West Chester Walk with Walter

This event is no longer on sale.

Saturday August 17

11:00 AM  –  1:00 PM

Come to West Chester (The “Athens of Pennsylvania”) and explore the works of Thomas Ustick Walter, perhaps Philadelphia’s most prolific 19th Century architect. Walter did not restrict his commissions to just Philadelphia. Indeed, his work in West Chester constituted his second largest number of projects done during a fifty-six year career as an architect.

This tour will cover his roughly twenty year association with the Borough. During this period, Walter executed fourteen acknowledged commissions, with another seven being attributed to (or influenced by) him. Of these 21, fourteen remain.

Time permitting, the tour will conclude with a brief visit to the Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center, housed in the converted 1916 Pennsylvania National Guard Armory, the winner of a 2019 Preservation Alliance Grand Jury Award.

Tour will be led by A. Roy Smith. In his thirty years in West Chester, Roy has played an instrumental role in preventing the demolition of some key downtown buildings, and participating in the community’s preservation planning efforts. In addition to championing the reuse of the National Guard Armory as the Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center, Roy has served on the Borough's Historical and Architectural Review Board, the Board of Directors of the West Chester Business Improvement District, and the West Chester Downtown Foundation, where he has helped to preserve the community’s unique historic character while bringing vibrancy to the downtown.

The tour meets at 11:00 AM at the Chester County Courthouse, 10 N. High Street, West Chester, PA 19380 (map).

Space is limited. Advance registration required.

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