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Lyman Perry Architects | nantucket • pennsylvania |
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675 Lancaster Avenue, Berwyn PA
19312 610-889-9966 2 Union Street, Nantucket MA 02554 610-889-9966 |
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| Cassatt Crossing
The site and story of this renovated office building is rich in history. It was built as The Berwyn Theater in 1913 along the Main Line, which was Alexander Cassatt's westward extension of the Pennsylvania Railroad.
The train helped shuttle locals to see performers such as Beverly Sills. Live theater shows eventually gave way to movies, and the theatre was converted into the Berwyn Theatre in the 1940's.
In 1951 the space was reopened as the Berwyn Roller Rink. With the soaring popularity of rock and roll, Dick Clark, host of American Bandstand, regularly held a record hop at the rink and introduced many
famous rock and roll stars there. The roller rink closed its doors in the late 1970s.
Since 1980, it has been an office building. Twenty-two years later, the ordinary, common office spaces were transformed into a 13,000 s.f. open, light-filled space by Lyman Perry Architects.
There is a nod towards its history in this latest renovation, where the large volume that once seated the audience is now a single, two-story volume for a large office space.
Where once was a balcony and projection booth there is now an office mezzanine. The original metal roof trusses are exposed, displaying the structure typical of the early 20th Century.
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