102 East Mermaid Lane, Philadelphia PA 19118
© Jane Mork Gibson, Workshop
of the World (Oliver Evans Press,
1990).
A dwelling known as "Mermaid
Hall" was constructed on the site c.1854 for Dr. Theodore
S. Williams. This was about the time of the opening of
the Germantown and Chestnut Hill Railroad (later the
Reading Railroad's Chestnut Hill Branch), which adjoined
the property. The building became a summer hotel in the
late nineteenth century, partly due to this proximity to
the railroad, the farmlands near-by, and the natural
beauty of the Cresheim Valley. Adelaide Meale owned the
house when it was purchased by the Yarnall-Waring Company
for offices in 1918. In converting the site to
manufacturing and testing use, a complex of buildings
surrounding the original mansion was constructed. In 1967
Yarnall-Waring moved to Blue Bell, and Spring Garden
College occupied the buildings from 1967 to 1985. At that
time the United Cerebral Palsy Association established a
center at the location and is the present owner and
occupant.
The Yarnall-Waring Company was established by three men
in 1908 to design and produce valves, controls, and steam
traps for the growing steam-power industry. Its founders
were Robert Yarnall, Mechanical Engineer, Bernard Waring
and a silent partner, Stokes of Stokes and Smith Company,
a manufacturer of paper box machinery. Moving from
1109-1111 Locust Street in Philadelphia, the active
principals became vice presidents and assumed the
management of the Nelson Valve Company on Mermaid Lane in
Wyndmoor in 1913, but they also retained the identity of
Yarnall-Waring as a separate entity. In 1918,
Yarnall-Waring moved to its own quarters at 102 East
Mermaid Lane where manufacturing operations continued for
forty-nine years. Buildings were erected for a machine
shop, and for an erection shop and testing facilities.
Son Robert Yarnall became president in 1962. The need for
further expansion caused the firm to relocate in 1967 to
Blue Bell, and the company was re-named "Yarway." In 1986
Yarway was sold to Keystone International.
1
Over the course of time both the interiors and exteriors
of the buildings in the complex have been altered so that
little if anything remains to indicate their earlier use
as a manufacturing complex. The original building is a
2-1/2 story stone Italianate dwelling converted to
offices. The other buildings are one- and two-story
brick buildings. The Chestnut Hill Meeting of the Society
of Friends occupies a one-story building on the site. The
Yarnalls were instrumental in founding the Meeting which
consists of two formerly hostile groups.
1 Harold E. Spaulding
telephone interview with Robert Yarnall, August 23, 1988.
Update May
2007 (by
Jane Mork Gibson):
The former industrial buildings have been converted to
classrooms and for other activities of the United
Cerebral Palsy of Philadelphia and Vicinity, a nonprofit
organization that provides services for children and
adults with physical and similar disabilities. This
former manufacturing plant, later used as a school, is
particularly appropriate for the current use and provides
appropriate space for a variety of activities that
require classrooms, workshops and offices. The new
impressive Daniel M. Tabas Entrance Pavilion is the
general access to the building, with a separate entrance
for adult drop-off from 8:00 to 9:30 a.m.
Activities include a UCP Best Friends Early Childhood
Program—from birth to 5 years old—that
includes both those with disabilities and those without.
There is sheltered employment for adults with
disabilities that utilizes former industrial space,
operating with a contract shop doing piecework and bulk
mailings. The UCP operates thirty houses throughout
Philadelphia, and offices are maintained in the building
for community social services, with social workers,
therapists, and teachers who go out in the field. The
following is a listing of departments: Adult Services,
Children Services, Development Services, Residential
Services, Recreation Services, Facilities and
Transportation Services, Social
Services.