West Chester Preservation Awards

In the first months of this year, the 2020 West Chester Preservation Awards Ceremony was scheduled for October 15th, three days from now. In commemorating this year that could not be, we decided to remember past winners in our facebook posts, from October 1st - 15th. This year, we have focused our attention on making our 2021 event the best ever. It will be our 10th anniversary and we want to make it special. Please mark the date October 21, 2021 on your calendar. It will be at 5:30 PM at the Chester County Historical Society. Nominations for 2021 are open now. Please nominate your favorite preservation efforts in the Borough! The form is available at wcdf.org.

2018 West Chester Historic Preservation Award Winner Ruby Jones Hall - 50 University Avenue (Photos Courtesy of Timlyn Vaughan Photography) This award recognizes the careful rehabilitation of West Chester University’s Ruby Jones Hall. The building was originally known as the Demonstration School when it opened in the fall of 1899 on the campus of the West Chester Normal School. Its purpose was to provide a realistic classroom setting for the Normal School education students... to develop their teaching skills. Therefore, the West Chester School District used it as an elementary school to educate children from the surrounding neighborhoods and faculty children. In 1987, the former Demonstration School was named after Ruby Jones, West Chester University’s first faculty member of color. Born in Evergreen Alabama in 1911, Ruby Jones grew up in Pittsburg, obtaining her teaching certificate from Cheyney University. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in the 1930’s from West Chester State Teacher’s College, and her Master’s degree from Temple University. She taught in the region for forty years before joining the West Chester State College faculty in 1961. Ms. Jones retired in 1972 and supervised student teachers until her death in 1974. Ruby Jones Hall is included in the university’s Quadrangle Historic District, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. West Chester University is recognized for their ongoing commitment to historic preservation by carefully restoring and maintaining this iconic campus structure. The university’s efforts insure Ruby Jones Hall will continue as both an active center for education, and an important historic resource for the West Chester community.

2015 West Chester Historic Preservation Award Winner Sidewalk Canopy - 33-39 West Market Street: In the 19th Century, many of the sidewalks in West Chester's commercial downtown were covered with fixed canopy roofs. Today, only a few of these canopies remain. This structure was, at one time, the Regan Smoke Shop, and had lost its original canopy to time. The new canopy was constructed to connect with the adjoining existing canopies. This subtle project has deftly restored... a significant half-block long section of covered sidewalk for public use and enjoyment. The project successfully recreates a once-common element in West Chester's historic commercial center. The design and construction team of Architect, Greg Radford and Zukin Realty undertook archival research to obtain historic photographs of the Regan property, and the adjacent commercial district. When the new canopy support framing was installed, it aligned perfectly with the existing structure of the adjoining historic canopies. The reconstructed canopy restores a distinctive architectural element to the downtown and serves as an important link to West Chester's historic past See more

2015 West Chester Historic Preservation Award Winner The Deli Building - 214 South New Street: This former carriage house has a long and colorful history in the Borough. Currently operated as a law office, the building was the long time home to Rosi's Deli, owned by Rosie Wichanski, nee DiConstanza. The DiConstanza family owned multiple sandwich shops in West Chester in the mid-twentieth century. Assumed to have been a stable in its earliest days, the building is also bel...ieved to have been used as a woodshop by the First Baptist Church of West Chester. The current owner renovated the building for conversion to offices and a residential apartment. It is an excellent example of the continued adaption of the Borough's historic buildings to new uses, insuring their economic viability. The renovations were implemented in a manner that retains the building's intrinsic historic features and architectural character. The second floor hay loading doors were retained as well as the ground floor stable door on the alley side. The renovations included a new roof, woodwork, windows, shutters, and entrance canopy. The transformation of this former carriage house is an excellent example of how one of West Chester's hidden historic jewels can adapt and find a new life through sensitive treatment. See more