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Griest Building

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1924, C. Emlen Urban. 8 N. Queen St.
  • (William E. Fischer, Jr.)
  • (William E. Fischer, Jr.)
  • (William E. Fischer, Jr.)

The metropolitan ambition of Lancaster is evident in this skyscraper for the Conestoga Traction Company that hinted at an ever more urban future. Like Frank Furness in Philadelphia, whose designs surrounded the west side of Center Square, C. Emlen Urban similarly controlled Lancaster's center. Adept at adapting to the changing mode of the day, he followed the conventions of the classical tower with an articulated first floor and mezzanine, a rising shaft of nine stories with two crowning as the capital as if the building were a giant column. Urban designed the nearby Hager Department Store (1911) at 25 W. King Street in a similarly modern mode.

Writing Credits

Author: 
George E. Thomas
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Data

What's Nearby

Heritage Center (City Hall)
Penn Square
Central Market
Marriott Hotel (Watt and Shand Department Store)
First Reformed Church United Church of Christ

Citation

George E. Thomas, "Griest Building", [Lancaster, Pennsylvania], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/PA-02-LA10.

Print Source

Cover: Buildings of PA vol 2

Buildings of Pennsylvania: Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania, George E. Thomas, with Patricia Likos Ricci, Richard J. Webster, Lawrence M. Newman, Robert Janosov, and Bruce Thomas. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2012, 316-316.

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