All photos are southbound.


But first, this is on Swamp Rd. EB in Wrightstown as it crosses PA 232 and passes by the old Eight Square School. It really should just be called the Octagon School, but back in the 19th century, octagons hadn't been invented yet, so this was just an 8-sided square. (A circle was a 100-sided square, because they hadn't yet invented curves.) It's on the southeast corner, although back then, instead of "southeast," it was known as "east-square-south".


John Pitcairn, Jr. brought oil refinement to Oil City, built the first natural gas manufacturing pipeline, and established the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, now a worldide corporation known as PPG Industries. So, yeah, he had the kind of money to build a home like this. It's known as the Cairnwood Estate and it's just west of PA 232 in Bryn Athyn.


Raymond Pitcairn is unsurprisingly the son of John Pitcairn, Jr. He used his father's money to establish a law and business career and dabble in the eccentric art of amateur architecture. And yet there's somehow nothing amateurish about his two great creations: Bryn Athyn Cathedral and his residence, now home of the Glencairn Museum. (Notice the "cairn" naming theme?) Both are just south of Cairnwood Estate. After spending on all these grand buildings, any wonder that the Pitcairn name has no special meaning nowadays?


And on into Philadelphia, where the shields change from PennDOT standard to Philadelphia phunky.

Onto PA 73
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