A Walking Tour of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania
Bloomsburg’s original town streets were laid out in 1802 by Ludwig and John Adam Eyer, confident
that the location at a regional crossroads would guarantee growth. After a slow start the village grew
rapidly in the latter half of the 19th century. A majority of the buildings in the Historic District date
from that era,with a few earlier (1830-1850) and a number of 20th-century buildings. Architectural
styles are varied,from austere Federal to highly decorative Second Empire and Romanesque.
The “character” of the downtown is evoked chiefly by two- and three-story brick commercial buildings
erected along Main Street before 1900. These buildings evidence a variety of 19th-century styles, but
many of them have common features: narrow sash windows,ornamental brickwork, wrought-iron
details,and prominent cornices (roof-line projections). The focal point of the downtown is the Market
Square with its Civil War monument and Stroup Fountain. Important landmark buildings are
Bloomsburg University’s Carver Hall,Bloomsburg Town Hall,and the Columbia County Courthouse.
The adjoining residential districts,particularly on Market Street and Fifth Street,display numerous
attractive homes from the same era. Some of these are fairly grand but all were built as “liveable”
single-family homes. Several homes retain hitching-posts in front and/or small stables at the back,relics
of the pre-automobile age when the homes were built.
In the 1980s the Town of Bloomsburg began a concerted effort to maintain and enhance its
architectural heritage. The Town Council established a Historic District, roughly five blocks long and
four wide. The Town also created a Historic Architectural Review Board to assess building-permit
applications to ensure that the historic qualities of the District are preserved even in details such as the
style of windows.
This walking tour will begin at Market Square and radiate in every direction...
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