Results tagged “Murals of York” from York Town Square

Phineas Davis' coal-burning locomotive "The York," in the foreground of the West Market Street mural, points to the transition in the 1800s from York County, Pa., agrarianism to industrialization. (The photo used by the artist of this mural is posted below.) Also of interest: Susquehanna River, shallow and rocky, fends off 19th-century navigation attempts and Don't know much about York County history? and Often forgotten: Achievements of people named on building facades.

York City School Board's study of the future of the 1930-vintage Phineas Davis school leads to the question.

Who was Phineas Davis?

I give a brief summary adapted from "Never to be Forgotten":

These ornate iron pieces atop the York Elks porch are the type of fine metal work adorning the organization's 233 N. George St. building. (See related image below.) Background posts: York County ... 'A smorgasbord of architectural styles' and York County's connection to the French Quarter and Collector searching for Western Maryland Railroad memorabilia and When the bridge over the Codorus moved

My recent post - Plaques offer historic insight into 'The Swamp,' before Sovereign Bank Stadium drained it - provides a historic look at York's Arch Street area.

But for those parking at Small's Field, north of Codorus Creek, or in the downtown area, south of the creek, their stroll to the park affords many landmarks scrutinize.

My York Sunday News column for July 1, 2007, covers interesting sites as one moves into or out of The Swamp... .

This closeup of a cake is part of a York Fair panel, one of 18 that make up the Murals of York. This photo from 2005 shows that this 120-foot by 24-foot mural on the East Market Street Parking Garage is thin up close. (See additional photos below.) Background posts: Don't know much about York County history? Part I, Don't know much? Part II, Don't know much? Part III and If you want to see the Murals of York up close ...

I've blogged that York's East Market Street Parking Garage is an artifact of history because it represented the downtown's futile efforts to stave loss of its retail base to the suburbs in the late 1960s.

I've also blogged that the wide, skinny York Fair mural on the parking garage's side represents a curious juxtaposition because the vehicles parking there are part of the reason that agriculture, celebrated by the fair, is declining.

Further, that mural appears to be in the process of being subsumed by the parking garage's white side... .

If the authority overseeing York's East Market Street garage is going to spend $3 million to renovate the 40-year-old structure, it should also preserve the York Fair mural on its side.

I make that point in my York Sunday News column (8/24/08).

Several of the 18 large-scale panels in the Murals of York series are deteriorating. They simply weren't made to last forever, but to see them fall apart within a decade of their painting seems a bit early.

The mural is only part of the reason the East Market Street garage is a useful artifact of history, as I suggest in the column, 'Market Street Garage a symbol of a changing city' :

The Murals of York can be used as artifacts to tell a story about the York area. Pictured here is the York Fair mural on the side of the East Market Street parking garage across from the Yorktowne Hotel. There's a certain irony of this particular mural as a celebration of agriculture being located on the side of the garage, overlooking a parking lot. For the last 25 years, York County farmland has been gobbled up to provide housing for commuters from Maryland and elsewhere. Background posts: 20 questions and answers to prove your York County WWII smarts, Resources for York/Adams history junkies increasingly posted on Web, 20 questions and answers to prove your York County smarts, Part III.

When about 20 York County teachers became my students in a recent Millersville University summer continuing education class, I cast about for tools make local history come alive.

I put together a true/false quiz designed to summarize some of the themes of my two-hour primer. (I used it more as a mental execise than a test.)

See how you do, and don't be surprised if my answers resemble sound bytes. Follow the links to go deeper:

The York Daily Record/Sunday News has produced several special Web and print publications, including a York County Women's History section. (Allow extra time for it to load.) See below for links to other projects. Background posts: A short test of your women's history knowledge, A short test of your black history knowledge and 20 questions and answers to prove your York County smarts, Part III.

Check out some of these new Web sites from the York Daily Record/Sunday News and inyork.com guaranteed to appeal to history and news junkies:

This mural of 19th-century York, Pa., businessman William C. Goodridge greets motorists and pedestrians as they head east on West Market Street. Among other businesses, it depicts Goodridge's rail venture, believed to have been deployed as part of another transportation business - the Underground Railroad. Background posts: Freed slaves often faced return to bondage, Amanda Berry Smith: 'God's image carved in ebony' and A short test of your black history knowledge, II.

This image of William C. Goodridge, freedman and businessman, is another in the York Town Square series on important photos that tell York County's story... .

Myrtle Legotte, left, and Mary Sims use the key to identify community achievers during the unveiling of the 'Civil Rights Heroes of York' mural in 2005.

An unsung mural of York does not appear on the side of a building, as do the 18 panels in the Murals of York. program.

"Civil Rights Heroes of York" is a three-panel, life-size mural that is often on display at events around town.

Through March 3, it's part of Bradley Academy's exhibit: "A Rich History of Black Artistry in York County.

I worked with Bradley Academy officials to identify art by black artists or depicting black people in York's past.

The exhibit impressively brings together works from collections at Crispus Attucks Community Center, York City Human Relations Commission, York County Heritage Trust, private collections and current artists... .

These pieces of clay, used to sculpt the Marquis de Lafayette's boots, rest in Lorann Jacobs' studio.

York's mayor believes the city offers sculptor Lorann Jacobs the largest of galleries.

John Brenner observed recently that Jacobs' gallery measures 5.2 square miles, the city limits of York.

In about a decade, the Dallastown sculptor has made her mark on York by molding about eight publicly displayed statues, with more on the way... .