A series of postcards was done in the 1920's to promote building and realestate in Springfield Twp. I was lucky years ago to get the complete set. The above picture is Saxer Ave. at Baltimore Pike. The building is the Delaware Valley Appliance store at 540 Baltimore Pike today. Notice all the trees in the background on the left and the house being built.
NOTE: I have been making progress with locating and identifying old unknown pictures of Delco. Detective Matt Hufnal was just great with Haverford Twp. and he is great with Google Earth which I'm not. Still have some unknown ones though. Chief Money of Eddystone was great and a big help too. Still a lot more to do. The Delco Times is letting me post pictures in the paper every Thursday in a section called, "History Mystery". Please take a look!!
February 5, 1924
PRICES OF HOMES TO REMAIN HIGH, BUILDER CLAIMS,
Depletion in Trade Ranks Contributing Cause to Big
Wages Builders Views
1.
Wages and materials will remain high
2.
Too many young men seeking collar-and-tie positions. Shortage of apprentices
3.
Five to ten percent of mechanics yearly drop trade for other positions
4.
Builders are waiting for prices to come down and this will not happen
Home seekers are going to find houses
away up in price in 1924, according to the opinion of Alexander R. Alessi, one
of the county’s leading builders.
In a statement yesterday R. Alessi
expressed himself as being certain that such conditions will prevail, and
giving as his reasons for this belief said:
“There are too many young fellows of today, who seek positions of the
white collar variety. Very few are
looking for hard work. This shortage of
young blood in the building trade is bound to be responsible for insufficient
labor.
“To make matters worse it has been
noticeable that every year from 5 to 10 per cent of carpenters leave their
trade, either to go into business for themselves, or to take some other job.
“Wages and material are going to
remain at the same standard as has been prevalent. Just before Christmas time the cost of
material dropped slightly. This was
undoubtedly due to the fact that many of the lumber men were in need of
Christmas money. But right at the first
of the year material again soared.
“There are many builders who will lay
back and await the return of material and wages to normalcy, but in my opinion
this will not happen during 1924.
“The conditions in 1924, therefore,
will be practically the same as last year.
Everything points toward this being a fact.”
Mr. Alessi is recognized as one of the
biggest men in his line in the county.
He now has under construction approximately one hundred modern
houses. He plans to erect more than two
hundred.
The development is situated just north
of Garrett Road on one of the best sites in the Sixty-Ninth Street section of
Upper Darby Township. The homes are of a
modern type, and so situated that seventy-five home seekers have found
satisfaction within the Alessi domain.
The consensus of opinion among other
builders in the county seems to lean toward the optimistic, John Morgan and
Frank Gillespie, operating in Clifton Heights, have said that 1924 should be a
big year for building in Delaware County.
The past year has seen an enormous
building boom in the county. Upper
Darby, especially, has experienced an extensive campaign. Patrick J. Lawler, who was instrumental in
building the homes which now comprise the community of Bywood, is continuing
his operations.
Just south of Bywood, in fact
adjoining the community, A. F. Diggins has begun operations for the
construction of one hundred homes. This is known as the “Beverly Hills”
development. The houses are springing up
with such rapidity, and becoming occupied so regularly that the traction
company has placed a station at this point.
In Clifton Heights, on the tract of
the Cherry Grove Realty Company, fifty homes are under construction. Three streets will be constructed through
this tract, formerly the old Fisher farm, and one of the most picturesque spots
in the eastern section.
In the east ward of Clifton, Building
Staron is continuing his operation. What was formerly the old ball field has
been sold and according to information in building circles, owners will start
shortly to surround the big field and several stores have been built.
Springfield Township has also
witnessed a tremendous building boom.
The recently purchased tract known as Springfield Gardens, owned by
LeBaron Hahn Company, is the scene of activity, while in South Springfield, John
J. Dougherty, one of the county’s big builders, is erecting many homes. Dr. Dougherty has already built more than one
hundred homes in this section, but the demand has been so great that he finds
additional ones are necessary.
Please come to part 1 of my Ridley Twp. History Talk this Monday. Please register as the library requests at ridleylibrary.org
See Below
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