Desmond Street Park.
Sayre, Pennsylvania.

By 1880, what we know today as downtown Sayre was underway. The current Sayre passenger station was completed in 1881, and the Desmond street business district buildings were being built by that time as well. By 1900, Sayre was a thriving town.

Part of the original downtown Sayre included a beautiful small town park, known as "Desmond Street Park", this park existed for about 80 years (about 1880 to 1959), it occupied the space between the railroad station and the downtown business district, tying the important passenger station and the rest of downtown together into one pleasing scene.

This was a much loved park, and many Valley residents still remember it fondly from their youth, waiting for family members arriving by train, waiting for Dad to get out of work at the Sayre shops, and simply enjoying the park as downtown bustled around them.

But times changed..by the late 1950's passenger service on the LV was ending, and some felt the park could be better used to increase commerce in town..at the time, this was considered "progress" and many probably just accepted it, (although it is also known that many were dismayed at the loss of the park!) A large new business opened in downtown Sayre in 1960, the J.J. Newberry company, who owned a chain of department stores around the USA. The Newberry's building took over the entire space once occupied by Desmond Street Park.

Newberry's in Sayre thrived through the 1960's, 70's and 80's, but by the 1990's business slowed and eventually the store (and the entire Newberry's chain) closed down. A dollar store then opened in the building, but that also eventually closed. By 2012 (and the writing of this webpage) the store is now empty, abandoned and becoming quite derelict.

Times change, again..The Valley once had three thriving downtown business districts, Waverly, Sayre and Athens. The community at large has evolved and changed over the years, and Elmira street has become the new "main" shopping district for the Valley as a whole, and the downtown shopping districts have struggled to survive. They still have businesses! most of them quite successful..but not as many business as there once was. Today, a large commercial store space in downtown Sayre is simply not needed. The old Newberry's building is now simply a relic of the mid-20th century way of life, no longer needed or wanted.

Many people have begun wondering about, and discussing that lost downtown Sayre park. Some early discussion about the possibility of "restoring the park" first hit the internet about 2005. For several years it was just a wistful thought, no one suggested an actual business should be forced to move (the dollar store still occupied the site at the time)..as long as the building was still being used, it should of course remain.

But in 2012 two things changed that *really* got a head of steam going under this idea! The building became empty, and a facebook group really got the idea of the park going! with a huge amount of community support this time! The facebook group is:

"Growing up in the Valley Memory Lane"

If you are from the Valley, and enjoy reading about or discussing "the old days" then you should definitely join this group!  It has over 10,000 members! It is very active, very friendly, and always has some great discussions going on! It is this group that has really formed the nucleus of the "restore the park" movement starting in 2012, and continuing forward to today.

What a great idea it would be to *restore* Desmond Street Park! The Newberry's store is not needed, and the businesses that do remain in downtown Sayre could really benefit from the beautification of Sayre this park could bring! The park would mean a much more attractive downtown, which would draw more people, which could only be good for business! If some considered the removal of the park in the first place a "mistake"..the time has come to fix that mistake!

This webpage is being built and maintained to go along with the "Growing up in the Valley Memory Lane" Facebook group. The facebook group already contains most of the photos on this page, but I thought a place where *all* the photos and ideas could be seen together, all in one place, would be beneficial and interesting, to help support the project. If anyone has anything they would like to add, more photos, suggestions, anything at all! please email me (link at the bottom of the page)

On to the photos!
below are all the known (so far) photos of the original Desmond Street Park..most of these photos are believed to be public domain. I will give the photographer name, if known. (most are so old the photographer's name has been lost to history)

View of Desmond Street park and the Sayre passenger station. looking North from the Packer ave bridge. Probably 1890's or early 1900's. photographer unknown:



View of Desmond Street park, the Sayre passenger station, and the Black Diamond Express!  looking North from the Packer ave bridge, about 1910. photographer unknown:

Now lets walk down off the Packer avenue bridge and take a walk around the park..

View of Desmond Street park. from the south, looking North. the Lehigh Valley passenger station is on the right, Desmond street park and the downtown business district on the left. A 1918 postcard from a photo taken about 1917:

View of Desmond Street park, looking North-West from Packer Avenue. 1940's. Photographer unknown:

A postcard made from the previous photo:

View of the Lehigh Valley passenger station from the edge of the park, looking East, showing the "Sayre Canteen" during World War One. During both WWI and WWII the LV moved a huge amount of troops via "troop trains" from the Mid-West to New York City, where the troops shipped out to the European battlefields. (and the LV also brought the boys back home after the war!) The LV, Sayre, and the Valley community at large hosted "canteens" for all the troops as they passed through Sayre, offering free food, drinks and refreshments. The photo below shows the Sayre Canteen during WWI as troops lined up in Sayre. Photo is at the edge of Desmond Street Park:

View of Desmond Street park and Desmond street, looking North from the intersection of Packer ave and Desmond street. Note the Trolley car! and the ramp to the walkbridge visible through the trees. Today the Newberry's building occupies the space on the right side of this photo. This photo is from the early 20th Century:

Still at the same intersection as the photo above, the corner of Packer ave and Desmond street, but going forward in time several decades, and turning slightly to the right. View across the park to the LV passenger station. the famous walkbridge is in the background. 1940's or 50's:

View of Desmond Street park and Desmond street, looking North. This scene is at the approximate location of the current "main" entrance to the Newberry's building, looking north up Desmond street, 1890's. from an old postcard:

Same approximate location as the postcard above, turning to the right to look across the park to the LV passenger station. 1930's:

View looking across Desmond street park, facing East, from Desmond street toward the railroad station. The LV's Seneca Division office building is visible through the trees in the center, (that building no longer exists today) Passenger station to the right, and again you can see the entrance ramp to the walkbridge on the left. From an old postcard dated 1906:

Another View of the Lehigh Valley passenger station from the edge of the park, looking East. Early 20th century, photographer unknown:

Climbing up onto the walkbridge and looking back at the park. Again the "Seneca Division Office" building is visible on the left, with the passenger station hidden behind the trees in the center-left of this photo:

Up on the walkbridge! looking out toward the station and the park. View is looking west, 1930's. photographer unknown. The big 2-10-2 locomotive, without its tender, is probably being prepared for conversion into a 2-8-2 at the Sayre shops. The park is visible between the station and the downtown business district:

And lastly, a view of the park near the end of its days, also taken from the famous walkbridge. exact date of this photo is unknown, but it's sometime in the 1950's. Photo by Lloyd Hall:

Phase 2 of the Park site begins, 1959:

In October 1959, the park's trees were cut down, the park was bulldozed, and the Newberry's building began to rise in its place..

A last look at the Park, from the Evening Times, October 19, 1959, looking North, with the approach to the Packer ave bridge in the foreground:

Trees are cut down on October 22, 1959:

Thanks! to Dawn Fenton for finding those two newspaper articles, and posting them on the "Growing up in the Valley Memory Lane" facebook group.

The Newberrys store opened in the summer of 1960. Here is an early photo showing the Newberry's building, taken about 1963:

Compare that photo with this earlier image from the same location:

And here are a few recent photos of the site, to show what the Newberry's building looks like today:

Phase 3 of the Park site?
The idea of restoring Desmond Street Park!

Wouldn't a nice clean small park look *so* much nicer than an old building way past it's prime? Downtown Sayre has already been undergoing some very nice "beautification" over the past few years..Two buildings in particular stand out as great examples of what can be achieved..The beautiful Wilbur Building at the corner of Desmond street and Packer ave, restored in 2002:

And the classic Lehigh Valley Railroad Passenger station, also beautifully restored recently, by the Sayre Historical Society!

Imagine these two stately Victorian structures, once again facing each other across the paths, grass and trees of a beautiful park, as they once did, instead of being blocked from each other by an ugly monolith of an abandoned building and an empty parking lot:

It *can* be done!

Here are a few "artist renderings" of a new park on the site, this first one is a bit stylized, but it was made quickly to show the members of a LVRR discussion forum what site was being discussed..Aerial photo from 1971:
Scot Lawrence, 2005

And this one uses a modern aerial photo, also photoshopping out the Newberry's building and replacing it with a park:
Eric Bateman, 2012

Notice the locomotive on display in the park! That has also been a popular idea for the past several years.

Let's say this park does get built..what will it contain? obviously paths, grass, trees, benches..perhaps a gazebo..what else? Well, since we know Sayre owes its very existence to the Lehigh Valley Railroad, how a about an actual LV locomotive on display in the park?! Sure this might be an idea for several years down the road, we need to actually get the park
built first! but there is nothing wrong with dreaming..

There is a genuine LV caboose (built in Sayre!) on display next to the Sayre Historical Society museum at the Sayre train station, and in recent years there was an idea in the works to also get a LV locomotive to display there as well! Unfortunately that particular project fell-through, due to circumstances beyond the control of the Historical Society, so for now there are no specific plans for a locomotive display in Sayre..but it could still happen!

Back in the late 1940's the LV offered, for free, one its recently retired steam locomotives to display in Desmond Street park, one of the large "Wyoming" type 4-8-4 locomotives, the newest, last, and most modern of all LV steam locomotives:

For reasons unknown, Sayre turned the railroad down! and the locomotive went to scrap with the rest of them..If the big Wyoming had been preserved in the park, today it would be the only surviving LV Steam locomotive, but sadly it was not to be..

But now, 60 years later, this kind of preservation could still happen! It would have to be a LV diesel locomotive this time, since no LV steam locomotives survive, but thats ok..A diesel is still a fine specimen for a town park! many locomotives are lovingly displayed in town and city parks all over the USA, and indeed the world! just a couple of examples:

What better way to honor Sayre's history than a genuine LV locomotive!
Painted up in it's original bright LVRR Cornell Red!

Several classes of LV locomotives still exist today, and many are still operating with railroads! forty, fifty, even sixty years after they were built..But! they can't operate forever..eventually, probably soon in the coming years, most of them will be retired..and many will still be scrapped! The time is perfect to try to get such a locomotive to Sayre! Several types of LV diesels still survive, such as the GP38-2's:

Greg J. McDonnell photo.

The Alco C420's:

The U-Boats:

and several classes of LV diesel switchers:

J. Hunt collection, http://www.northeast.railfan.net

And others..Norfolk Southern, the railroad that runs through Sayre today, is still operating all four of the LV GP38AC locomotives! These locomotive can, and do, visit Sayre on occasion..(Wearing NS black paint of course) but still, they are LV survivors! even if their red has been painted over. For the full list of surviving LV locomotives, see the LV Surviving Locomotives webpage.

And that is everything for now..but this page will be updated! new info added as things (hopefully) progress, and if anyone has anything they would like to share on this page, photos, more info, anything! please send me an email! (link below) and don't forget to keep up with the discussions about the park on the facebook page.

And please feel free to share this webpage! Sharing of the link is welcome and encouraged! you have my permission, you don't need to ask, just go ahead and do it! I made an easy "tiny url" just for that purpose, please use:

 tinyurl.com/desmondstreetpark

for the link to this webpage.
use it just like that! no "http" or "www" is necessary.

Can this park get built? of course it can! community support is building, everyone loves the idea. It can only improve and beautify downtown Sayre, which would benefit everyone, residents and business owners alike..

I will update this page as things progress.

Thanks!
Scot

Some of my other webpages related to the Valley (and Valley Railroads specifically) you might find interesting:

The Black Diamond Express - 1896

Lehigh Valley Railroad Surviving Locomotives

The Sayre Walkbridge

Various "tours" around local railroad sites.

My main webpage.

And other useful links, for the "Restore Desmond Street Park" movement!

The Sayre Historical Society

Sayre "Morning Times" newspaper

"Growing up in the Valley Memory Lane"
facebook page, (where much discussion about this idea is going on)

Borough of Sayre, Pennsylvania, official page.

This webpage by Scot Lawrence - Valley Native! and proud of it..
Born in Sayre, grew up in Waverly. (WHS class of 1987)