

In that post, I drew this short conclusion to this short story: "That was post-Depression York County. Its people did their work simply, ably and followed the rules."

But there's more to the story. Where did the cow come from? ... .

York (Pa.) Daily Record/Sunday News photographer Paul Kuehnel captures fellow photographer Bill Schintz as he assesses the prospect of two-way traffic outside his East Market Street photo studio. Background posts: East Market Street's New York Wire factory whistle concert: 'We'd stand out on our driveway to hear it' and Camp Security memories tucked inside memoir and Web site filled with nostalgic Lincoln Highway photos, postcards.

Heavy traffic in post-World War II downtown York prompted the pattern of one-way streets in effect today.

That's the one-way pattern, specifically on East Market Street, that soon will be studied to see if another plan might work.

It was another day when the current traffic patterns were put in place in 1950.

The city's population was at its zenith - about 60,000 people... .

This renovated trolley kiosk gained an official unveiling on a recent rainy day, appropriate because of the shelter it has provided against the elements for years in York's (Pa.) Continental Square. (See photo of the kiosk during its trolley-era days below.) Interestingly, the red RabbitTransit bus in the background is the successor to a bus system that helped put the countywide trolley system out of business. Background posts:The 'Little Courthouse,' like longtime York square neighbor 'Teapot Dome,' still stands tall and Copper top of York Square's 'Teapot Dome' needs to be recharged and Great Depression not only pinched in York County, it punched.

The trolley kiosk, so familiar to York countians in York's Continental Square, is back after months of rehab.

"Teapot Dome," as it's been called for years, will have no particular function. City officials say it perhaps will give police officers shelter from the rain... .

This post card view shows the "The Little Courthouse" sitting in its longtime home in Farquhar Park. It's sometimes called the "Statehouse," but that name is misplaced. The original Statehouse sat next to the Colonial Courthouse in York's Centre Square for about 50 years. Background posts: Display marks how York County courthouses evolved, Going to market a longtime York County pastime and Charles Dickens' coach from York to Harrisburg: 'A kind of barge on wheels'.

The trolley kiosk, affectionately called Teapot Dome, that sat in York's Continental Square for years has drawn plenty of attention recently as it is undergoing renovations.

It's involved in a similar journey taken about a decade ago by its longtime Continental Square partner, the Little Courthouse... .

The comfort stations under York's Continental Square have historical origins. Background posts: Foustown now a ghost town: Raid there once netted 300 barrels of quality firewater, Brewery profits produced landmark West York mansion, 'Good grief, how long has that pool been here?'

Tourists looking at downtown York's many sites may wistfully view winding steps leading to the closed-down Continental Square comfort stations.

Up to 1978, these underground restrooms, nearing their 80th birthday, were consistently open.

Since then, they've been closed, opened and then mostly closed, depending, in part, on the financial condition of the city.

But these restrooms are grounded in history... .

These two views show York's Continental Square looking south. That's the Hartman Building, later Futer Bros., at left and the Colonial Hotel, right. Actually, the bottom view is dated. Futer Bros. has closed, and the new owner has removed the siding in renovating the building. Background posts: Contractor: Keeping old Futer Bros. building's integrity not hard, but costly,
'Skyscrapers' have shaped York's skyline since 1850 and Cobblers: 'There's still a need for us'

Read 19th-century documents and York's Centre Square often pops up.

But it's known as Continental Square today.

When and why the change?

This aerial map, courtesy of Penn Pilot, shows York in 1938. Notice the horse track at the York Fairgrounds at left. York's Continental Square can be located by tracing the major north/south route (George Street) to where it intersects with the major east/west route, now 462, in the right, center part of the photograph. Background posts: Absorbing photo and overlay shows locations of six Susquehanna bridges, Genealogical society speaker to provide tips for 'Finding Lydia's Bottom' and Map explains York's $50 million redevelopment area.

A reader provided a heads up on the site Penn Pilot that provides interesting aerial views of Pennsylvania for several years in the 20th century.

Map enthusiasts, prepare to become enthralled as the maps are presented in a format that allows you to zoom in, zoom out and pan... .

This building in York scraped the sky higher than any other in the mid-1800s. Bottom, John Hartman built a six-story building on the square's southeast corner in 1850. Today, the Hartman Building stands, although three stories shorter. It's known as the Futer Bros. building and has recently been sold. At the bottom of this post, William C. Goodridge's five-story emporium was built on the northwest corner of York's square in 1847. There's some evidence that John Hartman made his building taller to outdo Goodridge, a former-slave-turned-businessman. Background posts: Buildings reveal a bit about York and 'I still have my memories ... of the bustling downtown York business district'. (Lewis Miller drawing courtesy, York County Heritage Trust.)

The Futer Bros. jewelry business reflects the decline of retailing in York's downtown.

The longtime Continental Square business operates a Springettsbury Township store. That suburban store's business has been doing most of the sales. It didn't make good business sense to keep operating two stores.

So the owners closed the downtown store about a year ago and recently sold the building.

As reflected in the following York Daily Record story, the new owners' plans are indefinite, but one goal is to restore the look of the building to its original appearance: ...