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.
Media Centennial headquarters, in a building shared with Media Real Estate Company, on South Avenue (now Veteran's Square) behind the First National Bank.
Media Centennial headquarters, in a building shared with Media Real Estate Company, on South Avenue (now Veteran's Square) behind the First National Bank.
Mr. and Mrs. William M. Wenlock. According to the Chester Times, June 7, 1950, p. 15, these are costumes from the 1820s. She was the former Dorothy Anne Kane. The house number behind them is 318, like somewhere in Media, where they both lived.
Frank Lees caption, incomplete: "In front of John's Grille, Monroe and Baker Streets, 1950. Left to right, standing: Hershey Wiler [sic], Frank Hedge, John Banis, Walter Tipping" Abram Hershey Weiler lived on Manchester Avenue in Nether Providence, was a World War II veteran and a member of the Media VFW post. [Chester Times, obituary, June 13, 1970)
Unknown men during Centennial Celebration, near Media High School athletic field, probably on Edgemont Street. The Thunderbird automobile is the real star of this picture.
