Downtown Walking Tour

Discovering Downtown York’s historically edgy architecture and art by foot!

BY JJ SHEFFER | Director, Community Programs

There is perhaps no better way to experience Downtown York’s historically edgy personality than on foot. York’s architecture, art, and history are inextricably linked, and there is much to discover and explore from the sidewalk. There are many physical cues to help you explore and learn, including state historical markers and privately-placed bronze plaques. There are also murals depicting York’s rich history in manufacturing, notable residents, and cultural traditions.

Cherry Lane Architectural Signature Marker

Architecture

Every period of history is represented in the architecture of Downtown York’s fascinating streetscape. You can stand on any corner of Continental Square and without moving your feet, see at least nine different styles of architecture. While there are plenty of interesting buildings to catch your eye, there are also plenty of smaller details – such as arches, doorways, and architectural signature markers – hiding in plain view throughout Downtown York, as well.

Planter Sculpture in the Downtown

COLUMNS & FLORENTINE DOMES OF THE OLD COURTHOUSE

York County’s third courthouse, which now serves as the York County Administrative Center, has several distinct architectural features. The granite Ionic columns were original to the second courthouse, their bases at ground level. After that building caught on fire, the columns were saved, restored, and reused, and raised to the top of the granite steps that lead to the building as we now know it. The domes were the vision of J.A. Dempwolf, a prominent architect in the late 1800s who designed many of York’s most iconic buildings and spent time in Italy studying Florentine domes.

Domes of the York County Administrative Center

In 2019, lighting was installed to illuminate the domes at night, as part of the celebration of the County of York’s 250th anniversary. Downtown Inc, the York County Economic Alliance and the County of York collaborated on the lighting project. Financial supporters included the Warehime Foundation, the Powder Mill Foundation, the York County Bar Foundation, the George and Josephine Schmidt Memorial Fund of the York County Community Foundation and the York County Community Foundation.

DEMPWOLF ARCHITECTURAL MARKER EASTER EGGS

A fountain that features the head of a lion can be found at street level in front of the York County Administrative Center. When people from rural York County came to town in the late 1800s, they could exchange a coin for a shower in the subterranean comfort stations on the square, or freshen up by washing their face and hands and getting a cool drink from the lion fountain before going inside the courthouse for whatever business they had there. Though no longer an active water fountain, it remains as an interesting feature for the sharp-eyed passerby. The lion became architect J.A. Dempwolf’s signature stamp, and something of an “Easter egg” that can be found on other buildings he designed.

J.A Dempwolf's Architectural Marker in front of the York County Administrative Center

Other hidden-in-plain-sight Dempwolf flourishes include his architectural signature marker at the entrance to Cherry Lane Court and the gargoyle atop the downspout at the residence of prominent York businessman William Goodridge. Goodridge, who was born enslaved and became one of the wealthiest African Americans in Pennsylvania in the 1800s, was a Station Master on the Underground Railroad. The residence is now open to the public as The William C. Goodridge Freedom Center and Underground Railroad Museum.

VERIZON/GTE BUILDING

The York Telephone and Telegraph building, currently Verizon/GTE Building

The York Telephone and Telegraph building was designed by Frederick Dempwolf and built in 1929. The art deco building remains in intriguing presence on South Beaver Street, most notably for its bronze gates that feature terra cotta-colored relief tiles of a switchboard operator and utility worker as their focal point. This is the work of artist Paul Manship, most famous for the gilded, cast bronze Prometheus sculpture at Rockefeller Center in New York City.

YORK WATER COMPANY

York Water Company, exterior

One of our favorite examples of how York’s rich architecture, art, and history collide is the York Water Company building at 130 East Market Street. The nation’s oldest publicly-traded utility has been headquartered in this building, with its Corinthian columns and Palladian windows, since 1929, and is perhaps the only utility you can still pay in person if you wish. Architect William B. Billmeyer incorporated the theme of water into the design, and artist Gustav Ketterer was commissioned to paint water-themed frescoes. Step through the front doors during business hours to view the breathtaking ceiling, uncovered and restored to its original splendor during a renovation in the 1980s.

York Water Company, interior

Art

Gear Garden at Foundry Park

Downtown York boasts a wealth of public art, from the functional art on North Beaver Street created from remnants of York County factories to the vibrant murals throughout the Royal Square district. Our downtown Parks are home to installations by local artists, including sculptures by Lorann Jacobs and Gale Jamieson in Cherry Lane Court and the Gear Garden that marks the entrance to Foundry Park on the Codorus, featuring large flower sculptures by Robert Machovec, crafted by repurposing gears from Pfaltzgraff pottery drying ovens.

ROYAL SQUARE MURALS

The Parliament Arts Organization partnered with Sprocket Mural Works and area artists to adorn the sides of buildings throughout the Royal Square District – the neighborhood so named for the streets that delineate its borders: King, Duke, Queen, and Princess Streets. This beautification and placemaking initiative has made Royal Square a go-to spot for product photo shoots, music video backdrops, wedding, family, and senior portraits, and innumerable selfies.

Royal Square mural

Visit royalsquaredistrict.com/murals for a map and directions to take a self-guided walking tour of the murals and to learn about the individual murals and artists.

DIENTES DE LEON SCULPTURE

Dientes de Leon sculpture in Cherry Lane Court

Dientes de Leon, a stainless-steel sculpture featuring a light-catching laminated dichroic glass orb, was created by York artist Gale Jamieson. The tall sculpture was fabricated with a grant from the Women’s Giving Circle of York County Community Foundation and installed in Cherry Lane Court in 2015. The pocket park is also home to a bronze sculpture by Lorann Jacobs, as well as mural-sized reproductions of works by PA Dutch artist Lewis Miller, who was born and raised in York and chronicled everyday life through watercolor paintings throughout the 19th century.