West Chester

On its origins: "The area was originally known as Turk's Head, named after the inn of the same name located in what is now the center of the borough."¹ "West Chester has been the seat of government in Chester County since 1786 when the seat was moved from nearby Chester in what is now Delaware County. The borough was incorporated in 1799."¹

On the town it built: At its center stands a courthouse "designed in the 1840s by Thomas U. Walter, one of the architects for the Capitol in Washington, D.C."¹ The Chester County Courthouse "was built in 1846 at a cost of $55,346 and was designed by Thomas U. Walter. Walter also designed the dome of the United States Capitol."² Walter's hand reaches across the borough — the Bank of Chester County, "the first bank to be chartered in the county,"³ was his too, "built in 1836 in the Greek Revival style."³

On what it made: "In the 18th century West Chester was a center of clockmaking."¹ Later "an important industry was the Sharples cream separator company"¹ — the Sharples Separator Works was "home to the manufacturing works for the Sharples Tubular Centrifugal Separator, the first cream separator that was invented in the United States."⁴ And in a final twist, Commodore International, "one of the pioneers of home computers,"¹ kept its headquarters here in the late 20th century, "located approximately a mile northeast of the borough."¹

The real reason to come is the downtown itself. The borough's business district pitches a walkable county-seat grid where "Downtown West Chester is made up of multiple blocks packed with endless bars, boutiques, and more."⁵ Park once and give Gay and High Streets an evening on foot.

For specific stops, the borough's "popular tourist attractions include the Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center, the Chester County History Center, the American Helicopter Museum, the West Chester Railroad, and QVC studio tours."¹ The American Helicopter Museum — devoted entirely to rotary-wing aircraft — is the quirky standout; QVC, which "has its headquarters and television studios in West Goshen Township, near West Chester,"¹ runs studio-park tours of the home-shopping giant; and the heritage West Chester Railroad runs seasonal excursions from town.