Posts Tagged ‘PA’
August 1, 2011
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
The Evening Sun of York, Pa., reports that a pair of classic railroad cars that greeted Lincoln Highway travelers to nearby New Oxford have been demolished and sold for scrap.
The article explains that Stephen Hieber had the two passenger train coaches next to his business on Lincolnway West in New Oxford. His company, PWI Inc. (which specializes in petroleum dispensing products), acquired the two blue-gray Baltimore & Ohio Railroad coaches at auction in 1999. The company has rented out the 80-foot coaches to various small businesses but for the past three years, no one was willing to take on the expense of renting the coaches. With restoration too expensive, Hieber decided to sell them for scrap.
The two B&O coaches came to rest in New Oxford in 1972 thanks to business owner and railroad enthusiast Paul Wagner, who purchased the discarded cars and had them delivered and carefully placed in a V shape next to the tracks on the south side of Lincolnway West. Wagner used the coaches as home for his Paul’s Model Railroad Shop….
“There is no way a small business can afford the heating and cooling costs,” Hieber said. “There is no insulation. They are literally steel cans.”…
The coaches, built in 1930 by the Pullman Company and rebuilt in 1948 in the B&O shops, were used for service between St. Louis and Washington, according to a 1972 Hanover Sun story….
“If somebody had come along I would have been happy to sell them,” he said. “It doesn’t make me any happier than anybody else.”
Tags:historic highway, Lincoln Highway, New Oxford PA, PA, rail cars, roadside attraction destroyed
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, roadside, transportation | 2 Comments »
July 14, 2011
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
An important link in the Lincoln Highway is examined in an article in the PhillyBurbs.com that also includes this vintage photo (note the Lincoln Highway sign at left).
The first bridge across the Delaware River between Trenton NJ and Morrisville PA opened 150 years ago on July 1, 1861. When the wooden “City Bridge” burned, an iron bridge was built in 60 days by 83 workmen. It opened October 20, 1884, as the Calhoun Street Toll-Supported Bridge but was made toll-free on Nov. 14, 1928. It is now run by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, which was formed in 1934 and operates seven toll bridges and 13 toll-supported bridges. A $7.2 million rehabilitation project in 2010 included improvements to the rails and sidewalks, new lighting, blast cleaning, and painting. A vintage iron marker noting the Lincoln Highway state border crossing remains on its downstream side near the Pennsylvania abutment.
Tags:Delaware River crossing, highway history, historic highway, iron bridge, Lincoln Highway, Morrsiville PA, NJ, old bridge, PA, Pennsylvania, Trenton NJ
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, road surface, Road trip, signs, transportation | 1 Comment »
June 10, 2011
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
Supervisors in Unity Twp., near Latrobe, Pennsylvania, have approved the demolition of the Hi-Way Drive-In Theater and its replacement by a CVS pharmacy. The outdoor theater is a beloved icon along the Lincoln Highway/U.S. 30.
Residents and drive-in fans tried protesting in recent months that the 51-year-old theater was popular with families, had a minimal or even pleasing impact on the landscape, and that CVS has a pharmacy less than a mile away at Mountain Laurel Plaza along Route 30. Nonetheless, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that the screens and equipment will be razed, and construction will begin later this summer as soon as permits are issued.
“This isn’t anything against CVS … this is about taking a piece of our history for no apparent reason,” said Cindy Yutzy of Latrobe, adding that she believes that CVS could have found other land to purchase for a new pharmacy. “This is a piece of our history and, slowly, every piece of our history is going bye-bye because of big business.”
But landowner Richard Ridilla “wrote a letter to township officials indicating that, regardless of the outcome of the township’s negotiations with CVS, the drive-in and flea market would no longer be in operation” due to it not making a profit in recent year.
Check out the website while you can at www.hiwaydriveinlatrobe.com/.
Tags:drive-in theater, highway history, historic highway, Latrobe PA, Lincoln Highway, PA, pharmacy replacing history
Posted in film/video, highways, history, Lincoln Highway, roadside, travel | 7 Comments »
May 20, 2011
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
A constant stream of Lincoln Highway memorabilia shows up on eBay, less so on craigslist. But here’s a sign from the Lincoln Highway Garage that was on Rt. 462 in York that advertised the LH Restaurant inside. The station is long gone, replaced by a Turkey Hill store that pays homoage to the old place, but this souvenir has survived.
Lear more at http://lancaster.craigslist.org/atq/2384874181.html
Tags:highway history, historic highway, Lincoln Highway, PA, restaurant sign, York PA
Posted in food, highways, history, Lincoln Highway, signs, souvenirs, travel | Leave a Comment »
May 4, 2011
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
Rumors continue to swirl around the Hi-Way Drive-In Theater along the Lincoln Highway east of Pittsburgh in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. The most likely fate is that drugstore chain CVS is buying the land to open a store. Perhaps the only delay now is assuring all permits proceed.
One post on the drive-in’s Facebook page listed a response from CVS:
CVS has outgrown the current store location in Latrobe and we need to relocate to a site that will be more convenient and accessible for our customers, which is why we are moving to a larger location on Rt. 30. According to the current property owners, the drive-in is being closed for financial reasons whether or not CVS moves to this site. We look forward to providing the Latrobe community with improved pharmacy services when we open our new store next year.
UPDATE: An article ran a week before this post in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Tags:drive-in theater, highway history, historic highway, Latrobe PA, Lincoln Highway, PA, roadside attraction
Posted in film/video, highways, history, Lincoln Highway, roadside | 4 Comments »
December 20, 2010
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
A fire Saturday night destroyed a restaurant in Paradise Township near Lancaster, Pa., that had closed after a fire in 2008. The Garden Gate Diner at 3105 Lincoln Highway East, formerly the Wagon Wheel Restaurant and the Route 30 Family Restaurant, was the scene of the two-alarm blaze, as seen in the photo from Lancaster Online.
Another article reported that a rooftop cooling unit crashed through the ceiling into the dining room. More than a dozen fire companies responded to the scene. The older section of the building, which includes the kitchen and counter area, is standing but sustained smoke and water damage; the newer section to the west, which includes the main dining room, collapsed in the fire and was cleared by fire crews.
Tags:fire at restaurant, highway history, historic highway, Lancaster PA, PA, Paradise Twp PA
Posted in food, highways, Lincoln Highway, roadside | 1 Comment »
November 18, 2010
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
For years, reports have floated that the Hi-Way Drive-In Theater in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, was to close and be replaced by development. Most recently, Target has been the retailer of choice, but the drive-in along the Lincoln Highway has made clear it’s stance: posted on the marquee is “No Target did not buy us.” Top photo by Kristin Poerschke, bottom by me (Brian) on a recent visit.
Tags:drive-in theater, highway history, historic highway, Lincoln Highway, PA, roadside, US 30
Posted in film/video, highways, history, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, roadside, signs, travel | 1 Comment »
June 14, 2010
I’ll be giving a PowerPoint presentation tonite just a few miles from the site of the S.S. Grand View Ship Hotel, the best-known roadside attraction along the Lincoln Highway until it burned in 2001. Central City is the closet (tiny) town so everyone there worked at, ate at, and celebrated at the Ship — should be lots of fun.
Here are photos of the Ship Hotel’s dining room about 1940 and the outside about 1975. That kid looks like me! But it’s not.
Tags:Bedford PA, Grand View Ship Hotel, highway history, historic highway, Lincoln Highway, PA, roadside, Ship Hotel, travel, US 30
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, lodging, roadside, travel | 1 Comment »
June 7, 2010
The Somerset Daily American reports that Pennsylvania’s Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor has been selected by the national LHA to receive the Educator of the Year Award at its forthcoming annual conference.
Executive Director Olga Herbert will accept this award on June 25 in Dixon, Ill. The award is a result of the organization’s Roadside Giants of the Lincoln Highway project with five career and technology students and community members from Greensburg, Ligonier, Somerset, Everett and Chambersburg. The award also recognizes the development and distribution of The Lincoln Highway Road Trip Board Game, which reflects the 200-mile corridor and its attractions. The board game was given to 68 middle schools along the highway.
Tags:award, highway history, historic highway, Lincoln Highway, PA, roadside
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, roadside, signs, travel | Leave a Comment »
June 5, 2010
A photo feature by Diane Stoneback for The Morning Call in Allentown, Pa., features a couple dozen interesting photos of the Lincoln Highway in central Pennsylvania. Most places, like the Shoe House, get a number of views. And note, when a guy at Dutch Haven holds up a LH book, there are others such as Greetings from the Lincoln Highway that also feature the place famous for its Shoo Fly Pie!
UPDATE: An accompanying article was published on Sunday, June 6.
Tags:highway history, historic highway, Lincoln Highway, PA, Road trip, roadside, roadside attractions, travel, US 30
Posted in food, highways, history, Lincoln Highway, lodging, museum, Road trip, roadside, travel | Leave a Comment »
Lincoln Highway News 