Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology (Thaddeus Stevens School)

At the east edge of Lancaster is the handsome brick campus with Italianate detail of the Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology. Named for the legislator who transformed Pennsylvania's public schools and who, later, was the abolitionist who led the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, its basis was a bequest from Stevens, who in his will described his goals and vision. “They shall be carefully educated in the various branches of English education and all industrial trades and pursuits. No preference shall be shown on account of race or color in their admission or treatment. Neither poor Germans, Irish or Mahometan, nor any others on account of their race or religion of their parents, shall be excluded. They shall be fed at the same table.” The buildings are a vestige of Lancaster's industrial heritage with the central clock tower and large windows derived from contemporary factories by architects who otherwise specialized in school buildings that, in the Philadelphia region, were often based on factories.