I recently received an e-mail from someone who had just purchased the book York's Historic Architecture. She had not yet read the book, but was intrigued by the cover, a photo of Gethsemane Hall on North Beaver Street. Her husband thought the building was perhaps the Lancaster County Prison, because he didn't think there was a building like that in York.
Gethsemane Hall was built by the local Freemasons after they purchased the former post office building at the intersection of West Philadelphia and North Beaver Streets. But Gethsemane Hall was not York's first castle.
Where today stands a vacant 100-year old jail on Chestnut Street once stood another castle, which was built as the York County Jail in 1854. It was designed by local architect Edward Haviland, who was the son of noted Philadelphia architect John Haviland. John Haviland is perhaps best known as architect of the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, and Edward became a noted prison architect in the mid 19th century, also designing jails in Cambria, Carbon, Lycoming, Cumberland, Northampton, and Blair counties, among others.
This sandstone and blue limestone building was constructed by Jacob Gotwalt and opened in 1855. The Norman-influenced design was successfully employed by both Edward Haviland and his father. Unfortunately, it was not large enough to keep up with York's expanding population, resulting in its demolition in the early 20th century. The building that stands today was the replacement prison, and it was designed by architect B.F. Willis and constructed in 1906.
Of note, the Lancaster Prison "castle" was also designed by John Haviland. A picture of it can be viewed here.
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