Delaware County historian Keith Lockhart has a long mission to document precise locations of photos, postcards and drawings of days long gone by in the county.
He has a pile of photos and postcards that seem endless. None of them pinpoint a precise location and this one is no exception, so he relies on readers’ memories and knowledge to help with this project.
This week’s picture is of West Baltimore Avenue in Lansdowne. Keith says. “I’m looking for the block, cross street address etc.,” he adds.
Keith’s email is keith106@rcn.com. Check out more from Keith at delawarecountyhistory.com.
Here’s what you had to say about last week’s photo from Eddystone circa 1940:
• “The view looks north from E. 13th Ave. in Eddystone toward Chester Pike. The car is parked on the 1200 block of E. 13th Ave., just off Eddystone Ave. on the left, which runs perpendicular to 13th Ave. In the distance, on the hill, is the old Crosby-Leiper House, located on Chester Pike. A photo of the Crosby-Leiper House is on the ridleytownship.delawarecountyhistory.com website, with the following information: “Eddystone, Pa. Crosby-Leiper House, built 1905. The Crosby-Leiper House stood at the northeast corner of New Bullens Lane and Chester Pike and is now an empty lot. Built about 1760 by John Crosby, it was purchased by the Leiper family about 1800. The building was torn down about 1950. Bonus information: The car is a 1936 Chevrolet sedan.” — Dennis & Jack McKnight
• “Based on historical photos that I have seen I am pretty sure that is the Crosby Leiper house in the background. It was built by John Crosby around 1760 and purchased by the Leiper family in the 1800s. That old rail bridge is going over to Chester. The vehicle looks like a 1936 Chevrolet Master Deluxe Town Car. Am I close?” — Eddystone police Lt. Joseph Pretti
• “The location is around the intersection of Eddystone Avenue and 13th Street, and the photographer’s view is toward the Northwest in the direction of Chester Pike. This area was extensively changed when I-95 was constructed. The free guess on the model vehicle is around 1940s vintage Ford De Lux Tudor sedan. There was a Ford Company assembly plant in Chester during that era. The far background above the vehicle and behind the utility pole is a bridge which still exists. The bridge carries the former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad mainline (more recently CSX Transportation) track across Ridley Creek. In front of the bridge on the left appears to be the Eddystone station stop.” — David Burns
• “On Sunday, Robb Kerr, Kim Sheridan and I went to the engaging Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles to try to identify the machine in the photo. We looked around and asked around but came up empty. However, I think the church in the upper right of the picture is St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church located at 1901 Chester Pike in Eddystone. Ridley Creek would be to the left and the Delaware River would be behind you.” — Don Nigroni
Last week’s photo from Eddystone, circa 1940. (COURTESY OF KEITH LOCKHART)