Entrance to the James V. Brown Library

Reference Room Looking East

Reference Room Looking West

James V. Brown Library
The pictures on the left were taken between 1940 and 1950, the pictures on the right were taken November 2014. Since that time, the “Reference Room” has undergone huge changes and is now has the huge main circulation desk included in it towards the western side of the room.
A special thanks goes to the James V. Brown library and its staff who graciously allowed Developing History to
 photograph the inside of the library outside of regular hours.

(Note that the modern picture of the entrance is dark and grainy.  This was the photographer’s third attempt on two different occasions to photograph the entrance and each time something went wrong with the camera.  On this attempt, the aperture was stuck, unnoticed, in a semi-closed position, which corrected itself as soon as the photographer left the entrance.  It’s probably just a coincidence that this part of the library is reputed to be haunted.)

Basin and East Third Street – James V. Brown Residence / Private Hospital
The postcard on the left is postmarked May 1912. The picture on the right was taken September 2014.
The James V. Brown residence was built in 1875 on the site of Michael Ross’ house. In 1906, after Brown’s death, the house became the Bishopric of the Episcopal Diocese of Central PA and residence of the Reverend Darlington.  It was next purchased by Dr. Albert Hardt and became known as the Williamsport Private Hospital.  In January of 1919, the house was destroyed by fire.  It is now an empty lot.

454 Pine Street – Old City Hall
The picture on the left was taken when it was still City Hall, date unknown. The picture on the right was taken September 2014. The Old City Hall was built on the site of Ross Cemetery that was badly neglected at the time it was relocated for this building. The statue seen in front of both pictures was placed in honor of the soldiers and sailors of the Civil War. Old City Hall, is now City Hall Grand Hotel. 

Pine Street
The post card on the left is from the mid 1960’s. The picture on the right was taken July 2014.
A popular area for retailers in the 1960’s and 70’s with some of it’s most visited stores in one area.

Market Street Bridge
The picture on the left is of the sixth Market Street bridge. It was constructed by George Vang Inc. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1951 and was dynamited and dismantled in 2007. The new bridge (on the right, May 2014) was dedicated on October 18, 2007 and was was renamed in August of 2011 to honor Carl Stotz the founder of Little League Baseball.

348 Market St.
The picture on the left was taken in 1929, the one on the right May 2014
Scottish Rite Acacia Club, the original building shown to the far left, is 348 Market St. The new Auditorium stands where Fowlers Store, which appears to be closed in the picture, and Peil’s (Dry Cleaning) were in 1929.

357 Market Street
Picture on the left was taken around 1900.  The picture on the right May 2014.  Only one section remains. The building to the south is also gone.

101 and 103 West 3rd Street
Picture on left taken 1889. Picture on right taken May 2014.
In 1889, 101 West 3rd Street was J. A. Shoemaker Harness and Saddles and 103 West 3rd Street was the Eagle Hotel.  An 1840 illustration shows that originally it was built in Greek style but it’s portico was removed by the time this picture was taken and front windows were redesigned for first floor shops. 101 and 103 West 3rd were actually the same building which was built in 1815, destroyed by fire in 1907 and later razed (1910-1911)
 to clear site for Heilman Building, shown on the right.

Court and West Third Street
The Hart Building, built in 1895.  Morgan’s, seen on the sign of the vintage photograph, was a men’s clothing store.
The picture on the right was taken May 2014.

Court Street near West Third Street
This is another view of the picture above showing a better view of the hotel next to the Hart Building that is no longer there, the United States Hotel. It was the leading hotel of it’s time (1842 – 1866).  In 1866, it was sold to First National Bank. The picture on the right was taken May 2014.

Market St looking South from 4th St.
The picture on the left was taken in 1955.  The picture on the right was taken in May 2014.
On the left of each picture is the Masonic Temple (on the corner) and the Acacia Club next to it.

Old Lycoming County Prison – 154 West Third Street
The picture on the left was taken in 1903, the one on the right in June of 2014.
In 1867 when a fire damaged the jail, it was torn down and a stone structure and wall were erected on its site. The tower was removed in the 1920’s, with much controversy. In the 1980’s, a new prison was built. The old prison is now a popular night club, The Cell Block.

The Grit Building – West Third Street
The Grit Publishing company moved into this building in 1891.  The photo was taken around 1900.  The photo on the right was taken June 2014. The magazine’s circulation hit its high point in 1969 with 1.5 million subscribers. Grit was a pioneer in the introduction of offset printing.  The Grit was a part of Williamsport for 111 years. 

106 East Fourth Street
The illustration of the Judge James Gamble House is circa 1876. The picture on the right shows the house in June 2014.  Judge Gamble purchased the house in 1870, originally a brick mansion, and took away the building’s original Greek-Revival décor by adding Victorian style trim to the exterior. 

West Fourth Street near Pine Street
The post card on the left is from the mid 1960’s. The biggest change seems to be the addition of trees, which
unfortunately block the modern view somewhat.