This historic building, once neglected and underused, now shines like a beacon at the corner of West Walnut and North Prince Street, sitting on a prime intersection at the gateway to downtown Lancaster and its thriving arts community.
In 2017 Henrietta Heisler purchased the historic building. The restoration work needed was substantial. However, as the renovation commenced, it was as though this grand building had come out of hiding. Behind the pent roof shrouding its façade, the building’s original 15½-foot-high window frames were still intact. Removing the building’s drop-ceiling panels revealed its original, beautiful, patterned tin ceiling.
The 20,953-square-foot masonry building occupies the full floor plate at its 252 North Prince Street site. Beneath the building’s wood-frame roof you’ll find a high-ceilinged first floor, the original mezzanine, and an expansive 9,000-square-foot basement.
She named it the “Accelerator Building” as a nod to the building’s original use as an auto dealership, but also to highlight the accelerating momentum of Lancaster City’s downtown revitalization.
The Accelerator building received the C Emlen Urban Adaptive Reuse Award, presented The Accelerator building received the C Emlen Urban Adaptive Reuse Award, presented for projects that reuse a historic structure, site, or portion of a building for purposes other than it was originally built. Presented by the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County, for projects that reuse a historic structure, site, or portion of a building for purposes other than it was originally built.
