|
Welcome to Victorian Christmas Past:
A Virtual Tour of Historic Mansions and Churches in Williamsport,
Pennsylvania
2007 Victorian Christmas
Mansion and Churches Tour
Cipolla House
428 W. Edwin (formerly Miele -Wood)
Anthony Cipolla - Current Owner
Williamsport, PA
Circ 1890's Victorian Façade
with contemporary adaptations, handsome woodwork handcrafted
by James Wood Company. Mahogany bath tub on 3 rd floor.
Enhancing sky lights. Classic Queen Anne with steep gables.
Many exterior ornamental features - turned posts, fretworks,
Decorative shingles.
|
Cipolla House |
Kieser
House
713 Hepburn Street
Williamsport, PA
Large classic Queen Anne Victorian
with large gables and a predominate tower. The house is
built of brick with shingle decoration. The design of this
house shows subtle Richardsonian Romanesque details into
its overall façade. Interior oak and mahogany paneling
packet doors and brick fireplaces with wooden surrounds.
|
Kieser House |
LeVan
House
878 West Fourth Street
Timothy Levan Owner
Williamsport, PA
Circa 1865 Built by Peter Herdic
and sold to his accountant. Mr. LeVan is the 3rd owner.
Second Empire style, deep cove moldings and center medallions
in the interior Stylish double front doors with etched glass
classic 2nd empire window cornices above each window. Original
stucco. This styles hallmark is the flat roof with decorative
slate roof sides with built in dormers.
|
LeVan House |
| David
Stroehman House
711 Vallamont Drive
The Stroehmann Family residence owners.
Spectacular brick house with tower in the French Norman
influence. The house was designed by the well known Architect,
Carl Tallman in the late 1920's. The exterior of the house
is completely original and in excellent condition. The inter
features handsome fireplaces, butler's pantry, fish pond
and intriguing tower steps.
|
David Stroehman House |
Thomas
Taber Museum
858 West 4 th Street
(Centennial Exhibit 100 Years)
Williamsport, PA
Immerse yourself in local history
at this intriguing museum, which charts the region's past
through exhibits and memorabilia. From frontier days to
the booming era of the Lumber Barons, the museum highlights
Williamsport 's fortunes and vagaries. Hundreds of model
trains also find their share of fans; some even make their
way about the facility. Additional displays showcase 19th-century
paintings, various town buildings, and period furnishings.
|
Thomas Taber Museum |
Peter
Herdic Transportation Museum
810 Nichols Place
Williamsport, PA
The Susquehanna River provided the
means for Lycoming County 's explosive growth at the turn
of the century. Come visit the Peter Herdic Transportation
Museum and explore the rich traditions of the Susquehanna
Valley from the time of the Susquehannock Indian Tribe to
today's modern transportation systems. From the birch bark
canoe to a fully restored GMC 1962 bus, it's an interesting
tour back in time. PETER HERDIC TRANSPORTATION is behind
Trinity Episcopal Church.
|
Peter Herdic Transportation Museum
|
Annunciation Catholic
Church
700 W. Fourth Street
Williamsport, PA
Built 1886
Amos Wagner architect
The church has a multi-gabled
slate roof and stonewalls with colored belt courses. There
are forty-three arched stained glass windows. The entryway
and entry doors are semi-circular. The bell tower is open
with a decorative cornice and patterned stone. The center
tower was capped when three workers fell to their deaths
during construction. The interior has marble altars and
Tiffany windows. Built on land donated by Peter Herdic,
the local Irish community used Ralston Quarry sandstone
to build this structure.
|
Annunciation Catholic Church
|
Christ
Community Worship Center
436 West Fourth Street
Williamsport, PA
Originally Church of the Covenant
and more recently St. Paul's Lutheran Church, this limestone
structure has a center spire, bell tower and steeply pitched
roof with stone finials. The windows are pointed and arched.
It has the largest expanse of Tiffany stained glass in North
Central PA.
|
Christ Community Worship Center
|
First Baptist Church
380 West Fourth Street
Williamsport, PA
Dedicated September 27, 1914, this
historic downtown church was been served by 21 pastors and
six interim pastors in three different buildings all built
on the same corner of ground provided by Peter Herdic Peter's
wife was a member of the congregation. The present church
is known for its beautiful sanctuary and 39 unique stained
glass windows.
|
First Baptist Church |
Rowley
House Museum
707 W. Fourth Street
Williamsport, PA
Built 1888, Eber Culver architect
Preservation Williamsport owners.
Newspapers and books noted this house on one of the most
architecturally important Queen Anne Victorian homes in
Pennsylvania . Nothing was spared by Multimillionaire, Edwin
A Rowley when he built this imposing structure in 1888.
The mansion has just been painted in delightful colors of
the era. The carved wood gable, protruding corner bay, projecting
dormer and massive turned porch posts provide striking examples
of the Queen Anne style. The roof has patterned slate, metal
ridge caps, tall, decorative chimneys and large overhanging
eaves. The brick has tile insets. Note the delicate wrought
iron fence.
|
Rowley House Museum |
Durrwachter
House Women's Museum
901 W. Fourth Street
Williamsport, PA
Late Victorian Queen Ann, completely
custom designed with colonial revival influence. The outside
of the house is original and boasts many stylistic features
not found in the typical pattern book of the time. The house
is now a women's museum of the 1800's Designed in 1890 by
Amos Wagner and built for Henry Johnson, a state legislator
from Muncy. Johnson moved to the city to help his six daughters
find suitable husbands among the wealthy men of Williamsport.
This home represents the Queen Anne style of architecture.
The Johnson's were so please with Wagner's work they had
him build a similar home next door on Maynard Street for
one of their daughters!
|
Durrwachter House Women's Museum
|
Trinity Episcopal Church
844 W. Fourth Street
Williamsport, PA
Built 1875, Webber, Culver and Thorn architects
Built with stone from the Bald
Eagle Mountain at Muncy and brownstone from Chummiest
it has the first nine bell Westminster chimes in America
and a mural by Wetly Little. The church was paid for by
Peter Herdic and given to Trinity Parish for one dollar
as long as the pews remain "forever free". Note the pointed
arches and windows, steeply pitched colored slate roof
and 265-foot spire.
|
Trinity Episcopal Church |
2006 Victorian Christmas Mansion
and Churches Tour
Annunciation
Catholic Church
700 W. Fourth Street
Williamsport, PA
Built 1886
Amos Wagner architect
The church has a multi-gabled
slate roof and stonewalls with colored belt courses.
There are forty-three arched stained glass windows.
The entryway and entry doors are semi-circular. The
bell tower is open with a decorative cornice and patterned
stone. The center tower was capped when three workers
fell to their deaths during construction. The interior
has marble altars and Tiffany windows. Built on land
donated by Peter Herdic, the local Irish community used
Ralston Quarry sandstone to build this structure.
|

Annunciation Catholic Church |
Peter
Herdic Inn
411 West Fourth Street
Williamsport, PA
Recently purchased by the Miele's of the Herdic House
Restaurant, this beautifully maintained home is now a
bed and breakfast. The house contains many original gas
light fixtures. Look particularly at the ornate dining
room light. Also note the stained glass window at the
top of the steps, the rounded panes in the turret and
the servant call system in the kitchen.
|

Peter Herdic Inn |
Covenant Central Presbyterian
Church
807 W. Fourth Street
Williamsport, PA
Built 1906 Richardson Romanesque, this stone building has
a red tile roof, thick window lentils, large semi-circular
arched entries, and three doors with stained glass fanlights.
There are many arched stained glass windows. The corner
towers have conical red tile roofs.
|

Covenant Central Presbyterian Church |
Durrwachter House Women's
Museum
901 W. Fourth Street
Williamsport, PA
Designed in 1890 by Amos Wagner
and built for Henry Johnson, a state legislator from Muncy.
Johnson moved to the city to help his six daughters find
suitable husbands among the wealthy men of Williamsport.
This home represents the Queen Anne style of architecture.
The Johnson's were so please with Wagner's work they had
him build a similar home next door on Maynard Street for
one of their daughters!
|

Durrwachter House Women's Museum
|
Peter Herdic Double
942-944 W. Fourth Street
Williamsport, PA
This brick double house was built
by Herdic in 1875 to encourage more families to move to
West Fourth Street. It has a mansard roof (Second Empire)
and a protruding center bay with a copula on top. The
West side has arched windows but the East side has rectangular
windows. The front porch trims differ. The porches were
once mirror images of one another.
|

Peter Herdic Double |
Payne House
1042 West Fourth Street
Williamsport, PA
Built circa 1870 for J. W. Payne,
this is one of the few houses on Millionaires Row that
has always been a single family dwelling. Take a look
oat the chestnut woodwork and the elaborate crown molding
in the parlor. There is a servant call box in the kitchen
and the second floor sewing looks like oak but is actually
painted.
|

Payne House |
Cipolla House
201 East Third Street
Williamsport, PA 17701
Constructed in 1904-05, between the
Victorian and the Arts and Crafts Period, this former Doctor's
office and residence is a wonderful example of a town house.
Purchased and refurbished by the present owners, the house
reflects a resurgence of young professionals wanting to
live in the city.
|

Cipolla House |
Tonkin House
1513 Campbell Street
Williamsport, PA 17701
Built in 1932 by Harold Tonkin at
the "end" of Campbell Street, this home was designed
by Carl Tallman, an architect known for custom hillside
homes. This ten room house was a quaint French cottage.
The original pegged living room has been relocated to the
library and the master bedroom. The dining room features
a Waterford 1790 candle-lit chandelier. Especially for children
is the Phillips collection of carousel horses. |

Tonkin House |
Chambers House
620 Vallamont Drive
Williamsport, PA
Built around 1894, The Arts and Crafts
period (end of Victorian Era but maintaining solid craftsmanship)
the original residents were the Chambers Family, local furniture
shopkeepers. They also owned the first car in Williamsport
with a steering wheel and had 2 driveways to their home,
one roofed and one for the 3 bay Carriage House. The
current owners have lived in the home since 2004.
The home has many interior historic features.
|

Chambers House |
Trinity Episcopal Church
844 W. Fourth Street
Williamsport, PA
Built 1875
Webber Culver and Thorn architects
Built with stone from the Bald
Eagle Mountain at Muncy and brownstone from Chummiest
it has the first nine bell Westminster chimes in America
and a mural by Wetly Little. The church was paid for by
Peter Herdic and given to Trinity Parish for one dollar
as long as the pews remain "forever free". Note the pointed
arches and windows, steeply pitched colored slate roof
and 265-foot spire.
|

Trinity Episcopal Church
|
Christ Community Worship Center
436 West Fourth Street
Williamsport, PA 17701
Originally Church of the Covenant
and more recently St. Paul's Lutheran Church, this limestone
structure has a center spire, bell tower and steeply pitched
roof with stone finials. The windows are pointed and arched.
It has the largest expanse of Tiffany stained glass in
North Central PA.
|

Christ Community Worship Center |
First Baptist Church
380 West Fourth Street
Williamsport, PA 17701
Dedicated September 27, 1914, this
historic downtown church was been served by 21 pastors and
six interim pastors in three different buildings all built
on the same corner of ground provided by Peter Herdic Peter's
wife was a member of the congregation. The present church
is known for its beautiful sanctuary and 39 unique stained
glass windows.
|

First Baptist Church |
Rowley
House Museum
707 W. Fourth Street
Williamsport, PA
Built 1888 Eber
Culver architect The
carved wood gable, protruding corner bay, projecting dormer
and massive turned porch posts provide striking examples
of the Queen Anne style. The roof has patterned slate, metal
ridge caps, tall, decorative chimneys and large overhanging
eaves. The brick has tile insets. Note the delicate wrought
iron fence.
|

Rowley House Museum |
2005 Victorian Christmas
Mansion and Churches Tour
The
Hiram Rhoads House
522 West Fourth Street
Williamsport, PA
The Hiram Rhoads House is
yet another house designed by Eber Culver in the late 1880's
for Hiram Rhoads, the man who first brought the telephone
to Williamsport. This building is an example of the Queen
Anne style, a design that Culver stated in his autobiography,
was probably the most successful in his career. This house
has many notable feature such as an upstairs bathtub which
is encased in mahogany, a solid pecan floor in the living
room, and the most magnificent chandeliers in Williamsport.
|

Hiram Rhoads House |
Annunciation
Catholic Church
700 W. Fourth Street
Williamsport, PA
Built 1886
Amos Wagner architect The church
has a multi-gabled slate roof and stonewalls with colored
belt courses. There are forty-three arched stained glass
windows. The entryway and entry doors are semi-circular.
The bell tower is open with a decorative cornice and patterned
stone. The center tower was capped when three workers fell
to their deaths during construction. The interior has marble
altars and Tiffany windows. Built on land donated by Peter
Herdic, the local Irish community used Ralston Quarry sandstone
to build this structure.
|

Annunciation Catholic
Church |
Rowley
House Museum
707 W. Fourth
Street
Williamsport, PA
Built 1888
Eber Culver architect The
carved wood gable, protruding corner bay, projecting dormer
and massive turned porch posts provide striking examples
of the Queen Anne style. The roof has patterned slate, metal
ridge caps, tall, decorative chimneys and large overhanging
eaves. The brick has tile insets. Note the delicate wrought
iron fence.
|

Rowley House Museum |
Elias
Deemer House
711 West Fourth Street
Williamsport. PA
Built 1887 Again
this home was designed and built by Eber Culver in 1887
for Elias Deemer, a lumberman. Another example of Culver's
Queen Anne style of architecture with 17 rooms and cherry
woodwork.
|

Elias Deemer House |
Covenant
Central Presbyterian Church
807 W. Fourth Street
Williamsport, PA
Built 1906
Richardson Romanesque
This stone building has a red tile roof, thick window lentils,
large semi-circular arched entries, and three doors with
stained glass fanlights. There are many arched stained glass
windows. The corner towers have conical red tile roofs.
|

Covenant Central
Presbyterian Church |
Trinity Episcopal Church
844 W. Fourth
Street
Williamsport, PA
Built 1875
Eber Culver and Thorn architects
Built with stone from the Bald
Eagle Mountain at Muncy and brownstone from Hummelstown,
it has the first nine bell Westminster chimes in America
and a mural by Westly Little. The church was paid for
by Peter Herdic and given to Trinity Parish for one dollar
as long as the pews remain "forever free". Note the pointed
arches and windows, steeply pitched colored slate roof
and 265-foot spire.
|

Trinity Episcopal Church |
Johnson-Lamade-Durrwachter
House Museum
901 W. Fourth Street
Williamsport, PA
Designed in 1890 by Amos Wagner
and built for Henry Johnson, a state legislator from Muncy.
Johnson moved to the city to help his six daughters find
suitable husbands among the wealthy men of Williamsport.
This home represents the Queen Anne style of architecture.
The Johnson's were so please with Wagner's work they had
him build a similar home next door on Maynard Street for
one of their daughters!
|

Johnson-Lamade-
Durrwachter House Museum |
Harrar House
915 W. Fourth
Street
Williamsport, PA
Built for Lucy Eutermarks as a
wedding gift from her parents in the early 1870's. Designed
by Eber Culver in the Italianate design. The house was
originally assigned 913 West Fourth Street, but
the brides parents thinking this was unlucky had the house
number changed to 915!
|

Harrar House |
| Overheiser
- Hoagland - Kane House
849 Louisa Street
Williamsport, PA
This Queen Anne style home was built
in 1893 for David Overheiser who owned a lumber planing
mill on Walnut Street . This was also home to the Mayor
of Williamsport in the 1920's (Hoagland). The exterior features
multiple steep pitched gables and dormers, stained glass
windows, the original slate roof, and very rare colored
slate designs that encompass the entire face of each gable.
This house was the first on this particular block of very
interesting and original Victorian houses. The interior
features all original golden oak woodwork and a very ornate
staircase. There are 7 original bedrooms, front and back
parlors, fireplace, front and back staircases, dining room,
and large family kitchen. The land for this house was originally
part of the Mingle Farm which was divided into large lots
for housing development as Williamsport expanded north out
of the flood plane and into the beautiful wooded area known
as Old Oaks Park.
|

Overheiser - Hoagland -
Kane House |
| Easton
- Carson House
826 Glenwood
Ave
Williamsport, PA
The Easton - Carson House was designed
by Wagner & Reitmeyer Architect Co. and was completed
in the Vallamont Land Development in 1895 for Robert Easton,
a supervisor of Williamsport's Coryell Machine Co. The Queen-Ann
home remained in the Easton family for 55 years. The family's
home included one of the first open decks in Williamsport
and made use of combination gas/electric lights due to electricity's
reputation as unreliable. Other notable features are the
home's antique chandeliers and 28 distinct wallpapers. This
home is featured in the October 2005 edition of Victorian
Homes Magazine. |

Easton - Carson House |
|