What's New on Pennsylvania Avenue?

If you can’t guess and you haven’t noticed, take a look at the street signs. You will see Historic Avenues street signs at every intersection on Pennsylvania Avenue from Roosevelt Avenue west to Carlisle Road!  The Pennsylvania Avenue signs join the Carlisle and Roosevelt Avenue signs installed in 2011 to delineate the unofficial borders of the historic Avenues Neighborhood.  It is the hope of the Neighborhood Association to one day have Historic Avenues street signs on every street in the neighborhood.  The signs will be purchased with money raised by the Neighborhood Association or with individual donations. The 2013 signs for Pennsylvania Avenue were purchased with proceeds from the Avenues Home Tour held in October 2012. Pennsylvania Avenue was chosen as the place for the latest signs based on the high volume of traffic on that street.  The Avenues Association is grateful to the City of York Department of Public Works, which installed the Pennsylvania Avenue signs. 

The signs were designed by Elizabeth Hodgson and some other members of the Avenues Neighborhood Association about two years ago after the Association applied for and received a $1500 Neighborhood Pride Mini Grant from the Resources for Urban Neighborhoods (RUN) Program to purchase the signs for Roosevelt and Carlisle Avenue. The RUN program was a two year pilot program funded through a generous grant from the York County Community Foundation (YCCF) and Women’s Giving Circle of the YCCF. RUN awarded Neighborhood Pride mini grants to a number of neighborhood association projects in York City in 2011.

The Avenues grant funds were matched with in-kind funding from the City of York, which acted as the fiscal agent for the grant and the City of York Public Works Department which installed the signs.

The group of neighborhood volunteers who collaborated on the 2011 grant application included Mary Anne and Charlie Bacas, Henry Boulding, Betsy Buckingham, Elizabeth Hodgson, Marta Peck and Kevin Titzell. 

Getting to Know: The Nugents

Angie & Adam Nugent, Linden Ave

1. How long have you been on the Avenues?                                                                 We have lived on the Avenues for 5 years. 
2. Why did you choose the Avenues?                                                                                        We love the neighborhood feel with gorgeous old homes, while being close to downtown.
3. Anything special about your house?                                                                             Our home is new, but we have a giant back yard which is unique for the city!
4. Tell us about you and your family                                                                            We are high school sweethearts and have been married for 8.5 years. We have 2 sons who are four and five.  Angie is a 6th grade teacher and Adam runs a web design and branding business that focuses on downtown businesses. We love to walk to Beck's for ice cream and Central Market on Saturdays and attend York City events as a family.
5. What is your favorite part of the Avenues                                                                Our favorite part of the Avenues are our neighbors! We love to have cookouts and attend socials with great people.
6. Are there any memories you want to share of the Avenues?                                        We have many great memories but just this fall we had a neighborhood cookout.  We got to hang out with old friends, new neighbors, and even friends that moved away came back to visit. It was a fun day for the adults and kids who played in the yard.
7. Do you have any relatives who lived on the Avenues?                                                Angie's cousin, Matt Gallagher, and his wife Rose and son Grant live on Linden Ave.  Adam’s parents’ first home was on The Avenues.  His grandparents and great grandparents lived in and around The Avenues most of their lives.

Getting to Know: Jean Leaman

Jean Leaman at 505 Linden Ave, The Lady Linden

1.    How long have you been on the Avenues?

I have lived here for 27 years

2.    Why did you choose the Avenues?

My husband, Jim, already had property on Roosevelt Avenue when we married.

3.    Anything special about your house?

What can I say? Built in 1887 when the Avenues were first being established as a community. The style is Queen Anne Stick

4.    Tell us about you and your family

I was born in England in 1944, married an Englishman in 1965 and emigrated to Montreal where we lived until 1975. My daughter Hayley was born in Montreal and now lives on the east side of the city with her husband Jesse Croom and their son Cameron.

5.    Hobbies?

Gardening, bird watching, hiking, painting (art)

6.    What is your favorite part of the Avenues? I would have to say the people. We have such wonderful neighbors. Were we to move I think the neighbors are what I would find hard to leave behind.

7.    Are there any memories you want to share of the Avenues?

There are so many it would be hard to choose but obviously the restoration of this house, the encouragement we received from our immediate community, and the numerous events and celebrations we have had here contribute to making this place feel like home.

8.    Do you have any relatives who lived on the Avenues?

No

9.    Anything else you may want to share or be part of the blogpost?

Only to report the great success of Lady Linden B&B as a business. It has given us the opportunity to promote downtown York and its various attractions and querky features. Many of these folks have been coming to annual events at the Fairgrounds and didn’t know there was a downtown York!! I take great pleasure in taking them to market and shops and galleries and introducing them to the wide variety of excellent eating we have here. We have had guests from 8 different countries and 23 different states and all have such positive things to say about their experience in York.

10. Hopefully, Jim and I have a few years/miles left on our bodies to continue with the business which we enjoy verymuch.

March Social Question: What is your favorite season?

On March 18, we held our monthly social at Coomb's, the neighborhood bar.  Every social we pose a question in order to get know our neighbors and our neighborhood. This month we asked about each person's favorite season. Here are their responses:

Jean, Linden Ave: Fall, because of the color throughout the Avenues

Jim, Linden Ave: Spring, because I love to see all the blooming trees and new leaves.  I also enjoy looking for flowers and neighbor's gardens.

Troy, Madison Ave/Harley St landlord: Fall, because I love seeing the Halloween decor.

Raymond, Madison Ave/Harley St landlord: Spring, because everything starts to bloom with exciting colors.  The dreary winter weather is gone and spring shows what's to come.

Lil, Florida Ave: Fall, because the tree are nice and the cool weather.  Also, because school comes back in session and enjoyed seeing the children on way to/from school.

Charlie, Madison Ave: Fall, because the weather is deal and the Avenues is the place to be in the Fall! Everyone is home in the fall and it's a special time of the year, harvest time!

Denise and Greg, Linden Ave: Spring, because of the colors and the new blooms.

Denise and Greg's yard on Linden Ave

Ben, Pennslyvania Ave: Summer, because gardens are producing.  This season allows for relationships to development over backyard trading and cookouts!

Warren, Hartley St: Summer, since I have four girls and it's a great time to play outside, visit the pool and park.  The summer also brings the sound of neighborhood kids playing or kids ringing the doorbell for my girls to play.

Matt, Lincoln Ave: Fall, because the trees in the park are gorgeous!