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T he College Heights Neigh- borhood Walking Tour is one of three self-guided residential tours developed to highlight the Borough’s architectural heritage. Each tour encom- passes a part of two districts included in the National Register of Historic Places, listed in 1995. Properties within the districts contribute to the architectural history of developing State College and offer a full range of Early 20th Century styles. Historic District Walking Tour College Heights Neighborhood State College · Pennsylvania · Incorporated 1896

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Page 1: Historic District Walking Tour College Heights Neighborhood › wp-content › ...In 1941, members of the College Heights Association initiated the idea of creating a neighbor-hood

T he College

Heights Neigh-

borhood Walking

Tour is one of three

self-guided residential tours developed to

highlight the Borough’s architectural heritage.

Each tour encom-

passes a part of two

districts included

in the National

Register of Historic Places, listed in 1995.

Properties within the

districts contribute to

the architectural

history of developing

State College and offer

a full range of Early

20th Century styles.

Historic District Walking Tour

College HeightsNeighborhood

State College · Pennsylvania · Incorporated 1896

Page 2: Historic District Walking Tour College Heights Neighborhood › wp-content › ...In 1941, members of the College Heights Association initiated the idea of creating a neighbor-hood

H O L M E S - F O S T E R

C O L L E G E H E I G H T S

T H E H I G H L A N D S

T he Colege Heights Neigh-borhood Walking Tour is

one of three self-guided resi-dential tours developed tohighlight the architectural his-tory of State College. Each tourencompasses a part of two dis-tricts included in the NationalRegister of Historic Places.

The two National Register districts, College Heights andHolmes-Foster/High-lands,are made up of properties thatcontribute to the rich architec-tural heritage of State College.Ranging from vernacular Vic-torians to the InternationalStyle, from Craftsman Bunga-lows to Colonial Revivals, frommail-order English Cottages tohighly sophisticated TudorRevival-style fraternities, thesedistricts offer a virtual fieldguide of early 20th Centuryarchitectural styles.

State College borough map from the1930s showing historic district areas.

Page 3: Historic District Walking Tour College Heights Neighborhood › wp-content › ...In 1941, members of the College Heights Association initiated the idea of creating a neighbor-hood

College Heights Historic DistrictThe College Heights Historic District encompassesland and historic buildings associated with the resi-dential history of State College from its incorporationin 1896 to 1941 and the beginning of World War II.The district, spanning North Atherton Street, isbounded by Holmes Street to the east; Park Avenueto the south; and a jagged western and northern edgealong Sunset Road, Ridge, Hillcrest, Woodland, andMitchell Avenues.

Farms formerly owned by John and FrederickKrumrine and Henry Hartswick make up most of thelands upon which the historic district is located. JohnKrumrine’s 1852 house still stands at the corner ofRidge Avenue and Burrowes Street. The remainderof the district’s properties represent a rich sampler ofearly 20th century design and construction. Includedare pattern book, mail-order, and architect-designedhouses offering diversity in age, style, and scale.

Given its proximity to the Penn State campus,College Heights was from its beginnings developedfor people associated with the University. Studentsfound accommodations in rooming houses, duplexes,and larger apartment buildings particularly alongEast Park Avenue and North Allen Street closest tocampus, while single family homes were built forstaff and faculty members and their families along

the remainder of its attractive residentialstreets.

The College Heights Association wasformed in 1924, “composed of those personsholding property in the so-called ParkAvenue section, north of the College cam-pus.” The neighborhood’s development waspromoted this way:

Apart from its altitude, it borders the col-lege woods and the golf links, giving to thissection a beautiful setting which at thesame time is healthful. The Associationfeels that here is a section that promises tobe the garden spot of State College.

State College, PennsylvaniaIncorporated in 1896

Most Pennsylvania communities had peaked andthen receded in building activities when State Col-lege, enjoying the economic stability of Penn State,was in its building heyday.

As early as 1904 the State College Times cited ahousing shortage. Even though some proportion offaculty were able to achieve home ownership, manyinstructors, support staff, and off-campus studentssought rental space. The demand was met by alleyhouses at the rear of lots and by boarding houses,some with fraternity associations.

In 1912 more than seventy building tradesmen —contractors, carpenters, painters and paperhangers,plasterers, plumbers, stone and brick masons — pro-vided their services to a town with a population ofonly 1,650.

Subdivisions were developed to meet this buildingboom for a local population with a sophisticated inter-est in architectural housing choices. This develop-ment coincided with the increased availability ofnationally stylish residential options providedthrough pattern books and by mail-order companies,and locally through faculty members with architec-tural design expertise.

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An architect-designed house in East College Heights.

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Reflecting this garden flavor, mature trees, manyof them fifty or sixty years old and with circumfer-ences of over sixteen feet, line and serve as a canopyover streets with names like Sunset Road, FairwayRoad (oriented north from the golf links), ParkAvenue, Ridge Avenue, Arbor Way, and WoodlandDrive. Properties are set back in a consistent line onfairly spacious landscaped lots along these well-main-tained tree-lined streets.

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Mail-Order HousingThe Gordon-Van Tine Co., Aladdin Co., and Sears,Roebuck and Co., provided plans and materials tomany home buyers in the new residential neighbor-hoods of State College.

These companies offered not only the latest instyle choices to meet space needs, budgets, and spe-cific tastes of their buyers, but total house packageswith first-rate materials. Building parts arrived byrailroad, precut and numbered. Sears also offeredhousehold furnishings to enhance the design, along

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with a mortgage plan to help owners acquire theirnew homes. It included a guarantee that promisedsatisfaction or Sears would pay all shipping costs andrefund the purchase price.

Once the lots and foundations were ready, thehomes were assembled by local builders or possiblyeven by the purchasers themselves. For the conve-nience of the builder, shipping dates were staggeredso that materials arrived when they were needed.Materials came from several sources and were car-ried to State College on the Bellefonte Central Rail-road. In one shipment, for example: leaded glass,moulding, paneled doors and nails came fromNewark; hardware, curtain poles, and window shadesarrived from Philadelphia; paint and varnish wasshipped from Summerdale, Pennsylvania; radiatorscame from Bayonne, New Jersey; bathroom fixturesfrom Camden; wood shingles from Detroit; quarrytile from Kushequa; and firebrick from Bolivar, Penn-sylvania.

A sampling of historic

properties have been

highlighted for this walk-

ing tour of the College

Heights Historic District.

The tour begins at Sunset

Park where parking is

available. West of Ather-

ton Street, limited park-

ing is available on some

side streets.

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Catalog pages showingexteriors and floor plans.Sears “Amsterdam,” aDutch Colonial; a Gordon-Van Tine four square; and a Gordon-Van Tinebungalow.

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Sunset ParkIn 1941, members of the College Heights

Association initiated the idea of creating a neighbor-hood park in a wooded area on land that was stillpart of the Henry Hartswick estate. Permission touse the park temporarily was given by the Harts-wick family and its development was underway withcontributions of time and money by College Heightsresidents. One of them, Penn State landscape archi-tect Walter Trainer, provided not only the know-howbut equipment for leveling and seeding. Sunset Parkeventually become part of the Centre Region’s parksystem. In 1982 when additional wooded propertybecame available, College Heights residents, in adoor-to-door effort, succeeded in raising enoughfunds to make the purchase possible.

By the early 1930s, 11⁄ 2 - to 2 - story Romantic Revivalstyles reflecting historic houses of the past were in highdemand throughout the country. Locally, State CollegeBorough residents looked to area architects and mail-order catalogs to provide them with examples. Housesat the corner of Mitchell Avenue and Holmes Streetoffer good examples of the versatility, architecturalvariety, and individuality of these offerings.

422 Mitchell AvenuePhysics professor David Rank and his wife

Catherine selected Penn State architecture profes-sor Clarence Bauchspies to design this duplex in1934 and another around the corner (742 Holmes)as part of their development of a large corner prop-erty on Mitchell Avenue and Holmes Street. Both ofthese wood-framed, stone-faced Colonial Revivalproperties are now being used as single familyhomes. Bauchspies received his bachelor’s degreein architecture from Penn State in 1927, and hismaster’s degree in 1932. He became a registeredarchitect, a faculty member, and by 1939 haddesigned at least fourteen other houses in CollegeHeights, several of them identified in this tour.

750 Holmes StreetThe first property the Ranks had built on their

Holmes/Mitchell corner was their own 1930s Sears,Roebuck & Co. English cottage, the Colchester. With

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its stone exterior facing, crescent window, round-arched front door, and distinctive chimney, it wasdescribed as “a home of outstanding beauty,” in themail-order catalog.

433 Mitchell AvenueAcross the street the George Guillets chose

another Tudor cottage-style stone Sears, Roebuck &Co. home in 1933.As was possiblewith Sears plans,Dr. Guillet, a profes-sor of mechanicalengineering, and hisfamily chose to cus-

tomize their home with higher ceilings to allow for amore elaborate central staircase.

747 Holmes StreetAlso in the early 1930s and on the opposite

corner, another faculty family, the Maurice Gjes-dahls, selected the Attleboro. This two-story CapeCod “achieves distinction with its fine doorway,dormers, shuttered windows, and correctarchitectural details”according to the Searscatalog. This house wasfeatured in the NationalTrust 1986 publication,Houses by Mail.

State College architects and landscape architects alsowere experimenting with some of the contemporaryarchitectural styles of the 1930s and 1940s, andHolmes Street has some examples.

732 Holmes StreetSoon after designing his own International

style home on West Park Avenue in West CollegeHeights, architecture professor Kenneth Heidrichworked with fellow faculty member Henry Brunner,head of the department of rural education, on thedesign for Brunner’s 1940 home.

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722 & 721 Holmes StreetArchitect Clarence Bauchspies offered

new homeowners a variety of sizeable houses in fair-ly elaborate period styles. Two of them, located

directly across fromeach other, range froma well-designed clap-board Colonial Revivalwith an hoodedentrance and sideporch…to this hand-

some stone English Tudor example with its steeplypitched roof and decorative half-timbering.

705 Holmes StreetCarl W. Wild, a professor of landscape archi-

tecture, designed his own International style homein 1937. Wild has left his architectural stamp on thecommunity in other ways as well, particularly in hisaward winning design for the layout of Park ForestVillage. Appropriately, the current owner of thisproperty has richly contributed to its landscape withan outstanding garden featuring old roses.

625 Holmes StreetIn 1937 Clarence Bauchspies designed this

home, a hipped-roofbrick with a central chim-ney in the ColonialRevival style. It is anoth-er example of Bauch-spies’ versatility inproviding sophisticatedarchitectural choices popular across the country toCollege Heights residents.

For walkers who would like to extend the tour slightly— a few of several additional properties worth noting.

519 Holmes StreetThis home belonged to Harrison Arnold, a

professor of romance languages and an accom-plished botanist. Dr. Arnold explored, identified,and wrote about the flora of the area until shortlybefore his 100th birthday in 1989. Some of his fineplantings remain.

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303 East Park AvenueThis stone bungalow, built in 1929, and its

Colonial Revival style neighbors have served as awelcoming architectural entrance to State Collegealong East Park Avenue for more than sixty years.

311, 317, 323, 327 East Park AvenueThese four small two-story houses are exam-

ples of architect Clarence Bauchspies’ earliestefforts (1935), each borrowing classical details andeach representing a different Colonial Revival stylethat Bauchspies defined. The French example(311), faced with uncoursed stone, has an entryporch with pediment, a side ell, and wall-gableddormers extending through the cornice. Next door(317), the Dutch Colonial Revival has a coursedstone main floor facade with a central entrance, anda three-bay clapboard shed dormer from a gambrelroof. The Georgian Colonial (323) and the New Eng-land Colonial (317) both have elaborate porticos,side hall entrances, coursed-stone façades, anddormer windows.

214 Hartswick AvenueIf a buyer did not need a large home, cottages

such as this one were available through Sears, Roe-buck and Co. Called the Rosita, this 700 square foothipped-roof bungalow with clapboard siding andtrellised front porch could be ordered for less than$1000.

210 Hartswick AvenueFour-Squares, such as this one, were popular

style choices from the early 1900s through the1920s. Many buyers agreed with the Gordon-VanTine catalog’s description, “There is nothing thatanswers your purpose so well, if room is required,as the big, square house.” Examples of these twostory houses with low pyramidal roofs, dormers, andverandahs running the full width of the first floor,can be found throughout the older sections of Col-lege Heights and the Borough.

525 McKee & 172 HartswickP. Boyd Kapp, a Penn State architectural

engineering graduate, opened a practice in StateCollege in the 1920s. He was responsible for several

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Penn State Golf Course

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Tour route

Noted propertyalong main route

Noted propertyoff main route

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fine residential properties in both the CollegeHeights and the Holmes-Foster/Highlands HistoricDistricts. He is credited with the design of thisMcKee Street brick Colonial Revival with its hand-some Georgian-style doorway, and the stuccoedSpanish or Mission Revival style home across thestreet. Note how the windows are trimmed inexposed brick and stone. Both houses date from1929.

100 Block, Hartswick Avenue“Honest structures” built with “honest materi-

als” was the architectural goal of early bungalowssuch as several examples located on the north sideof this block. Note the sloping roofs that extendover large open front porches, held up by heavysupports — such as the properties at 151, 133, and123 Hartswick. Bungalows, many of them providedby mail-order companies, were popular in State Col-lege and across the country during the first twodecades of the 20th century.

140 Hartswick AvenueThis 1858 farm house was originally located

on the Penn State campus where it served as anearly faculty home. When it was moved to its newlocation in 1918, it underwent major architecturalchanges to more closely reflect the styles of thehouses around it.

While most of the College Heights Historic District waslaid out on the typical Pennsylvania grid of streets andalleys, grid shifts in alignment occurred where familyfarms abutted. Hartswick Avenue jogs slightly andbecomes Ridge Avenue at Allen Street reflecting two adjacent early farms.

144 Ridge AvenueFaculty member Arthur W. Cowell was a

strong contributor to the development of CollegeHeights as the “garden spot of State College.” The first head of the Department of LandscapeArchitecture at Penn State, Cowell laid out a por-tion of East College Heights and named itsstreets, and by 1920 had built this Sears, Roe-buck and Co. Dutch Colonial, one of the first

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Sears houses inCollege Heights. Itis a good exampleof the style with agambrel roof, shed-roofed dormer, anda central pediment-

ed-porch entryway. Cowell customized his mail-order home by lowering the windows so that hisyoung children could look out on the gardens hehad designed for the property.

154 Ridge AvenuePenn State professor Frederick C. Disque

was responsible for the design of four fine fraternitybuildings in State College. He also was the architectfor residential properties including this TudorRevival. Built in 1928 for history professor Asa Mar-tin, this handsome house combines brick on themain floor and stucco with half-timbering and other

wood decoration on the upper floors. A sharplypitched cross-gable extends on the left side to incor-porate a porch. It is echoed by a smaller versionthat provides an entrance to the house. About 1930,Disque left Penn State to become a professor ofarchitecture at the University of Virginia.

511 North Burrowes StreetThis is one of the few remaining Queen Anne-

style houses in College Heights, reflecting the Victo-rian architecture of the 19th century. Built in 1910,its steeply pitched roof of irregular shape, its facadecombination of wood shingles and brick facing, andits full-width front porch are some of the characteris-tics of this housing style.

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524 North Burrowes StreetTau Kappa Epsilon fraternity was one of

two fraternity organizations located in CollegeHeights in the 1920s. (The other, Tau Sigma Tau,was at 207 East Park.) In 1929 Tau Kappa Epsilonmoved to the newly developing fraternity district inthe Highlands area. This large house with a Man-sard roof — a steeply pitched concave roof withdormers — is characteristic of a French style calledSecond Empire. The building has continued tohouse students as a rooming house and now withapartments for more than seventy-five years.

235 Ridge AvenueIn addition to professors of architecture, some

faculty members who possessed the skills requiredto draw up original plans and specify details wereactive in designing their own homes. In the 1930s,John W. Breneman, a professor of engineeringmechanics, designed a Colonial Revival for himselfat 615 N. Burrowes and this English Tudor Revivalfor a faculty colleague.

256 Ridge AvenueSeveral properties in College Heights were

built by or for members of the Krumrine-Hartswickfamilies, original College Heights property owners.This fine example in the Dutch Colonial style wasthe home of G. Dewey Krumrine, operator of theCollege Heights Service Station.

A collection of several large, well-designed, ColonialRevival-style homes were built along West ParkAvenue during the 1920s and 1930s that carefullyreflect the architectural characteristics of their 18thand early 19th century predecessors. Three of themnoted on this tour were built for Penn State adminis-trators and faculty members who also have campusbuildings named for them.

325 West Park AvenueEvenly placed windows and a handsomely

detailed front entrance provide symmetry and bal-ance to this uncoursed stone colonial style house.Typical of the carefully detailed interpretations ofthis style, the doorway has a fanlight and sidelightswith leaded tracery; its hooded portico or porch is

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20supported by slender columns. With a central halland rooms on either side, it offered more than 3000square feet of living space to its new owner when itwas built in 1932. Dr. Bruce V. Moore was a profes-sor of psychology; the Moore Building off ParkAvenue and Allen Road bears his name.

333 West Park AvenueUncoursed, rough cut stone faces this Colo-

nial Revival house, built for Dr. W.G. Chambers andhis family in 1925. A special architectural feature of this house is the pent roof with a hood over the

front entry,that separatesthe first andsecond floors. Both this andthe Moorehouse haveside porches,also typical of

this historic revival style. Dr. Chambers was dean ofthe College of Education; Chambers Building nearAllen Road serves as the College’s headquarters.

423 West Park AvenueThis large brick faced Colonial Revival was

also built in 1925. Symmetrical like the other two, ithas three evenly placed roof dormers, and a tripleset of windows on either side of a Georgian styledoorway with a wooden fanlight. Its first owner wasW.P. Davey, professor of physics and chemistry.Davey Lab, located on Pollock Road, honors hisaccomplishments.

525 West Park AvenueArchitect P. Boyd Kapp and his partner, Hen-

ley Eden, also a Penn State graduate, were responsi-ble for the design of this handsome 1931 EnglishTudor at 525 W.Park. It was thehome for manyyears of Heming-way scholar PhilipYoung. It includesarchitecturaldetails common to

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this historic revival design — a high-pitched cross-gable, slate roof, white stucco over brick veneer,casement windows, and half timbering over agabled-porch.

Additional architectural examples of a variety of housing styles are located along West Park Avenue,including on the 700 block Prairie and modernisticdesigns that were built in the 1960s. They are toorecent to be included in the historic district, but areeligible for future inclusion. The University golf coursecontinues to provide College Heights residents with “a garden spot,” green space, and a fine view of theTussey Mountain to the south.

503 Sunset RoadThis Dutch Colonial, dating from the early

1920s, was the first house to be built along WestPark Avenue and the golf course.

526 Sunset RoadThis is a further example (1936) of the many

well built Sears, Roebuck & Co. houses that con-tribute to the State College Borough’s architectural

heritage. Excellentmaterials and gooddesign allow them tocontinue to comparefavorably with homesdesigned by local archi-tects. The availability of

both high quality stone and capable stone masonsbrought an extra level of permanence to these mail-order homes.

363 Ridge AvenueThe Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalog described

this model, the Lynnhaven, as a “cheerful well-pro-portioned residence with deep set door and flowerboxes.” A popular style in College Heights (anotherexample is at 620 Sunset Road) and throughout theBorough, this house has an added feature, a portecochere. It was the home of Dr. Mary Willard, anoted criminologist, and her father, mathematicsprofessor Joseph Willard. The Willard Building oncampus recognizes his prominence.

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608 & 629 Sunset RoadArchitect Clarence Bauchspies designed

this richly detailed brownstone English Tudor forhis family in 1935 (608Sunset), along withtwo others nearby —a Colonial Revival inbrick with front baywindows at 346 RidgeAvenue, and this simple but carefully balanced limestone three-bay Georgian Revival with entrance porch and deco-rated doorway. They are another set of examples ofBauchspies’ versatility and his rich contribution tothe architectural development of College Heights.

Note how the houses are angled on the lots along Sunset Road.

338 Arbor WayBuilt in 1932, this is another example of what

was available to local residents from Sears, Roebuckand Co. Its front gardens offer authenticity to itsEnglish cottage style.

335 Arbor WayPerhaps the property that P. Boyd Kapp

and his partner, Dean Kennedy, are best known foris this one built for the John Haugh family in 1935.With the Haughs’ involvement and the help ofskilled contractor John Henszey, local craftsmenused native materials of hand-hewn timbers, ham-mer-worked stone, and thick, irregular slate shin-gles to build this large stone English Tudor. The

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stone came from the Sand Mountain area of nearbyBear Meadows. Two sets of tall double chimneyswith chimneys pots, a cross gable with a leaded-glass window, other metal casement windowsglazed in diagonal patterns, and a pronounced stoneentrance porch with a heavy wooden door and ironhardware are some of the architectural details ofthis fine property. The landscape plan, designed byArthur Cowell, is still fairly intact.

This contemporary home at 327 Arbor Way was designedin 1956 by William Hajjar, former head of Penn State’sDepartment of Architecture. It is one of several homes hedesigned in the 1950s and 1960s.

College Heights SchoolWhen Adam Krumrine donated land for a new

College Heights school, architects P. Boyd Kappand Henley Eden provided the design and WilliamKennedy served as the contractor. Members of theCollege Heights Association volunteered to do thelandscaping under Arthur Cowell’s direction in thiscommunity effort. Cowell, after leaving Penn State,developed landscape designs for several locations inPennsylvania including the state park at WashingtonCrossing and Harrisburg’s Capitol grounds.

College Heights ExxonThis station, owned for many years by the

Krumrine family, is the only commercial property inthe district. It has served as the neighborhood’s ser-vice station since 1935.

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136 Hillcrest AvenueThe oldest house in the district and in State

College is the John Krumrine homestead. Datingfrom 1852, it is located to the north of the 1915Krumrine addition of land to College Heights. It is

a three-bay side-hallGeorgian farmhousewith a hooded door-way, six-over-six win-dows and a standingseam metal roof. Inexcellent condition, it

still retains its integrity as an early central Pennsyl-vania farm property. The Henry Hartswick farm-stead, located near the corner of Jackson Street andAdams Avenue, was razed in the 1960s.

Where two farm properties abutted, Hillcrest Avenuebecomes Adams Avenue.

219 Adams AvenueThe Colebrook, “with a quiet charm all its

own,” is the catalog name for this Sears, Roebuck &Co. house. In the backyard of this property is ablack walnut tree more than 200 years old. Morethan 88 feet tall and with a spread of 80 feet, it is oneof Centre County’s most notable trees.

305 Adams AvenueContractor Albert Bartges was responsible for

building a number of houses in College Heights inthe 1930s including this brick Colonial Revival andthe one next door. As was true of his fellow contrac-tors, he sometimes teamed up with local architectsand sometimes built Sears mail-order homes, includ-ing his own on East Hartswick.

705 & 711 McKee StreetAnother well-known area contractor and

businessman, O.W. Houts, physically connected thecommunity with an earlier Penn State by makingstones from the original Old Main available forreuse. When Old Main was rebuilt in 1929–1930,leftover stones (originally quarried at a site nearwhat is now East College Avenue and Pugh Street)were used for five residential properties in the Bor-ough, including these two on McKee Street.

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Historic District Walking Tour

The Highlands

Neighborhood

The Highlands

Neighborhood

Walking Tour is one

of three self-guided

residential tours developed to highlight the

Borough’s architectural heritage. Each tour

encompasses a

part of two districts

included in the

National Register

of Historic Places, listed in 1995. Properties

within the districts contribute to the architec-

tural history of

developing State

College and offer

a full range of

Early 20th

Century styles.

The Holmes-Foster

Neighborhood

Walking Tour is one of

three self-guided residen-

tial tours developed to

highlight the Borough’s

architectural heritage. Each tour encom-

passes a part of two districts included in the

National

Register of

Historic

Places, listed in 1995. Properties within the

districts contribute to the architectural his-

tory of developing

State College and

offer a full range

of Early 20th

Century styles.

Historic District Walking Tour

Holmes - FosterNeighborhood

T he College

Heights Neigh-borhood WalkingTour is one of threeself-guided residential tours developed to highlight the Borough’s architectural heritage.

Each tour encom-passes a part of twodistricts included in the National Register of Historic Places, listed in 1995. Properties within the

districts contribute tothe architectural history of developingState College and offera full range of Early20th Century styles.

Historic District Walking Tour

College HeightsNeighborhood

For additional information:

Houses By MailStevenson, Katherine Cole and H. Ward Jandl,Preservation Press, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Washington, DC, 1986.

The Comfortable House: North American Suburban Architecture 1890–1930

Gowans, Alan, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1986.

A Field Guide to American HousesMcAlester, Virginia and Lee, Alfred A. Knopf, NY, 1988.

714 McKee StreetLandscape architect Walter W. Trainer came

to Penn State in 1930 as a faculty member andsupervisor of campus landscape construction andmaintenance. Under his direction, the main campusbecame a laboratory for comparison and evaluationof the methods of adapting plants to their full poten-tial, and it also became one of the most beautifulcampuses in the country. He was the architect forthis, his own 1931 Colonial Revival house. Equallyimportant was Trainer’s landscape plan, patternedafter styles popular in the mid-19th century. Thelandscape is still intact.

734 McKee StreetThis Sears, Roebuck & Co. house, the

Wellington, was described by Sears as a bungalow“masterpiece”. On a sizeable lot, it offers a rich contrast to the more traditionally styled propertiesalong the street.

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The College Heights HistoricNeighborhood brochure hasbeen developed by the HistoricResources Commission, Borough of State College.

For additional copies or information about the walkingtours, contact:

State College Borough Planning Office118 South Fraser StreetState College, PA 16801Phone: (814) 234-7109

TEXT

Jacqueline Melander

PHOTOGRAPHY

Jacqueline Melander

DESIGN

David Lembeck

ILLUSTRATIONS

Sears, Roebuck Catalog ofHouses, 1926 and 117 HouseDesigns of the Twenties pub-lished by The Athenaeum ofPhiladelphia and Dover Publi-cations, Inc.