Wow! Haverford College saved their log cabin by the duck pond, what's up with Eastern College? Why aren't they preservationist minded? What's a college without a little history????
Residents: Don't axe log cabin
By Ryan Richards 10/12/2006

To Eastern University, the log cabin is dilapidated and not worth restoring. But to a group of Radnor residents, the structure is an integral part of the township's architectural legacy.

An ad-hoc committee of members from the Radnor Historical Society and Radnor Conservancy has just been formed to try a last-ditch effort to save the spacious 1912 cabin. The university plans to demolish the rustic structure on Monday.

The cabin was originally part of an estate that includes the 40-room Walton Hall, which overlooks Willow Lake and is now used by the university.

"This was a focal point of the estate," believed Ted Pollard, president of the historical society, "and was a major part of the overall landscape."

According to the university's Web site, the cabin, once used as a lodge for outdoor parties and special occasions by the Walton family, subsequently served as the school's student center, book store and music-rehearsal space during the early years of the school, in the 1950s and 1960s. As the building deteriorated over the years, it was closed off and is now unused.

Pollard pointed out that the cabin and the mansion were designed by prominent architect D. Knickerbacher Boyd and builder Jonathan D. Lengel. The pair is responsible for such well-known Wayne buildings as the Wayne Hotel and the Saturday Club.

"Each property owner is the steward of his/her land and institutions should be held to an even higher standard," said Pollard. "Demolition-by-neglect has been used for years to get rid of historic properties. The cabin is at the heart of the campus and could be a wonderful focal point from which students and visitors can enjoy the bucolic surroundings."

To that end, the ad-hoc committee wants to explore the appropriate adaptive reuse of the structure, believing the 1,700 square feet of space on the first floor could serve the small campus well.

.... Beverlee Barnes, a member of the Radnor Conservancy and a Wayne resident, said the committee intends to ask the university to grant a stay of demolition. It proposes a discussion to conduct another survey to determine what would be the cost to rehabilitate the structure.

"There might be grant options out there," said Barnes. "The building is truly a historic and significant building and worthy of saving or protecting."