SEPTA Jenkintown-Wyncote Station Cheltenham Township and Jenkintown Borough Montgomery County

Area of Potential Effect Report

E.R. #

Prepared for:

U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority

Prepared by:

February 2017

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents ...... i

List of Figures ...... ii

List of Photographs ...... ii

I. Introduction ...... 1

A. Project Description ...... 1

II. Site Description ...... 6

III. Brief History of Project Area ...... 7

A. History...... 7 1. Cheltenham Township ...... 7 2. Wyncote ...... 7 3. Jenkintown Borough ...... 7

IV. Previously Documented Cultural Resources ...... 12

A. Archaeological Resources ...... 12

B. Above Ground Resources ...... 12

V. Definition of the Area of Potential Effect ...... 15

A. Proposed APE ...... 15 1. Greenwood Avenue ...... 17 2. West Avenue ...... 17

VI. Bibliography ...... 19

APPENDIX A ...... Project Renderings & Plans Figure A…………………………………………………………………………….……………Overall Station Plan Figure B1.……………………………………………………………………Rendering of Overpass Structure Figure B2.……………………………………………………………………Rendering of Overpass Structure Figure C1.Aerial View of High Level Platforms and Pedestrian Overpass Looking North Figure C2………….View of High Level Platforms and Pedestrian Overpass Looking North Figure D1.Aerial View of High Level Platforms and Pedestrian Overpass Looking South Figure D2.Aerial View of High Level Platforms and Pedestrian Overpass Looking South

ii APPENDIX B ...... Correspondence

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Project Location (Adapted from ASC Group Area of Potential Effects Report. 2010) ...... 4 Figure 2. Project Area Features and Buildings (Adapted from ASC Group Area of Potential Effects Report. 2010) ...... 5 Figure 3. National Register Listed or Eligible Properties (ASC Group Area of Potential Effects Report. 2010 ...... 14 Figure 4. Area of Potential Effect ...... 16

LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS

Photo 1. View of Greenwood Avenue Bridge from Existing Station Parking Lot...... 17

Photo 2. View of outbound and platform canopy adjacent to Greenwood Ave Bridge ...... 18

Photo 3. View of drop off area adjacent to outbound platform...... 18

iii

I. INTRODUCTION

The SEPTA Regional Rail Lines are a major component in the Philadelphia Metropolitan area mass transportation system. The busiest SEPTA Regional Rail Station outside of Center City Philadelphia is the Jenkintown-Wyncote Station, known as the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Station: Jenkintown by the National Register of Historic Places, in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. This Report addresses the proposed Improvements for the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Station: Jenkintown.

This Area of Potential Effect (APE) Survey Report and a Determination of Effect Report is prepared in accordance with the provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, and subsequent regulations (36 CFR 800) published by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) as revised. Other Federal and State mandates for the protection of cultural resources include: The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, Executive Order 11593, the Archaeological and Historic Preservation Act of 1974, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Act no. 1978-273 amended as Act 1988-72. This report was prepared in accordance with the “Guidelines for Historic Resource Surveys in Pennsylvania” of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) and adheres to the policies and guidelines for the PHMC’s Bureau for Historic Preservation. This Report also adheres to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Archaeology and Historic Preservation (Federal Register, 1983).

A. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The purpose of the Proposed Improvements Project for the Jenkintown-Wyncote Station is to improve passenger safety, provide Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility, improve on-site parking, and improve operational efficiency at this strategically located Station. The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Station: Jenkintown site intersects with both Jenkintown Borough and Cheltenham Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The existing Station and adjacent surface parking lots are located in a mixed land use area. The Station property was entered in the National Register of Historic Places in 2014, is included in two overlapping Historic Districts and is adjacent to two more Historic Districts. Portions of the adjacent neighborhood in Cheltenham Township as well as the Station itself are part of the National Register-listed Wyncote Historic District. The existing rail Station does not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) because the boarding platforms are at track level, and the inbound and outbound platforms are connected via a tunnel with stairs. The existing Station also lacks a handicapped accessible restroom and an accessible ticket sales counter. During the daily rush hour, commuter trains stack up near the Station as they wait for earlier trains to disembark passengers onto the existing low-level platforms. This inefficient process adversely impacts SEPTA operations and slows the frequency of trains through the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Station: Jenkintown.

The proposed Station Improvements Project includes:

 ADA compliant high-level platforms and ramps. These new platforms will feature new standing-seam metal-roofed canopies on bracketed steel columns designed to harmonize with the existing historic Train Station canopies. On the outbound side, the construction of a new ADA compliant high level platform will necessitate

1 approximately 40 feet of the existing canopy north of the greenwood avenue bridge to be salvaged and raised with extended columns to accommodate the new high level platform. This platform will connect with the West Avenue walkway and extend south for approximately 370 feet (Photo 2 and Appendix A: Figures A,D). The new high-level inbound platform will begin under the Greenwood Avenue Bridge and extend south for approximately 340 feet. The design of the high level platforms also includes enclosed passenger shelters on both the inbound and outbound platforms and new accessible restrooms on the inbound platform.

 To connect the new inbound and outbound platforms, a new pedestrian overpass structure is to be built. This overpass will incorporate stair and elevator towers on either side of the tracks, the two towers being connected by a single glass-enclosed steel truss bridge. This overpass is designed with predominantly traditional finish materials (fieldstone veneer, standing seam metal roofs) and a restrained use of modern finish materials (precast concrete components, ground face concrete block). The new overpass architectural forms and massing were intended to integrate with the architecture of the high level platform and canopy structure, complement the existing historic Depot Building, and also be visually compatible with the architecture of the adjacent Historic Districts.

 Modification of the south parking lot as required to accommodate the new high level platforms and other appurtenances required to complete the project. Changes to the south lot are intended to be minimal and only as required to accommodate the other key elements of the work

 The station entrance along West Avenue in Jenkintown will be expanded and enhanced (Appendix A: Figure D). Improvements to West Avenue include a ten foot widening of the roadway to the west to allow for parallel parking on both sides of the street. The existing island for the pick-up/drop-off will be reconfigured to prevent vehicles from making U-turns. The roof structure of the existing historic canopy structure at this location will be modified to avoid a conflict between the canopy roof and the revised curb line limits of the passenger drop off area. The existing steel roof will be removed from the existing canopy columns and will be replaced with a roof structure with outriggers and roofing that match the profile and structural depths of the existing structure but extend a shorter distance from the columns as the original. From West Avenue passengers will be able to access the platform either by the existing stairway to the existing low level platforms or by a new ADA compliant covered walkway that will connect to the high level platform. A portion of the existing retaining wall adjacent to the platform will be modified to allow for the connection of the walkway to the high level platform. A portion of this retaining wall was recently reconstructed as part of the Greenwood Avenue Bridge reconstruction. The new high level platform will transition to the existing low level platform via steps and an ADA compliant ramp. There will be extensive landscaping on the West Avenue (east) side of the outbound platforms.

 East retaining wall repair: An existing stone retaining wall south of the greenwood avenue bridge on the outbound side of the tracks is leaning and will be repaired/reinforced as part of this project. The repair will have minimal visual impact on the existing stone wall.

 Improved fare collection: Provisions for implementing SEPTA’s updated fare collection system is included in the design. Currently tickets are sold out of the existing historic station building’s ticket office but the ticket office will be taken out of service as part of this project.

 Improvements to vehicular and pedestrian circulation.

Figure 1 Project Location Borough of Jenkintown, Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania 7.5’ Series quadrangle, 1997 USGS, Germantown, Pennsylvania Scale: 1:24,000

Project Location

Area of Potential Effect Report SEPTA Jenkintown-Wyncote Station Improvements Project

Figure 2 Project Area Features and Buildings Cheltenham Township, Jenkintown Borough N Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

Beaver Hill Condominiums

Ralph Morgan Township Park Station buildings and platforms

SEPTA Surface Parking Lots

218 Glenside Office Building Pitcairn Office Building Township Open Space

Area of Potential Effect Report SEPTA Jenkintown-Wyncote Station Improvements Project

II. SITE DESCRIPTION

The SEPTA Jenkintown-Wyncote Regional Rail Station Improvements Project is located in Jenkintown Borough and Cheltenham Township in eastern Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The site includes approximately ten acres with an inner suburban setting featuring residential and commercial structures, paved parking lots, bridges, railroad lines, a creek, and second growth forest. The Station site is generally bordered by Tookany Creek to the north and south, Glenside Avenue and Ralph Morgan Park to the west, and by the SEPTA Regional Railroad Line to the east. Tookany Creek has a narrow existing flood plain with no terraces. When the National Register-eligible North Pennsylvania Railroad Line, known as the North Pennsylvania Railroad (Philadelphia to Bethlehem) according to the National Register of Historic Places, was constructed (1852-1859) the builders generally followed the course of Tookany Creek, taking advantage of the change in topography between the Creek and Jenkintown Borough.

The newly completed Greenwood Avenue Bridge bisects the site. Finished in June 2014 as an independent project by PENNDOT, the new Greenwood Avenue Bridge is a replacement for a 1939 bridge which previously existed on the site. Beneath the 1939 Bridge, there was an underpass opening on the west side of the railroad tracks. This underpass served as an access to the south parking lot at grade. The new 2014 Greenwood Avenue Bridge has retained this same underpass arrangement. (CBS Phila. Website, June 30, 2014)

Officially listed on the PHMC/CRGIS website as the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Stations: Jenkintown (PHMC inventory #156277), the principal buildings of the Jenkintown-Wyncote Station are located in Jenkintown Borough. All of the existing Railroad Station Buildings and Structures are part of this National Register Property which is listed under Criterion A (for Transportation): “a property associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history.”(Rose/JPC, NR Nomination, p.12) The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Station: Jenkintown property is also listed as a contributing resource to the National Register Wyncote Historic District and was entered in the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. The existing main Station Buildings, along with their attached canopies and platforms, were designed by noted Philadelphia architect Horace Trumbauer. The two principal buildings are the 1932 Depot Building on the west side of the tracks, and the 1932 Baggage Room/ Waiting Room Building on the east side. Both buildings feature attached steel- framed platform canopies supported on bracketed columns of riveted steel construction. An earlier Interlocking Switch Tower (ca. 1890) also exists on the west side of the tracks to the north of the Depot Building. Also located on the west side of the tracks and south of the Depot Building is a small cottage-sized one story brick Office Building (ca.1930). There is paved parking on the north and south sides of the Depot Building. Another large parking area is located south of the new Greenwood Avenue Bridge between the railroad tracks and the Tookany Creek.

The Station Property borders the 5.5 acre Ralph Morgan Park located to the west along the Tookany Creek. The Park is also listed as a contributing resource to the Wyncote Historic District.

Area of Potential Effect Report SEPTA Jenkintown-Wyncote Station Improvements Project

III. BRIEF HISTORY OF PROJECT AREA

A. HISTORY

Montgomery County was first settled during the 1680’s by German immigrants who had moved outward from their first settlement at Germantown. The area was rapidly populated by Welsh, Scots-Irish, English (primarily Quakers) and Swedish immigrants. Montgomery County was officially created from Philadelphia County in 1784. In its early years, the County had substantial agricultural and industrial activity. This activity intensified with the opening of the Schuylkill Navigation Canal System in 1825, which was superseded by the development of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Main Line and the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad during the 1840’s and 1850’s.

1. Cheltenham Township Cheltenham Township was first settled in 1682 as part of Philadelphia County. In 1784 it became the smallest township in the newly formed Montgomery County. Cheltenham Township is located on the eastern boundary of Montgomery County and encompasses just over 9 square miles.

2. Wyncote After the North Pennsylvania Railroad Line was constructed in the 1850’s, wealthy Philadelphia businessmen began to build country residences in this area. At first, many of these country houses were used only during the summer months. This residential development began on former agricultural land in the eastern portion of what became Wyncote Township. The name became official with the opening of the Wyncote Post Office in 1887. Also during the 1880’s, a group of local developers purchased tracts of farmland close to the railroad. This land was then subdivided for new residential neighborhoods. A variety of late Victorian-era houses were then built, ranging from elaborate private mansions, to modest twin houses. Due to the architectural significance of its housing stock, the Wyncote Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. This 108-acre District was the first in the area to include Jenkintown Station, (now known as the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Station: Jenkintown), because of the close relationship of the railroad with the development of the Wyncote community.

3. Jenkintown Borough The Borough of Jenkintown was originally part of Abington Township, which was settled during the late 17th Century. Abington Township was largely agricultural, and inhabited primarily by English Quakers. A small crossroads community had developed by the early 19th Century. The construction of the North Pennsylvania Railroad Line in the 1850’s spurred growth in the community while it was still part of Abington Township. In 1874, approximately 284 acres were taken from Abington Township to form the new Borough of Jenkintown. The surrounding land remained agricultural until the late 19th Century when a group of developers known as the Jenkintown Syndicate purchased a large tract for a newly planned residential neighborhood. The Jenkintown Syndicate land was subdivided (ca. 1900) and a neighborhood was designed to appeal to wealthy residents. Noted architects such as Horace Trumbauer provided residential designs to be used exclusively in the new subdivision

Area of Potential Effect Report SEPTA Jenkintown-Wyncote Station Improvements Project

(ASC/Gannett Fleming, 2010).

Horace Trumbauer (1868-1938) As the successor to Victorian-era Philadelphia’s Frank Furness, Horace Trumbauer became Philadelphia’s most famous and successful architect from the turn of the Century until the late 1930’s. Trumbauer is most noted for his grand mansions for America’s wealthy upper classes. But in over 40 years of practice, he designed numerous schools, libraries, hotels, museums, and railroad stations. Like Frank Furness before him, Horace Trumbauer was not academically trained for the architectural profession, but instead served an apprenticeship and became highly successful through a combination of artistic talent and salesmanship. Born and raised in Philadelphia’s Frankford neighborhood, Trumbauer’s family moved to Jenkintown in 1881. The son of a dry-goods merchant, Trumbauer had attended public schools until dropping out in 1882 and entering the workforce at age 14. At this remarkably young age, Trumbauer began his architectural career with a 6-year apprenticeship in the office of the well-known Philadelphia Architects George and William Hewitt. During the early 1880’s, the Hewitt Brothers were busy designing the Wissahickon Heights development in Chestnut Hill. Their client was the wealthy railroad and real estate entrepreneur Henry Howard Houston. Among Trumbauer’s first assignments was to work on “Druim Moir” Henry Howard Houston’s private mansion in Chestnut Hill. In 1890, at age 21, Horace Trumbauer left the Hewitt Brothers firm to open his own office. (Kathrens, pp.16-17).

Horace Trumbauer’s first major client was the owner of the Franklin Sugar Refining Company, William Welsh Harrison. William Harrison had been impressed by some of Trumbauer’s drawings, which were on display at a real estate agent’s office. Harrison hired Trumbauer to design outbuildings for his newly purchased Estate in Glenside, PA. As these new buildings neared completion, a fire destroyed the older existing main house on the Harrison Estate. Harrison quickly hired Trumbauer to design a replacement mansion. (Kathrens, p.19). This new mansion was Grey Towers (1893) Trumbauer’s first major independent commission. Today Grey Towers and the Harrison Estate are part of the Arcadia University Campus (Old York Historical Society: Cheltenham Township, pp. 106-107). Highly pleased with his new mansion, Harrison in turn introduced Trumbauer to the streetcar tycoon and developer Peter Widener, for whom Trumbauer designed Lynnewood Hall (1897-1900) in Cheltenham Township. For the Widener and Elkins families and their social circle, Trumbauer designed mansions in Philadelphia, New York, and Newport, R.I. Trumbauer also designed office buildings, hospitals, and the Main Library at Harvard University, built as memorial to one of the Widener’s sons who was lost in the sinking of the Titanic. Trumbauer’s success became the subject of a 1904 monograph by the Architectural Record. Trumbauer employed a number of gifted designers in his firm, most notably Julian Abele, the first African-American graduate of the University Of Pennsylvania School Of Architecture. The highest point of Trumbauer’s practice was the Philadelphia Art Museum Project (1916-1928) a collaborative effort with the Philadelphia firm of Zatzinger, Borie and Medary. (Phila. Architects & Buildings: Horace Trumbauer) Working as a senior practicing architect during the 1920’s, Trumbauer completed the Free Library of Philadelphia Central Branch in 1927, and Glenside PA’s Keswick Theater Village in 1928. Due to its prestigious reputation, the Trumbauer office remained remarkably busy even during the Great Depression. In 1931-1932, the Jenkintown Station was designed for the Reading Railroad as an updated replacement for an earlier station built by the North Pennsylvania Railroad in 1872.

Area of Potential Effect Report SEPTA Jenkintown-Wyncote Station Improvements Project

After Horace Trumbauer’s death in 1938, architects Julian Abele and William Frank took over the firm and completed its remaining commissions (Rose/JPC, NR Nomination #156277, p.17).

Jenkintown Station Early History (1859-1930) The first railroad line to own the right of way through the Jenkintown area was the Philadelphia, Delaware and Water Gap Railroad, first incorporated in 1851. In 1853, the Company was reorganized as the North Pennsylvania Railroad, and by 1855 was able to open its Line from Old City out to Ambler, PA. In 1859, in an effort to serve the prosperous water powered mill businesses then located along Tookany Creek, the North Pennsylvania Railroad created a rail stop at Jenkintown Borough. At that time, the NPR may have built a simple standard wood frame station building there. The Jenkintown stop quickly grew in importance, particularly when it became a junction station. In 1872, the NPR built the first permanent Jenkintown-Wyncote Station. These first stone masonry Station buildings were built with a standardized Victorian Italianate Style architectural design used in multiple locations by the NPR. These first Jenkintown-Wyncote Station buildings included a Main Station House with an attached platform and canopy on the west side of the tracks, and a Baggage Room Building with attached platform and canopy on the East side. Surviving examples of the NPR’s standard stone Italianate Style station houses still exist at the Glenside, North Wales, and Doylestown Stations. (Rose/JPC, NR Nomination #156277, p.14). The 1872 station was connected by bridges over West Avenue to the Beechwood Inn (1877) which once stood on the site now occupied by the Beaver Apartments. (Old York Historical Society: Abington, Jenkintown, and Rockledge p.26). In 1874, Jenkintown-Wyncote Station became a junction station with the opening of NPR’s Delaware River Branch.

In 1879, the financially powerful Philadelphia and Reading Railroad leased the railroad line from NPR and then began to buy up NPR stock shares to gain control of the Line. The Reading Company later incorporated the NPR line into their Bethlehem Branch, to connect their Pennsylvania rail lines to routes acquired in New Jersey. The Reading Company could then compete for business to New York and New England. Reading became successful with these connections, and was thus able to provide customers in Philadelphia’s northern suburbs with the same access to New York City and beyond that the Pennsylvania Railroad provided to its customers in the Main Line and other western suburbs. Reading maintained ownership of the old NPR line for many decades. Today, to the north of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Station: Jenkintown, the tracks diverge with the former Reading Bethlehem Branch to the left, and the New York branch to the right. These nearby lines are physical evidence of the Jenkintown Station’s historic importance as a junction stop.

In 1890, the Reading Company added a new interlocking Control Tower which contained an elaborate system of hand cranks, control rods, and gears to operate the railroad track switching mechanism. As it exists today, this three-story Control Tower has a Wissahickon Schist stone base, rising into a brick shaft for the first and second floors, and then wood frame construction for the third floor and roof. As it stands today, the 1890 Control Tower terminates the north end of the Inbound Platform and Canopy, which were built in 1932.

In 1930, a small brick office building with a hipped roof and chimney was built to the south of the existing Depot Building. This small brick building was the office and scale house of a local

Area of Potential Effect Report SEPTA Jenkintown-Wyncote Station Improvements Project

coal dealer, Nicholson’s Lehigh Coal Company. The Nicholson Company had a close business relationship with the Reading Company, which shipped anthracite coal in huge quantities from the Pennsylvania coal regions to northeastern markets. The Nicholson Company bought coal from directly from the Reading Company. The Railroad unloaded the coal into Nicholson’s coal yard, which once stood in a portion of the existing Jenkintown Wyncote Station Parking area. Once loaded with coal, Nicholson’s delivery trucks were weighed and dispatched from the small office to waiting customers. A Reading Company feature that also once stood in part of the existing parking area was the “Team Tracks”, a freight facility and driveway which enabled horse drawn wagons to receive freight consignments directly from railroad freight cars. To accommodate their freight facility, the Reading Company diverted a portion of the Tookany Creek around this portion of the Station site. This explains how the Tookany Creek neatly curves around the existing parking area today.

Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Station: Jenkintown (1930-2016)

Between the late 1920’s and early 1930’s the Reading Company electrified its Philadelphia area commuter rail lines. Also, at the beginning of the Great Depression, President Herbert Hoover made low-cost Federal loans available to the railroad companies in an effort to restart the economy. This program was later discontinued by the Roosevelt Administration. But prior to 1933, The Reading Company was able to take advantage of Federal loans to modernize its lines and build new stations. In the early 1930’s, The Reading Company built two other new stations, Wyndmoor (1930) and Chestnut Hill East (1931) on their Chestnut Hill East commuter line. Also by the 1930’s, the Victorian-era Jenkintown-Wyncote Station had become outgrown and obsolete, and was unable to properly represent the upscale community it served. One year prior to the 1929 Stock Market Crash, in 1928, the Reading Company had hired famed Architect Horace Trumbauer’s firm to design their Classical Revival Style North Broad Street Station. The Reading Company management was also well aware of Trumbauer’s many residential and business clients in the immediate area of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Station: Jenkintown. The Reading management decided to seize the opportunity that the Federal loans offered to build what became their last major new station in the region. Horace Trumbauer, now late in his career, was then hired by the Reading Company to design an updated replacement for the Jenkintown-Wyncote Train Station.

Horace Trumbauer’s 1932 design retained the site layout of the 1872 Station House and Baggage Room Buildings. The Victorian era buildings were replaced with a stone Tudor Revival Style Depot Building on the inbound side, and a combination Baggage Room/ Waiting Room Building, also of stone, on the outbound side. The new buildings were load bearing masonry clad in local Wissahickon Schist with terra cotta trim moulded to imitate carved limestone. The new buildings had steeply pitched slate roofs accented with pitched slate roof dormers. The windows on the Depot Building and Outbound Platform Waiting Room are rolled steel casements with true divided light glazing. The manufacturing process for these steel windows was originally derived from earlier metal roll-forming technology used for manufacturing railroad rails. On a larger scale at the Station, the same metalworking technique was used to form the curved portions of the platform canopies. All of the Station doors were traditional solid wood rail and stile doors, with wood lower panels and true divided lite glazing.

Area of Potential Effect Report SEPTA Jenkintown-Wyncote Station Improvements Project

The traditional, romantic Tudor Revival Style of the 1932 Station buildings was in contrast to the industrial style of their attached steel-framed platform canopies which Trumbauer also designed. These platform canopies consist of flat roofs built on wooden roof decking, in turn set on a steel frame with riveted steel beams and rafters. This canopy assembly is joined to the Depot Building façade with terra-cotta corbels. On the platforms, the canopies are supported on a single row of bracketed steel columns, also of riveted construction. The roof plans of these platform canopies feature sweeping curves which match the curves of the driveway curbs below. To do this, portions of the canopy steel framing were roll formed into curves in a manner reminiscent of forming laminated wooden architectural components.

The main element of the Station Complex is the Depot Building, which is divided into three sections: a large central block with a gabled pitched roof, flanked at either end by the two-story north and south end bays, which also have gabled pitched roofs. Inside the central block and parallel to the tracks is a tall Waiting Room. This large space has terra cotta walls, above which is a plaster barrel-vaulted ceiling hung from the trusses under the gabled pitched slate roof. The Waiting Room was lit from above by pairs of clerestory roof dormers on the east and west roof elevations. This slate roof terminates in end gable parapets with multi-flue chimneys. At the center of the track side façade and in front of the Waiting Room was the Ticket Office, which was positioned in a manner similar to a movie theater ticket booth. To the north of the Waiting Room was the North Wing, which originally contained the Toilet Rooms and Baggage Room. To the south of the Waiting Room was the Newsstand Wing. The two attached end wings are topped with gabled pitched slate roofs with pitched slate roof dormers.

On the opposite side of the tracks is the 1932 Outbound Platform with its Baggage Room/ Waiting Room Building. This structure is enclosed by a massive stone retaining wall, which begins at the north end and stops roughly at the building’s center, where a wide set of steps lead up to West Avenue. At the north end of the platform is another set of steps up to West Avenue. Just south of these steps is a stone Baggage Room Building which contained both luggage rooms and express rooms for outbound trains to Bethlehem or New York. These rooms are now used by SEPTA maintenance staff. The flat roofline of this structure merges with the Outbound Platform canopy. The Baggage Room Building is clad with the same Wissahickon Schist stone as the Depot Building, but has no Tudor Revival Style details. All masonry openings are simple stone returns to wood and metal frames holding the doors and windows. Just past the central set of steps is the Tudor Revival Style Waiting Room portion of the Building. This portion is also clad with Wissahickon Schist, this time with the same terra-cotta trim as the Depot Building. The Waiting Room also has a gabled pitched slate roof which projects above the Platform Canopy roof line. On the interior of this part of the Building, the Waiting Room has a plaster vaulted ceiling hung from the pitched roof trusses. The north end of the Waiting Room still has its original benches cantilevered from the walls. The Waiting Room south end once had a barber shop, and later a coffee shop, but is now vacant. The Outbound Platform has the same wood and steel Platform Canopy design as the Inbound Platform. The Outbound Platform Canopy is over 29’ wide from the tracks to the retaining wall. At the central set of steps to West Avenue, another 1932 wood and steel canopy was built on the opposite side of the retaining wall. This canopy is cantilevered from four steel columns, and spreads over the taxi/drop off area which was built in conjunction with the Station.

Area of Potential Effect Report SEPTA Jenkintown-Wyncote Station Improvements Project

The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Station: Jenkintown served the Reading Company from 1932 through the Company’s bankruptcy in 1971 and eventual takeover by CONRAIL in 1976. Both the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Station: Jenkintown and the Regional Rail System were taken over by SEPTA in 1982.

The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Station: Jenkintown was included in the National Register Wyncote Historic District in 1986. In 1987, the historic Main Station House was carefully remodeled for restaurant use, leaving most of the historic interior and exterior intact. The Waiting Room, Ticket Office, and Toilet Room/Baggage Room North Wing all became part of the restaurant space. The Waiting Room became a dining area. The Ticket Office was converted into a wait staff station. The North Wing was integrated into a large commercial kitchen addition. The north end and trackside facades were enclosed with additions inserted into the areas under the north and trackside Canopies. The south Newsstand Wing was converted to contain a restaurant private dining room and a SEPTA ticket office, with a SEPTA waiting room addition inserted under the trackside canopy. Several tenant restaurants have leased the Station interior since 1987, although the restaurant space is currently vacant. In December 2014, the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Station: Jenkintown itself was entered into the National Register of Historic Places, and local activists have called for its restoration. Some of the activists have also suggested that the Restaurant remodeling should be removed and Station should be restored to its original 1932 configuration. (Rose/JPC, NR Nomination #156277, p.11).

IV. PREVIOUSLY DOCUMENTED CULTURAL RESOURCES

The identification of above and below ground historic resources involved background research with field verification. An initial literature search and review of existing surveys determined the level of previous identification studies in the project area. This process included a review of existing files at the PA Historical and Museum Commission’s Bureau for Historic Preservation in Harrisburg as well as local historical organizations, selected secondary sources, the National Register of Historic Places, and other sources.

A. ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESOURCES

In preparation for this project, The Pennsylvania Archaeological Site Survey (PASS) files and the NRHP files of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission were consulted. There are no previously recorded sites or surveys in the project area. With over 100 years of ground disturbing activities in the Jenkintown Train Station Area, there is no potential for intact archaeological materials. The area has been repeatedly subject to soil moving activities for railroad lines, parking lots, intersection improvements, building construction and underground utilities. In a letter dated February 2009, the BHP/PHMC confirmed that archaeological testing is not required for the SEPTA Jenkintown-Wyncote Regional Rail Station Improvements Project (ASC/Gannett Fleming, 2010).

B. ABOVE GROUND RESOURCES

A literature search and review of existing surveys, including a review of the files at BHP/PHMC in Harrisburg and NRHP found four historic resources previously determined to

Area of Potential Effect Report SEPTA Jenkintown-Wyncote Station Improvements Project

be eligible or listed on the National Register within the APE. Of these four, one (Wyncote) was previously listed on the National Register and situated in the area of Potential Effect. (ASC/Gannett Fleming, 2010). In 2014, Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Station: Jenkintown itself was listed on National Register under Criterion A (Historical Events/Transportation). The Station’s nomination was also incorporated into this report ((Rose/JPC, NR Nomination #156277).

1. The Wyncote Historic District in Cheltenham Township and Jenkintown Borough, listed on the National Register in 1986 under Criterion C for exceptional architecture. The 108-acre Historic District features residential architecture covering the period ca. 1865-1934 and is representative of the railroad-based upper class residential suburbs developed around Philadelphia during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

2. The Jenkintown Syndicate Subdivision, on the east side of the project area, was determined to be Eligible for the National Register in 2000 under Criterion A for Community Development and Criterion C for Architecture.

3. The North Pennsylvania Railroad (Philadelphia to Bethlehem) was determined to be Eligible for the National Register in 2004, This Railroad Line became part of the Philadelphia and Reading Company: Bethlehem Branch in 1879.

4. The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad (Aggregate File) on the north side of the project area, was determined to Eligible for the National Register in 2002.

5. The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Station: Jenkintown was determined to Eligible for the National Register in 2014.

Properties situated within the APE but outside these four National Register Listed or Eligible historic districts in Cheltenham Township include SEPTA property south of the new Greenwood Avenue Bridge and west of the railroad line, the Wyncote Post Office, and a warehouse facility on Glenside Avenue. These properties were excluded from the Wyncote Historic District when it was listed on the National Register in 1986. In Jenkintown Borough, the properties within the APE but outside the Jenkintown Syndicate Subdivision include the Jenkintown Plaza Building at the northeast corner of Greenwood Avenue and West Avenue, the Beaver Hill Condominiums (1967) on West Avenue, and the Pitcairn Office Building (1985) on Township Line Road (ASC/Gannett Fleming, 2010).

Area of Potential Effect Report SEPTA Jenkintown-Wyncote Station Improvements Project

Figure 3: National Register Listed or Eligible Properties Cheltenham Township, Borough of Jenkintown Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

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Area of Potential Effect Report SEPTA Jenkintown-Wyncote Station Improvements Project

V. DEFINITION OF THE AREA OF POTENTIAL EFFECT

The area of Potential Effect for a proposed undertaking is defined in 36 CFR 800.16(d) as “The geographic area or areas in which an undertaking may directly or indirectly cause alterations to the character or use of an historic property, if any such properties exist”. The area in which a project may cause an alteration to the use of historic properties is limited to the immediate area adjacent to the project and connecting roadways. The area within which a project may cause an alteration to the character of historic properties is larger, extending beyond the immediate project area due to extended sight lines from the project to nearby historic properties..

A. PROPOSED APE

Efforts to establish an APE included an understanding of the proposed project undertaking as well as a review of the project area’s historic resources. This review process also included examination of pertinent environmental studies and previously identified historic resources. A preliminary site visit was conducted to establish sight lines to the proposed project area. Following a review of background information, a walking survey of the proposed APE was conducted to confirm the proposed boundaries of the National Register or National Register Eligible Historic Districts, confirm any buildings fifty years or older outside of the Historic Districts, and make any appropriate adjustments to the boundaries of the APE. The APE includes railroad properties owned by SEPTA as well as properties in Cheltenham Township and Jenkintown Borough within the visual limits of the project area. Sight Lines were established and reviewed according to changes in the project and seasonal variations.

All aspects of the proposed improvements project were taken into consideration in the determination of the APE. The direct effect of the project was determined to be limited to the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Station: Jenkintown property owned by SEPTA in Cheltenham Township and Jenkintown Borough. A direct effect is defined as “an alteration to the characteristics of an historic property qualifying it for inclusion in or eligibility for the National Register”. Historic properties located on the west side of the railroad tracks in Cheltenham Township and in Jenkintown Borough on the east side of the railroad line will be indirectly affected by the project. An indirect effect includes, “the introduction of visual, atmospheric, or audible elements that diminish the integrity of a property’s significant historic features”. The APE includes historic properties in both municipalities which may be indirectly affected by the proposed project.

The APE is generally bounded by Greenwood Avenue on the Northwest, West Avenue on the Northeast, Township line Road on the southeast, and Glenside Avenue on the southwest. The boundaries of the APE were determined according to the engineering, architectural, topographical and seasonal parameters of the project.

Area of Potential Effect Report SEPTA Jenkintown-Wyncote Station Improvements Project

Figure 4 Area of Potential Effect Cheltenham Township, Borough of Jenkintown Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

1.Greenwood Avenue

Greenwood Avenue, in Cheltenham Township, extends west from approximately the center of the project area and includes the new Greenwood Avenue Bridge. The portion of Greenwood Avenue within the proposed APE runs west from the Bridge to Fernbrook Avenue and for a short distance east of the Bridge in Jenkintown Borough. It contains a gas station and a number of small commercial businesses as well as residential properties. The existing buildings face north and south on Greenwood Avenue. The view looking east from the center of Greenwood Avenue is dominated by the new Greenwood Avenue Bridge, Railroad Avenue, and Ralph Morgan Park on the north and Tookany Creek on the south. Facing east from the rear yards of buildings on the south side of Greenwood Avenue, the view is generally limited to other yards, Glenside Avenue, and the fence along Tookany Creek.

Photo 1. View of Greenwood Avenue Bridge from Existing Station Parking Lot.

2.West Avenue

The northern boundary of the proposed APE in Jenkintown Borough is West Avenue. West Avenue extends north from the intersection of Summit Avenue and Township Line Road, parallel to the railroad tracks below, and gradually turns to the west. West Avenue borders the west and north sides of the Beaver Hill Condominiums. There is a West Avenue stair entrance to the outbound platform of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Station: Jenkintown that will be rehabilitated as part of an enlarged and newly landscaped passenger drop-off area. This area is to include an ADA compliant ramp and walkways as part of the proposed project (Photo x). The view from West Avenue looks west into the project area north of the new Greenwood Avenue Bridge. This is the area which includes the existing historic Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Station: Jenkintown buildings and structures.

Photo 2. View of outbound platform and canopy adjacent to Greenwood Avenue Bridge, including the extent of the historic retaining wall reconstructed as part of the bridge reconstruction.

Photo 3. View of Drop-off area adjacent to outbound platform showing the existing canopy structure.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ASC Group, Inc. & Gannett /Fleming Co. SEPTA Jenkintown-Wyncote Station: Jenkintown Borough and Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County: Area of Potential Effects Report. 2010.

ASC Group, Inc. & Gannett /Fleming Co. SEPTA Jenkintown-Wyncote Station: Jenkintown Borough and Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County: Determination of Effect Report, E.R. #2009-0756-091. (Revised) 2011.

Archaeological & Historical Consultants. Pennsylvania Historic Resource Survey Form, Jenkintown Syndicate Historic District. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, 1999.

Cheltenham Township Web Site. Township History. www.cheltenhamtownship.com, accessed July 2010.

CBS Philadelphia Website: Greenwood Avenue Bridge Finally Opens. June 30, 2014.

Jenkintown Community Alliance Web Site. Historic Jenkintown. www.jenkintown.net, accessed July 2010.

Kathrens, Michael C. American Splendor: The Residential Architecture of Horace Trumbauer. New York: Acanthus Publishing Co. 2002.

Old York Historical Society. Images of America: Abington, Jenkintown and Rockledge. Charleston S.C., Arcadia Publishing Co. 2000.

Old York Historical Society. Images of America: Cheltenham Township. Charleston S.C., Arcadia Publishing Co. 2001.

Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. National Register Nomination Form, Wyncote Historic District: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, 1986.

Rose, David, and the Jenkintown Planning Commission. National Register Nomination Form, Philadelphia and Reading railroad: Station (Jenkintown) Inventory #15627. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, 2014.

James Rose, Chairman, Jenkintown Planning Commission. SEPTA Jenkintown-Wyncote Train Station National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, 2014.

Thomas, George E. with Cohen, Jeffrey, and Lewis, Michael J. Frank Furness: the Complete Works. New York, Princeton University Press, 1991.

William Penn Foundation, American Architects and Buildings Database for: Horace Trumbauer.

APPENDIX A

PROJECT RENDERING AND PLAN

FIGURE A OVERALL STATION PLAN

FIGURE B RENDERING OF OVERPASS STRUCTURE

FIGURE B2 VIEW OF GREENWOOD AVENUE BRIDGE LOOKING NORTH

FIGURE C1 AERIAL VIEW OF HIGH LEVEL PLATFORMS AND PEDESTRIAN OVERPASS LOOKING NORTH

FIGURE C2 VIEW OF OUTBOUND DROP OFF AND WAITING AREA LOOKING NORTH

FIGURE D1 AERIAL VIEW OF OUTBOUND PLATFORM CONNECTOR LOOKING SOUTH

FIGURE D2 VIEW OF GREENWOOD AVEUNE BRIDGE LOOKING SOUTH

Area of Potential Effect Report SEPTA Jenkintown-Wyncote Station Project

APPENDIX B

CORRESPONDENCE

Area of Potential Effect Report SEPTA Jenkintown-Wyncote Station Project