Though I grew up in several states (Virginia, Georgia, Texas, Iowa), my formative years were spent in Pennsylvania, and it's where I call home even today, despite having spent the better part of 10 years in Utah. While back east, we were able to get a few pictures of some of my old childhood haunts. In no particular order, here are some of the more important sites from Lancaster that I frequented as a misguided youth.
Central Market: downtown Lancaster. The country's oldest Farmer's market, it houses over 60 different vendors that sell everything from fresh produce to candy to souvenirs. It really is a great place to visit. I would've taken pictures from the inside, but it's crawling with Amish and I didn't want to risk getting stuck with a pitchfork. The Central Market sits right in the heart of downtown Lancaster.
The Fulton Opera House. The Fulton Opera House sits just a stone's throw from the Central Market. It is one of only 3 theaters recognized as National Historic Landmarks. It is also the oldest continually operating theater in America. I saw a play there when I was 17. I forget the name of it now.
Trinity Lutheran Church. The oldest church in Lancaster, it was built in 1766. I've never set foot in this church, but it's cool looking.
John Piersol McCaskey High School. Built in 1939 as a WPA project, "JPM" as it's called was the center of a mild controversy due to its $1 million dollar price tag. JPM has always had a really bad reputation among other schools in the school district of Lancaster. It's right in the inner city. Most of the students who go there are pretty poor. There is also a fair amount of violence at the school. I had a fine time there. Of course, it's now been 13 years since my graduation. Graduating from McCaskey is instant street cred in Lancaster.
The Steak Out. Right behind my house on Queen street, for a long time the best cheese steaks to be had could be found here. At some point the place was bought by someone else and the steaks seemed to go down hill from there. I also used to bug my mom for quarters because there was a video game there I really liked.
528 North Duke street. In this humble row home, partially obscured by some wanna-be gang banger's Ford Explorer, My mom, Jackie, and I lived (and sometimes fought like cats and dogs). This little house witnessed epic throw downs between Jackie and me, most of which I won in brutal fashion. I also used to torture cats here, make prank phone calls that are still the stuff of legend, and play hours of video games. Right across the street where Robyn was taking this picture is the sprawling megalopolis that is Lancaster General Hospital where my mom used to work.
The place wasn't occupied when we were there so we stopped inside and took a few pictures, and I marveled at how small it looked now.
Central Market: downtown Lancaster. The country's oldest Farmer's market, it houses over 60 different vendors that sell everything from fresh produce to candy to souvenirs. It really is a great place to visit. I would've taken pictures from the inside, but it's crawling with Amish and I didn't want to risk getting stuck with a pitchfork. The Central Market sits right in the heart of downtown Lancaster.
The Fulton Opera House. The Fulton Opera House sits just a stone's throw from the Central Market. It is one of only 3 theaters recognized as National Historic Landmarks. It is also the oldest continually operating theater in America. I saw a play there when I was 17. I forget the name of it now.
Trinity Lutheran Church. The oldest church in Lancaster, it was built in 1766. I've never set foot in this church, but it's cool looking.
John Piersol McCaskey High School. Built in 1939 as a WPA project, "JPM" as it's called was the center of a mild controversy due to its $1 million dollar price tag. JPM has always had a really bad reputation among other schools in the school district of Lancaster. It's right in the inner city. Most of the students who go there are pretty poor. There is also a fair amount of violence at the school. I had a fine time there. Of course, it's now been 13 years since my graduation. Graduating from McCaskey is instant street cred in Lancaster.
The Steak Out. Right behind my house on Queen street, for a long time the best cheese steaks to be had could be found here. At some point the place was bought by someone else and the steaks seemed to go down hill from there. I also used to bug my mom for quarters because there was a video game there I really liked.
528 North Duke street. In this humble row home, partially obscured by some wanna-be gang banger's Ford Explorer, My mom, Jackie, and I lived (and sometimes fought like cats and dogs). This little house witnessed epic throw downs between Jackie and me, most of which I won in brutal fashion. I also used to torture cats here, make prank phone calls that are still the stuff of legend, and play hours of video games. Right across the street where Robyn was taking this picture is the sprawling megalopolis that is Lancaster General Hospital where my mom used to work.
The place wasn't occupied when we were there so we stopped inside and took a few pictures, and I marveled at how small it looked now.
4 comments:
oh my gosh...you're in the house. It still looks dirty. You should have really taken a picture of Turkey Hill though.
Thanks for the tour. I love that you have never been in that church, but still took a pic! It is very cool looking. It's fun to learn about your PA days.
Loved the pictures. It is so beautiful and quaint looking. Hey in the picture of your house did you notice the creepy guy in the window above you?
The creepy dude in the window is a worker that was doing something or other in the house.
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