The I. Frank Lees Collection forms the backbone of the collections of the Media Historic Archives Commission, and is its reason for being. MHAC--an official arm of the Media, Pennsylvania government--was created to administer a collection of photographs and other material which I. Frank Lees (1919-1999), a lifelong resident, donated to the borough in 1981. The collection contains roughly 15,000 items, including the more than 1,800 photographs which are presented here. More photographs from this collection, and from other collections donated after Lees' death in 1999, will be added to this site in the future.
THANKS TO
- Chris Welc, for scanning more than 1,000 photographs in the photograph folders that Frank Lees had created. and for creating the first version of the Excel spreadsheet that became the basis of the catalog records on this site.
- Adam Levine scanned hundreds more photographs, fleshed out the photograph descriptions, and created the final metadata now attached to each image.
- Media Borough Council approved the purchase of a new computer and scanners for MHAC, and funded the creation and upkeep of this website.
Spatial Coverage
Media, Pennsylvania and vicinity, as well as other locations (including the Panama Canal Zone) related to Media people.
The former Media Free Library, at Jasper and Jackson streets, was then behind used as a temporary home for the borough government office. View is looking southeast from west side of Jackson Street.
View also shows Fish Jeweler and other shops to the east of borough hall, and the old library building at Jasper and Jackson streets. The new firehouse has not yet been built, dating this somewhat earlier than other similar photographs in this collection. This is an enlargement from a Kodachrome slide.
The building is decorated for a patriotic event. Gulf gas pump in foreground dates this probably in the 1910-1920 range. This is a contact print from a 2 x 3 inch film negative, and was possibly taken by Streeper.
