Located in beautiful downtown West Chester, PA the Chester County Historical Society's main building was original the YMCA. The main body of the old YMCA building was built in two sections, both begun in 1908. The Sharples gymnasium was built by business entrepreneur and philanthropist P.M. Sharples, who offered to donate it to the Y if the YMCA agreed to build an additional building on the same land. The two structures were both designed by noted Philadelphia architect Charles Barton Keen and were ultimately joined by a "hyphen" or corridor. An addition in 1928 expanded the facilities, and in 1959, a new entrance corridor obscured the buildings' original appearance. The restoration project undertaken by CCHS restores the High Street facade to its original Colonial Revival appearance. Today the main building includes our introductory museum galleries, library, photo archives, museum shop, classrooms, administrative offices and Auditorium. Catherine Quillman