The Man Who Built the Trinity Memorial Church
- Yen Ho
- 6 hours ago
- 2 min read
Ever wonder who was behind the construction of Ambler's most famous buildings? If you look at the 1916 map of Ambler, you would see the name "L. B. Heckler" all over the northeastern and southeastern parts of the borough. The homes associated with his name were built during the Keasbey & Mattison era. It was Mattison who appointed "L. B. Heckler" to build the Trinity Memorial Church in honor of his daughter Esther.
Who Was L. B. Heckler?
Leidy Barringer Heckler, Sr. (1859-1925) was born in Hilltown Township in Bucks County, PA. After his marriage in 1896, he moved to Ambler where he began his interest in contracting building. The most important buildings he built in Ambler were the Trinity Memorial Church and the Mattison Avenue School.
Architecture Style
There are specific sections of Ambler you can find the homes built by Leidy B. Heckler. As you drive east on Butler Avenue, you would turn left onto Hendricks Street (and turning right into Fairview Avenue or Heckler Street) where you would find a lot of Foursquare House-style buildings. The American Foursquare House came into popularity from the mid-1890s to the 1930s. These homes were very popular in the streetcar suburbs when trains and other transportations became more convenient, and most importantly, they were affordable.
There are four architectural features that makes it a Foursquare House: cube shape, hipped roof, dormer, and full porch. By looking at the plan view of the homes, they are more deep than wide to maximize the space of the lot. With the home being cube-shaped, it's easier to manage when constructed without worrying about crafting complex and ornate designs on a Victorian-style home.
You would also find Heckler's American Foursquare Houses on Mattison Avenue near South Bethlehem Pike.
Bibliography
"Emmy Simon Postcard Collection." Wissahickon Valley Historical Society. Accessed December 31, 2024. https://www.wvalleyhs.org/whittocks-whitpain/.
Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator. Keasbey & Mattison Company, Four-Square House Type, 43 Hendricks Street, Ambler, Montgomery County, PA. Pennsylvania Ambler Montgomery County, 1933. Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/pa3310/.
Mueller, A. H. Atlas of the North Penn Section of Montgomery County, Pa., Plate 26, 1916.
"Obituary: Leidy B. Heckler." Ambler Gazette. November 5, 1925. Page 3. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_16425.
Osterhout, Jennifer. "What is a Foursquare House?" Everyday Old House. Last modified January 26, 2018. https://everydayoldhouse.com/american-foursquare-house/.
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