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How many architectural styles are present in York County?

For a short primer on 40 styles and sub-styles of local historic architecture, play the video below, which features over 90 county buildings.

On Saturday, approximately 70 photo enthusiasts met on Continental Square in downtown York to photograph the White Rose City. It was the third photowalk organized by Andy Smith, Visual Realia, who also organized similar walks in Gettysburg and Harrisburg. For many, it was the first time walking downtown York with camera in hand. For others, it was a good excuse to enjoy the June weather and take in some sights.

The equipment they brought with them ranged from camera cell phones and small point-and-shoot digital cameras to 35-mm digital SLR cameras with multiple lenses and tripods in tow.

The day began with a group photo on the steps of the former York County Court House, and then everyone proceeded to the York Water Company to photograph the stunning interior. It was the first of many treats for the photowalkers. After leaving the water company building, many proceeded to the David Small House (known by many as simply "the brownstone"), where Martin Library's Fran Keller had the building opened as part of the York Patriot Days celebration. Participants photographed the historic parlor, toured the nearby Bonham House, and photographed the architectural details and streetscapes of York.

On Philadelphia Street, everyone was treated to an appearance of freed slave turned businessman turned Underground Railroad agent William C. Goodridge, portrayed by Lee Smallwood. Lee gave an overview of Goodridge's life, and invited participants to stop by the courtyard to the rear of the Goodridge Freedom House, which was also open as part of Patriot Days.

From there, the walk continued past the Strand-Capitol, and into Central Market House for a brief stop. By this time the group of 70 had spread out on multiple blocks, all slowly making their way to the Colonial Complex of the York County Heritage Trust. Colonial-era living historians provided more shooting opportunities for the shutterbugs.

Back on Continental Square, I talked with a gentleman from Maryland who came to York specifically for the photowalk. He told me that he had driven through York many times before, but had never looked at it through the lens of a camera. "What wonderful architectural treasures, York has" he told me. Though he had to depart, he promised that he'd return, camera in hand: "There's a lot more here that I'd love to photograph," he said.

According to an e-mail from Andy Smith, photowalkers came from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C.

For information about the photowalk, visit Visual Realia: http://www.visualrealia.com/VR_Photowalks/Home.html.

Participants are also uploading their photos to a Flickr page. Check out their fabulous work at: http://www.flickr.com/groups/yorkphotowalk/.

Many people I've spoken with over the years have commented about photos I've taken in downtown York. "How did you take a photo without any cars?" "How come your photos look better than the real thing?" "Where is the bear staring out over the Square?" "Why didn't you take a picture of (fill in the blank)?" And, of course, "I take better pictures than you!"

If you are looking for tips and tricks, are interested in meeting new people who share your love of photography, or simply have been looking for an excuse to head downtown with your camera, look no further.

This Saturday, the York Photowalk will be held, following on the heels of successful Gettysburg and Harrisburg photowalks. Come out with your camera - as new-fangled or old-fashioned as you like - and walk through the streets of downtown York with fellow photography enthusiasts.

Photowalkers will be meeting on Continental Square at 10 a.m., and following a route that includes Market and Philadelphia Streets between Pershing Avenue to the West and Pine Street to the East.

Having taken thousands of photos (literally) of downtown York over the years for such books as York's Historic Architecture, York: America's Historic Crossroads, Civil War Walking Tour of York, PA, and various publications and guides, I'm still excited to go downtown with my camera. There's always something to photograph: the energy of Central Market House, the architectural details that people pass by every day without ever noticing, the picturesque places that make York such a unique community. This Saturday will be no exception - the York County Heritage Trust will be holding its annual Patriot Days event, with living historians out in force, and I just learned that a prominent local landmark will be opening its interior for photography.

I'll be there, happy to help answer your history, architecture, or photography questions. (As well as the inevitable ghost question: "Is this building haunted?")

To learn more, follow this link:

http://www.visualrealia.com/VR_Photowalks/Home.html

See you on Saturday!

There are few Central Pennsylvania architects that have put their mark on the built environment more than John Augustus Dempwolf. His firm, which included both his brother Reinhardt and later, his son Frederick, employed many young architects who would later open their own successful practices. But the Dempwolf name stands above them all because of both the volume and quality of his designs.

Tragically, some of his greatest works, like the York Collegiate Institute, have fallen in the name of development. Others, like the 1898 York County Court House, were greatly altered during mid-20th century renovations. Fortunately, many grand buildings designed by Dempwolf, like Gettysburg College's Glatfelter Hall and York's Central Market House, still stand today.

Of the buildings that have met the wrong end of a wrecking ball, perhaps none is more missed than the York City Market, which stood on South Duke Street in downtown York from 1878 until 1963, when someone decided that the land was better suited for a gas station.

I recently obtained a print of Dempwolf's rendering of the building, published in the September 28, 1878 issue of American Architect and Building News.

In a word: Wow!

The original building, which was expanded and altered in later years, was a study in High Victorian flair. While many of Dempwolf's large public and ecclesiastical buildings incorporated Romanesque features as interpreted by prominent architect Henry Hobson Richardson, the York City Market employed Gothic features and Victorian ornamentation. A 140-foot clock tower stood high above the street below. To put its height into perspective, the top of the main Florentine dome on the York County Court House is 155-feet above street level - a mere 15 feet taller. Gargoyles projected from the corners and the tower was large enough to house both the market master's office (first floor) and directors' meeting room (second floor).

The building is polychromatic in appearance, a common feature of the High Victorian Gothic style, while the façade makes use of varying patterns and textures. The north-facing gable features decorative bargeboard, while the covered porch makes use of "gingerbread" - decorative woodwork. According to Dempwolf's entry about the project in the publication, the façade comprised red brick, black mortar, and light drab-colored Amherst stone. A trefoil shape is prominent - both on the north and west gables as well as the windows inside triangular dormers. The massive roof was of slate quarried in Peach Bottom, York County and featured variegated red and green bands. The York City Market was a very eclectic building, yet undeniably picturesque.

In recent years I've had the opportunity to give presentations about local architecture, and the audiences frequently fixate on any old image or postcard of the York City Market. The older generation fondly recalls regular visits to market (original market days were Tuesday and Friday mornings, Wednesday and Saturday afternoons) while the younger generation asks, sometimes in disbelief, "You mean that building was in York?"

Baltimore shipbuilders were involved with the construction. When the building opened, it was said that the Georgia pine Gothic hammer-beam roof trusses were among the largest in the world. The cost to build the 225-foot by 80-foot structure was $27,000.

In John Gibson's 1886 History of York County, Pennsylvania, the following is written about the market:

Descriptive writers have a fondness for exaggeration, a feature entirely avoided in this work; but it can be truthfully be said that this building is the most artistic and ornamental of any one of its kind in the State of Pennsylvania.

If you are wondering about the building pictured to the right of the market, it is the first York Collegiate Institute building, constructed in 1873 but destroyed by fire in 1885.

The Greenway Tech Centre has received several awards since it opened in 2007. The 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania selected it to receive a Silver Award for urban redevelopment while the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects awarded it with an Honor Award. In December 2008, the former tobacco factory became the City of York's second historic building to obtain LEED certification (York County Administrative Center was the first), and the first building of any kind in the city to reach LEED Silver status.

Nutec Group served as architect/engineer on the project, which was developed by Crispus Attucks Association and involved an early 20th century building that was originally the Eisenlohr Cigar factory/warehouse. The historic George Street facade was restored while a new, modern addition makes a high-tech statement. Overall, this building is 25% more energy efficient than a typical office building.

The York Galleria Mall boasts four main anchors: The Bon-Ton, Sears, J.C. Penney, and Boscov's. Three of these chains anchored the 100 block of West Market Street for several decades in the mid-20th century. The Bon-Ton opened as a one-room millinery in 1898 and constructed their flagship store in 1912, competing with other local stores like P. Wiest Sons and Bear's Department Store. These local merchants were soon joined by Sears and J.C. Penney, two chains undergoing aggressive national expansion.

The first home of Sears in York is not hard to miss. Despite the geometric styling of its gold brick Art Deco façade, many residents don't realize that the home of the York County Convention & Visitors Bureau and Downtown Visitors Center was built originally as a Sears, Roebuck and Company store. Some know the building as Shive's Furniture, others know it as the Byrnes Building. But from 1928 until 1955, residents knew the building next to the Gates House as Sears. And actually, most people knew the Gates House as Mike's Nut Shop.

This picture from the Corbis Image Gallery shows the block in 1948, less than a decade before Sears relocated to the York County Shopping Center. President Harry Truman is on the back of a train, making a campaign stop.

The fact that Sears, Roebuck and Company opened in York in 1928 shows the importance of York's retail district. Sears, Roebuck traces its roots to 1886, but their first retail store didn't open until 1925; prior to that, the company focused on mail order business (you could even purchase a house from the Sears catalog). Over the next two years, the chain grew from one Chicago store to 27 stores. The year of 1928 was one of major expansion for the retailer - 165 stores were opened, including the one on West Market Street. Sears eventually grew to become the largest chain in the United States, a title which they lost in the early 1980s; today, Sears operates over 900 full-size stores and over 2,400 branded and affiliated stores. Their 1955 departure from York City for the growing suburbs in east York portended the decline of downtown retail.

In 1934, J.C. Penney joined the downtown retail scene with the opening of their new store on October 11. Just as the Sears Building still stands with little fanfare as to its past, so does the Penney Building. Today, the J.C. Penney Building is connected on the interior with the adjacent Bon-Ton Building, creating the rather large York County Government Center.

While York was part of Sears, Roebuck's early expansion plans, there were already over 1,000 J.C. Penney stores by the time the department store chain reached York. A 1944 York Chamber of Commerce directory tells of the store's local success:

"Penney's in York has experienced a steady growth since its opening ten years ago. Five years ago, the store was completely remodeled and enlarged and further remodeling and air conditioning are included in Penney's post-war plans."

Elsewhere, the profile promotes Penney's value to the business community:

"The J. C. Penney Company, Incorporated, does millions of dollars of business annually with York manufacturers. Much of the nightwear, shirts, hosiery, underwear, ties, shoes, toys, piece goods, and cotton and rayon dresses distributed by the chain are manufactured in York."

In 1968, J.C. Penney joined the list of city retailers leaving downtown York for suburbia when they opened in the new, state-of-the-art York Mall.

McCrory's five and dime store was a staple on the first block of West Market Street throughout much of the 20th century. The first McCrory store was opened by John G. McCrorey in Scottsdale, Pennsylvania in 1892. The small chain grew, and in February 1896 a McCrory's store opened in York, selling such merchandise as dry goods, house furnishings, and kitchenware.

Promising "Nothing over ten cents," the store flourished in York, despite competition from other five and dime stores including F.W. Woolworth's, which opened near McCrory's in 1913, and G.C. Murphy, which opened a store on Continental Square in the early 1940s. During the Great Depression, many five and dime stores actually experienced substantial growth because of their low cost products.

By 1944, the McCrory chain had grown to over 200 stores. Dramatic growth in York led to construction of a new West Market Street building in 1941, creating five times the space of the original store. The multi-level store continued to enjoy great success. Soon, McCory's would have a different connection with York. In 1963, the headquarters of the discount chain relocated to Springettsbury Township. McCrory's grew through acquisition, eventually purchasing several competitors, including G.C. Murphy.

After the "mass exodus" of department stores from downtown York, McCrory's continued to serve the local residents, surviving on West Market Street until the 1990s. The chain had grown to 1300 stores, but began to shrink in the waning years of the 20th century. McCrory Stores permanently closed in 2001.