Sycamore & Jefferson · Newtown, Pennsylvania
You restore it to last another 200.
Join history in the makingArtist rendering
For two hundred years, this corner has answered whatever Newtown asked of it.
A family's first roof. A tavern's open door. A store counter worn smooth by hands. A ballot cast. A lesson learned. A factory's long shifts. And for generations, a table set for dinner.
Today it stands quiet, opened up and waiting. We are restoring it with care, so it can welcome the town again.
Coming home · 2028
ChapterI
The Past
Every era left its mark: a fieldstone base laid by hand, a storefront window that framed a town, a porch where a school class once posed beneath the flag. Walk through time.
F.B. Wentworth General Merchandise, 1880s
He set aside ninety acres along Newtown Creek as a common, owned jointly by the town. By the 1790s the common was unpopular and was divided into lots. Its edge became Sycamore Street, an important road in Newtown Township.
The building began as a private residence in the first quarter of the 1800s. Until the 1870s, Newtown was almost all farmland.
By the middle of the century it had become a tavern and a store. For almost half a century it was the township's only tavern.
This is where people in the township came to vote.
Store owner F.B. Wentworth bought the building and built the large addition in back that still defines it today.
The building was used as a school. Pictured: a Newtown High School class on the front porch.
The building was sold and became a factory for a man who made turn signals for automobiles. After the business closed, it became a private residence.
The porch, the windows, and the fieldstone base, much as they look today.
A run of restaurants where generations of Newtown met for dinner.
Opened to the studs, measured beam by beam, and still standing after two hundred years.
The lights come back on. The doors open. The corner takes its place at the center of town again.
Swipe to explore→
Some historic photographs have been digitally restored.
“What happens here in the future is almost as important as what's happened here in the past.”
Jeff Marshall, Historian
ChapterII
The Present
The walls are open. The beams are measured. What is original stays. What was added later and is no longer sound is replaced in kind.
Inside today: walls opened to the studs
The road so far
In chess, the best players think several moves ahead. So do we.
Tap any square to see the move
In 2026, we took ownership of 203 N. Sycamore, committed to restoring it for the long run.
We hired a historian to document the building's past before any work begins.
We brought in structural engineers to assess the structure and plan how to make it safe.
Ralph C. Fey AIA Architects designed a plan that keeps the building's historic form.
Reviewed and approved by Newtown's historic review boards and zoning.
The later, non-historic patio deck was removed. Second-floor floorboards were salvaged and stored on site.
Final plans are in hand, and we are selecting the team that will build them.
Restoration and new construction, inside first, then out.
The doors open again.
Our goalPreserve the property and its historic form while making it safe for future use.
ChapterIII
The Future
A restaurant and gathering place where neighbors share a table, celebrate, and make new memories on the same corner where generations made theirs. Ground floor first, then up to the terrace.
The Outdoor Terrace · Artist rendering
Artist renderings. Final design subject to review and approval.
Exterior renderings by Ralph C. Fey AIA Architects. Design in progress.
“It's iconic. And it is ready for its next life.”
Ralph Fey, Architect
Coming home · 2028
Be the first to hear about construction milestones, new chapters of the story, and opening day.
In their words
“I remember first walking in and meeting Priya and feeling like I had just met the loving version of my mother who had passed 8 years ago. Priya has one of those rare spirits that is warm, welcoming, caring, and it felt like I instantly knew her. That feeling made me want to get to know Priya. That first meeting began as a momentary introduction and ended in a 3 hour conversation the end of which had me wanting to help Priya and her family. She said, ‘Could you buy my building?’ Three months later, that’s exactly what I did. Since then, I have been committed to bringing the building back to prominence. I believe this moment helped Priya and her family start fresh. Through the process, she has become one of my dear friends.”