Then and Now: 5 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore

Date unknown-2009

Oddly enough, the squat stucco building at the corner of Lancaster and Anderson Avenues is in fact one of downtown Ardmore's oldest commercial buildings. The Merion Title & Trust Company built its first Ardmore office in 1897 before relocating in 1917 to a new classical revival edifice built adjacent to its former home. The original structure at the heart of town also housed a variety of tenants over the years, including a Post Office, library, and Western Union station. In 1977, all but the bottom two floors of the building were tragically destroyed in a fire, and were subsequently remodeled in a coat of stucco. Would it still merit preservation at this point? Perhaps the question will come up someday, if the logic of suburban development once again turns its eye to Ardmore's main street.

Source: Lower Merion Township: Searchable HR Database. Lower Merion Township Historical Commission. 30 Sep. 2009.
Original photo: "Ardmore Post Office Building." Lower Merion Historical Society Archives. Lowermerionhistory.org. Lower Merion Historical Society. 28 Sep. 2009.
http://www.lowermerion.org/Index.aspx?page=437