York College Students to Reveal Stories of Historic Church at First Friday Exhibit
Their presentation, which opens at 6 p.m. May 2 at Marketview Arts, will showcase Zion Lutheran Church’s community-oriented legacy.
For most of the last 175 years, through the Civil War, the Industrial Revolution, two world wars,
and the nationwide rollout of indoor plumbing, electric lighting, and the horseless carriage, the
Zion Lutheran Church building has gathered stories from its vantage point at 36 South Duke
Street in York.
When York College of Pennsylvania Associate Professor of History Jacqueline Beatty, Ph.D.,
began looking for a project-based learning opportunity for her Museum Studies course, she
reached out to Carly Legg Wood, Interim Executive Director of the College’s Center for
Community Engagement. Legg Wood knew the historic church building would be the perfect
subject.
“One of our big pillars at the CCE is we connect students to downtown partners who want to do
project-based experiences,” says Wood.
A historic tour
Early in the 2025 Spring Semester, Kim Hogeman, Assistant Vice President of Economic and
Community Development at the York County Economic Alliance, directed a tour of the historic
site for students of Dr. Beatty’s class. Hogeman pointed out family names in the stained-glass
windows and connected students to additional historical resources. From there, they dove into
their research under Dr. Beatty’s direction.
The students come to the class from various majors, including History, Graphic Design, and
Political Science. Melding their backgrounds and academic strengths, they developed a three-
part museum-style exhibit to display at Marketview Arts in downtown York.
“That’s the beauty of project-based learning. It brings together students from various
disciplines,” Wood says. “It allows students to pull in and apply pieces of their learning to
various projects.”
While the students were handed a slew of resources, Dr. Beatty didn’t provide a great deal of
direction as to what the exhibit should include.
“I try to structure these classes to leave the project very open,” she says. “There weren’t a lot
of details, except you’re going to create an exhibit from scratch. They create really interesting
projects based on where their research takes them.”
A First Friday reveal
After several months of research, discussion, and design, the students will debut their exhibit on May 2 at York’s First Friday, a monthly celebration of downtown businesses and life. The exhibit explores the legacy of Zion Lutheran Church and the broader theme of building community through three lenses: history, church design, and the individuals and groups who have been influential throughout its history.
“It was definitely fun and difficult,” says Political Science major Abby Buchan ’27. “The experience and working with other students helped me to learn many new things.”
Each section of the exhibit examines an aspect of the church’s impact on the community, including its long historical timeline, its notable figures and parishioners, and its architectural evolution, which included its stunning but deteriorating stained-glass windows.
“The windows are a shining feature of this building, and we would love to see them restored and preserved for decades to come,” says Hogeman. “Each window is very creative and different. Each has the name of a church parishioner. They’re in serious disrepair and need to be restored in a careful and deliberate way.”
Three decades ago, the Zion Lutheran congregation moved to a new building. The historic church building has remained empty ever since. Recently, a Main Street Matters grant and matching YCEA grant totaling $1 million were designated for redeveloping the building. While restoration of the windows isn’t slated to be part of this initial grant, Hogeman envisions additional rounds of funding being used to restore the windows and turn the historic structure into an extended event space for the Yorktowne Hotel.
Students become stakeholders
While this is the first time that the students will collectively install an exhibit at Marketview Arts, the project is having an impact on them. Dr. Beatty says that project-based learning gives students more agency in the classroom.
“The work they create always really stuns me,” she says. “They feel more involved and like stakeholders themselves, using the creative skills we foster in the classroom.”
History major Erin Igo ’26 agrees.
“I think that the use of this teaching style allowed me to become more immersed in this learning experience rather than the traditional one due to the entirety of the process of creating, designing, and researching an unknown topic, along with the ability to choose exactly what we wanted to focus on for the exhibition,” she says.
Legg Wood and Hogeman see this project as part of a broad mission to connect students with York’s cultural and economic heartbeat. Legg Wood hopes the exhibit will help York College students appreciate downtown York and spend more time there as they begin to explore jobs and other opportunities.
Hogeman invites other York organizations and businesses to bring project-based learning ideas to the College, where an insightful group of interdisciplinary students is eager to jump into the next project.
The Zion Lutheran Church exhibit opens on First Friday at 6 p.m. May 2 at Marketview Arts in downtown York. Students will be on-site during the opening to discuss their work and answer questions. The exhibit is to remain on display through most of the summer.
