JENELLE JANCI | Staff WriterGregory J. Scott just can’t get enough of C. Emlen Urban.
Scott, partner emeritus at RLPS Architects and author of LNP | LancasterOnline’s Design Intervention column, has good reason for his fixation. Urban’s impactful architectural design is literally built into Lancaster city’s history, from Southern Market to the Griest Building.
In 2022, Scott teamed up with photographer Matthew Tennison on the book “Urban Legend,” an exploration of 25 of Urban’s architectural achievements in Lancaster. It was the first release from their shared publishing company, Egg and Dart Books.
But he still has more to share. Scott and Egg and Dart Books recently released another look at Urban’s work, “Urban Alphabet: The Work of C. Emlen Urban.” While his first release was a coffee table showstopper, the new paperback is more portable. That’s intentional, as Scott hopes readers will take it with them as they explore Urban’s works on a walk downtown.
Here, Scott shares about the inspiration and process behind creating “Urban Alphabet.”
CHECK OUT SCOTT'S PREVIOUS DESIGN INTERVENTION SERIES: 'Lancaster in Style': A series retrospective in centuries of images
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
“Urban Legend” was a sprawling look at C. Emlen Urban’s work and impact in Lancaster, and you gave numerous talks and educational presentations in the area to promote it. What did you make of the response to that release?
I was both overwhelmed and humbled by the enthusiastic response from the community following the release of “Urban Legend: The Life and Legacy of C. Emlen Urban.” Readers from all walks of life have embraced the book and refer to it as a "tome and monograph" ... two words I was not familiar with and had to look up. Publishers have acknowledged "Urban Legend" as setting “...the gold standard for future publications on historical architecture.” The continued positive response and encouragement from readers of the Urban books, the LNP|LancasterOnline Design Intervention column, historic walking tours and endless lecture series provide me with the fuel that keeps my passion to produce more books burning strongly.
"Urban Alphabet."
And, of course, you’re not done writing about Urban just yet. Why did you feel his work deserved a series of books?
Referring to C. Emlen Urban as Lancaster’s most prolific architect is easy to defend. When I started my serious research in 2017, there were two paper periodicals produced by the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County crediting Urban with 94 commissions in the Lancaster and Hershey communities. As of this writing, my research historian, Deb Oesch, has identified 791 commissions in seven states including Connecticut and Kansas. We continue to discover more commissions by casting our net into new unchartered waters, (like) industry trade journals such as The American Architect and Brick Builders.
Those familiar with your “Architect’s Alphabet” series in your Design Intervention column for LNP will find the format of “Urban Alphabet” familiar. Why do you like this approach – letter by letter – to exploring specific elements of architecture, or in this case, an architect’s work?
Almost 24 years to the day, Nov. 18, 2000, I wrote my first story for LNP … I quickly realized how quickly four weeks rolls around and found myself searching and stressing out over a design subject to write about each month. After about eight years, I caught onto the idea of writing a series and would select a subject that would potentially fill one or two years, a chassis of sorts to help organize my brain. … Local schoolteachers loved it for their classrooms, and architectural enthusiasts loved it for their Sunday afternoon walks around town. Requests to publish the alphabet series in book form kept growing — so I acquiesced.
What was the most difficult letter to fill?
Without a doubt, X is the most challenging letter to fill. There are only three or four worth considering, and most are chemical compounds or sealants. If it were not for the letter X, I could easily produce three or four more alphabet books.
If you had to pick a “Mount Rushmore” of the four architectural elements you think most define Urban’s style, what would they be?
Asking me to choose four of my favorite architectural terms in the book is like asking me to name my favorite child. They are all wonderful and special!
I will close my eyes and select four. Urban used these four design elements extensively throughout his 50-year career:
Acanthus: Defined by its distinctive serrated leaf structure, the ancients carved its beauty in wood and stone as a symbol of longevity and immortality. Urban used the acanthus leaf motif extensively in his classical styles of architecture throughout his portfolio of work.
Cartouche: Of French origin, the cartouche is the decorative oval shield or medallion centered above entrances, windows, arches and prominent locations on a building. Once identified, the passerby will take note that they appear everywhere in our architecture; inside and outside. Some cartouche are very ornate, as seen on the 1911 Hager Building, while others are subdued, as illustrated on the former Watt & Shand Building.
The 1911 Hager Building on West King Street in Lancaster sports a white glazed terra cotta cartouche.
Egg and dart: It is of little wonder that egg and dart was chosen as the name of our publishing company. Dating to 500 BC, it is the most common decorative design motif in classical architecture. Many historians contend that the alternating rows of eggs (ovolo) and darts (arrows) represent life and death. Urban used this distinctive design feature extensively throughout his career as seen in the interiors of the 1904 Fulton Theatre [redesign] and Stevens High School.
Terra cotta: Terra cotta has been in use for thousands of years as a popular decorative design element noted for its durability, beauty and malleability. Urban was quick to embrace the qualities and splendor of unglazed terra cotta for his late-19th-century commissions, including the many Queen Anne homes on West Chestnut and North Duke streets.
As a lifelong scholar of Urban, it’s hard to imagine there being anything about him you don’t know at this point. Still: did you learn anything new in the process of writing this book?
Yes. What I learned through years of intense research is that Urban and I share a parallel life story. We were born 86 years apart, but our personal life stories intersect at least 19 times: from marrying high school sweethearts, to the birth order of our children and grandchildren, to pinpointed mental illness in our families, setting up identical trust funds and buying homes for our families. There is no denying that Urban himself played a major role in having these books published. I was his messenger destined to tell his amazing untold story.
Leaf-and-dart decoration can be seen on the former Jacob W. Fehl building in the first block of North Duke Street. Fehl was a local insurance executive and real-estate investor.
Is there still another title in the series yet to come?
Oh, yes! Next up is “Urban and the Chocolate King.” It chronicles the untold story of his lifelong relationship with Milton S. Hershey from 1884 until his death in 1939. Urban designed the stately mansion for Hershey on South Queen Street when he was only 26. When Hershey decided to leave Lancaster in 1900, he commissioned Urban to lay out the town and design all the buildings in his new age industrial community, a total exceeding 148 structures.
“Urban and the Chocolate King” will be followed by “Urban Lost & Found.” This third monograph will chronicle all the new Urban discoveries unearthed in our unending research. As mentioned earlier, there were 94 documented commissions in 2017. We are now exceeding over 791 commissions. “Lost & Found” will also pay respects and celebrate the Urban (works) that have been lost through the years by renewal efforts and neglect.
ERIN NEGLEY | Staff Writer
