Chester County Camera Club (West Chester Pa.) - Chester County

T he Chester County Chamber of Business and Industry, on Paoli Pike in East Goshen Township, is a good example of an old structure that has found a new use. Previously, it was a farm where generations of the Garrett family lived. More recently it was used as an experimental farm for a pharmaceutical company.

T he lavish Warner Theater in West Chester opened on November 14, 1930. The first film shown was The Life of the Party, an all-talking Technicolor comedy starring wisecracking Winnie Lightner. Featured live on stage that evening was the singing and dancing of child star Davey Lee. It was one of the last theaters built directly by Hollywood to market its films. The theater closed in May 1984. On the final evenings bill was Woody Allens Broadway Danny Rose. Efforts made to preserve the building intact failed and demolition took place in late 1986, leaving only the Art Deco faade and lobby areas in place. Today, the remaining portion of the building houses the Chester County offices of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

P hilip M. Sharples, a practical machinist, first came in contact with a cream separator when a customer asked him to install the equipment on his farm. Sharples became a distributor for the Swedish-made DeLaval Separators and, after making some improvements on the design, patented his own model in 1883. The Sharples Separator became a popular cream separator distributed worldwide. By the early 20th century, the Sharples Separator Company became the largest employer in West Chester, employing more than 500 workers and producing more than 200 machines a week. The factory complex occupied two entire city blocks convenient to the railroad. The company was forced to close during the Great Depression in 1934. The Esco Cabinet Company took over the buildings in 1939, manufacturing refrigerators and freezers until 1969. After sitting vacant for many years, the buildings were converted into luxury apartments in 1989.

T he Norman-style building of serpentine stone designed by Thomas U. Walter has seen a great variety of uses. Originally constructed in 1848 as the home of the Chester County Horticultural Society, the site hosted agricultural displays and was used as a lecture hall. In 1852, it was the site of the first Pennsylvania womans rights convention. In 1880, the agricultural society sold its hall to entrepreneur Uriah Hunt Painter, who refurbished it as an opera house. He added a stage area to the back of the building, a second story, and a staircase tower. The opera house featured everything from Buffalo Bills Wild West Show to recitals by Madam Louise Homer and speeches by Frederick Douglass.

A fter remodeling the building, Painters widow gave the hall to the McCall Post of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) in 1904 and renamed it Memorial Hall. It was to be used until the last Civil War veteran died and was then to be given to the Chester County Historical Society. This did not occur until 1939. The historical society did extensive remodeling on Memorial Hall and opened the building to the public in 1942. The historical society restored the building to its appearance as Horticultural Hall and expanded its quarters in 1995 to include the old YMCA building next-door. It houses a museum and library and hosts an active schedule of public programs for children and adults.