Information files are created for specific subjects that are associated with Lancaster County, e.g. "Rebman's scrap pile", "Ten-hour house". The files contain newspaper and magazine articles about the subject.
Collection consists of records by Cassius Emlen Urban, a Lancaster architect. He supervised the construction of the Lancaster Post Office at 120 N. Duke St., Lancaster. Many letters from James H. Windrim, supervising architect of the Treasury Department, Washington, D. C. Book of correspondence contains details of the construction. Also includes letters he wrote to his son, Rathfon, dated February 14-29, 1939, while on the Italian liner, Roma.
Admin/Biographical History
C. Emlen Urban
Throughout Downtown Lancaster numerous iconic buildings make up the city's landscape giving it its unique and ornate character. Landmark buildings such as the Greist Building, the Watt and Shand Department Store, Hager Building, Southern Market, along with many more churches, residential units including the facade of the Fulton Opera House were the design of Cassius Emlen Urban. Urban was Lancaster's first architect and one of the most significant influences on the city. 1 Urban modernized the city's landscape as he designed buildings in a new era where technologies never before available to architects made it possible for himself to leave such a grand impression.
Urban was born on February 20, 1863 in Conestoga Township to a Civil War veteran Amos Urban, a distinguished citizen known for his modesty and community service. Urban finished high school in 1880 and would get his architectural training through an apprenticeship with Scanton, PA architect E.L. Walter. Later in 1884 Urban would move to Philadelphia where he served as a draftsman to Willis G. Hale. Upon returning to Lancaster roughly a year later Urban would open his own practice in Lancaster.2
Only a few years after Urban opened his practice through a family connection he would receive a commission to design Lancaster's Southern Market. Urban's career would take off leading him to design many more iconic buildings in Lancaster and Hershey as well. Urban, through his membership at the Hamilton Club made acquaintance with Milton Hershey who hired him to design such buildings as Hershey Chocolates original company offices and even his own mansion.3
Urban spent the majority of his life in Lancaster with the exception of his time studying as a young man. Urban is remembered for his buildings designed in Queen Anne and Beaux style architecture.4 Shenk in his A History of Lancaster County wrote of Urban, "Few men of Lancaster county can point to a finer array of useful and beautiful work than can Cassius Emlen Urban."
Nicole O. Sturla, "Cassius Emlen Urban: Lancaster's First Native Architect," Susquehanna Monthly Magazine, September 1980.
2 History of Lancaster County, ed. E.M.J. Klein (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company Inc., 1924), 443.
3 "Urban, C. Emlen; 1863-1939," Hershey Community Archives, accessed September 30, 2014. http://www.hersheyarchives.org/essay/details.aspx?EssayId=34&Rurl=%2Fresources%2Fsearch-results.aspx%3FType%3DBrowseEssay.
4 "Introduction," To Build Strong and Substantial: The Career of Architect C. Emlen Urban, (2009): 2-3.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), Box #, Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please make an appointment by contacting the Research Staff at Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to visit.
Copyright
Collection may be photographed. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at Research@LancasterHistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Persons wishing to publish any material from this collection must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright or other use restrictions. Publication fees may apply.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Description Level
Item
Custodial History
Cataloged by BW, Fall 2010. Add to database 28 September 2023.
Proposed Office Facility for 126 E. King Associates. Barley, Snyder, Cooper & Barber. Reese, Lower, Patrick, and Scott. Registered Architects. 436 North Lime St. Lancaster, PA. 24 January 1983.
First Floor Plan. Parking, Central Files, Inactive Files, Mail and Copy Room, Mechanical, Covered, Vestibule, Reception. Scale: 1/8''=One Foot.
Second and Third Floor Plan. Support Core, Rooms. Coffee, Telephone, 2 Utility. Scale: 1/8''=One Foot.
First Floor Plan. Waiting, Men and Women's Bathrooms, Mail and Copy Room, Vestibule, Utility, Remote Elevator Control Unit.
Second Floor Plan. 3 Conference Room, Office Manager, Book Keeper, Word Processing, Vault, Computer Equipment, Men and Women's Bathrooms.
Third Floor Plan. Conference, Utility, 1970 L.F. (includes lounge).
King Street Elevation. Scale: 1/4''=One Foot. Section A (Second Floor Elevation). Scale 3/4''=One Foot. Section B. Scale 3''=One Foot. Section C.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), Box #, Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please make an appointment by contacting the Research Staff at Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to visit.
Copyright
Collection may be photographed. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at Research@LancasterHistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Persons wishing to publish any material from this collection must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright or other use restrictions. Publication fees may apply.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Description Level
Item
Custodial History
Cataloged by BW, Fall 2010. Add to database 28 September 2023.
South Wall Northwest Room Second Floor. Elevation. Details 1,2,3,4,5.
North Wall Southwest Room Second Floor. Elevation. Details "1", "2", "3", "4", "5", "6".
North East Room, South East Room Second Floor. Elevation. Details "1", "2", "3", "4".
South Wall North East Room First Floor. Elevation. Details "1", "2", "3", "4", "5", "6", "7", "8".
North Wall South East Room First Floor. Elevation. Details "1", "2", "3", "4", "5".
Spring House, Root Cellar, Key Plan. Spring House: Plan, Window Detail, Section 1-1, West Elevation, North Elevation. Root Cellar: East Elevation, Plan, West Elevation, Profile One Half of Arch, North Elevation.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), Box #, Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please make an appointment by contacting the Research Staff at Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to visit.
Copyright
Collection may be photographed. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at Research@LancasterHistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Persons wishing to publish any material from this collection must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright or other use restrictions. Publication fees may apply.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Description Level
Item
Custodial History
Cataloged by BW, Fall 2010. Add to database 13 October 2023.
Provides reader with brief biography of Urban. Also provides a list of his most significant buildings as well as pictures of four businesses including: The Woolworth building; Hager Brothers store (the oldest department store in America); Watt and Strand building and the Greist Building-the first skyscraper in Lancaster; two churches The Unitarian Church, and St Paul's; and two residences including Urban's home on Buchanan Ave. The article also refers to a letter written by Urban to his son Rathfon on the care of the house. [Another article in Susquehanne Magazine from 1982 disputes some of the facts in this article. See the last line of this library record for a link to that resource.]
Provides a brief biography of Urban including architectural education. Synder takes umbrage with author of 1980 article [link to the record for the 1980 article at the bottom of this library record] in crediting Urban as an architect of certain buildings in Lancaster. According to this article, Urban was not the architect for the Woolworth building nor the architect for St Paul's Church, but he did served as a local consultant on the projects. Synder indicates that the former Fulton Bank on Penn Square has been attributed to Urban but that Urban had not claimed role of architect nor of consultant.
Liens filed by contractors showing names of parties including owner of property; description of property including location; nature of claim; description of materials and work done on property; volume and page number of recording in Mechanics' Liens Docket; and date filed.
Liens filed by contractors showing names of parties including owner of property; description of property including location; nature of claim; description of materials and work done on property; volume and page number of recording in Mechanics' Liens Docket; and date filed.
