Centre Street at Main St., looking north
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There were quite a few postcards produced back in the day that showed street views of Freeland. Some of them are reproduced here. If you have any others, I would be interested in purchasing copies of them. The view at the top of this page shows Centre Street looking north from Main Street.  That's the Birkbeck Block in the left foreground -- a large building which housed William Birkbeck's hardware and plumbing business, and later a succession of other businesses. This is apparently a rare view, and I only have this poor-quality digital image, so I can't provide a larger view without making it totally blurry. If you happen to know someone who owns a copy of this postcard, would you please let me know? I would like to purchase a copy of it for my files. A few of the following views are provided courtesy of J. Zubach.

STREETS RUNNING NORTH-SOUTH:

Centre and Front Streets, looking north Centre and Front Streets, looking north. On the right you see William A. Bachman's optometrist office; he also dealt in watches and clocks at the same location. On the left, on the corner, is Amandus Oswald's general store. Two other signs are legible on the west side of the street: "Home-made Candies - Fairchild's - Ice Cream" and "Light Heat Power". Many of these buildings are still standing and still identifiable.

looking sourth from just above Centre and Front Streets Looking south from just above Centre and Front Streets. At the left of the picture, in the foreground, is the print shop where the Semi-Weekly Progress newspaper was printed. Across the street you can see Amandus Oswald's general store on the corner, with its.covered entryway. There are several trees visible on the next block, including the one or two in front of the Central Hotel.

Centre and Front Streets, looking southeast Centre and Front Streets, looking southeast. On the right, the First National Bank stands on the corner. I'm not sure, but I think that the tree on the right is in front of the Central Hotel, which is set back slightly and not visible in this view. Compare this view to the next one, which shows the Central Hotel and the Citizens Bank. Again, a number of these buildings are still there and still recognizable. Notice the trolley tracks.

Centre Street: Central Hotel, Citizens Bank Centre Street, looking southwest toward the Central Hotel and the Citizens Bank. Next to the Central Hotel might be Steven B. Dvorshak's grocery and meat market (it's a little hard to read the sign, but the location is about right). Again, recognizable biuldings and trolley tracks. The Central Hotel also contained a livery stable and a number of other businesses that rented office or shop space from the proprietor, M. H. Hunsicker.

Centre and Front Streets, looking southeast Another view looking southeast at Centre Street from Front Street. On the right, the First National Bank stands on the corner. No more Central Hotel, no more trees, no trolley tracks, and look at the cars and buses! Also notice the unusual street light on the left side of the picture, hanging out over the street. Compare this view to the one above of Centre and Front Streets, looking southeast. Similar perspective, but a very different time period.

Centre Street at South Street, looking north Centre Street, looking north from South Street. This is a great picture, especially in light of the recent new contruction on this site. In thie photo, on the left in the foreground is the Valley Hotel (with a balcony), and next to it a drug store. On the right in the foreground, real estate and insurance offices. On the right, all the way in the background, you can see what looks like a church steeple. It's the borough building, which at this time still had a steeple. See the photo on my "Municipal Matters" page.

Centre and Front Streets, looking north Centre and Main Streets, looking north. On the left, on the corner, is the Birkbeck block. The tree halfway up the block marks the location of the Central Hotel. In the far distance at the top right you can see that steeple on the Municipal Building. Many of the buildings visible in this picture are still standing and still identifiable.



STREETS RUNNING EAST-WEST:

Walnut Street, looking west This view shows Walnut Street, looking west toward Centre Street from a block or two east of it (from Washington or Pine Streets?). The building at right in the foreground looks like a storefront, but I only have this low resolution digital photo and so I can't see enough detail to be able to tell. You can see the steeple of the borough building in the back right area of the photo.

Walnut Street, looking east Here we're looking east on Walnut Street toward Birkbeck Street, which you can see at the end of the street. The buildings on this street are mostly homes, as is the case today. There were some nice, large trees along this street. The second building from the left edge of the picture looks like a storefront of some kind, and has wooden doors in the sidewalk in front that would lead to the basement.

Front Street, looking west This is a great image, looking toward the intersection of Centre and Front Streets from about a half block east of the intersection, on Front Street. On the right you can see the sign for Sharp's Bakery. At the intersection across Centre Street you can see De Pierro's on the left (where the bank is now) and Oswald's general store on the right. The twin steeples of St. Mary's Church are visible in the background on the right. There were some nice-sized trees along the street, too.

Front Street, looking east from Centre Street Here's a view from a couple of decades later, standing at the intersection of Front and Centre Streets and looking east toward the Public Park instead of west. Unfortunately I only have this low resolution  digital photo, and so I can't provide any more detail or a clearer image than this. There are several recognizable buildings in this photo.

Corner of Front and Ridge Streets This postcard shows the view from the intersection of Front and Ridge Streets, looking north toward Walnut Street. This was a quiet residential area at the time of the photo, even more so than it is today, and although you can't see it here, the Bethel Baptist Church is at the end of the block ahead on the right.

Main Street, looking west This shows some beautiful homes with fenced lawns and yards, and quite a few trees along the street. The church steeple visible at right in the background is the original St. Luke's Lutheran Church, a wooden building that was later replaced by stone construction. I can't tell what's at the far end of the street -- trees? The Public Park is behind the person who photographed this view.

Main Street, looking east from Washington Street Here's another view from about a block up the street and facing the other direction, toward the park. The original St. Luke's is on the left, and the Cottage Hotel is on the right. This is another one that I only have this one low-resolution digital image of, and so I can't provide better detail at present. Still, it's enough to give you a sense of what that neighborhood looked like.

Avenue through the Public Park, looking east This is kind of an odd view. It shows an unpaved roadway through the park, looking westward toward the east end of Main Street, where the Park M. E. Church is. The caption of this postcard says, "Park Avenue, Freeland, Pa." You can see that at this time the park was still rather densely wooded.

Avenue through the Public Park, looking east In this view, the photographer was standing about a half block west of the Park M. E. Church, facing east toward the Public Park. You can see the church, the last building on the right. The postmark on this postcard is dated 1912, so while we don't know what year this photo was taken, we at least know that it's no later than 1912.


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