West Wayne was actually the first part of Wayne to be developed. J. Henry Askin, owner of the Louella mansion, had a dream of creating a community of mansard-roofed houses. Development began around 1870 on Bloomingdale Avenue. A resivoir was built on the west side of Bloomingdale. Askin could not continue his development because of the depression of 1873, and was forced to sell his remaining land. It was eventually bought by Anthony J. Drexel and George W. Childs, who became known for developing North and South Wayne. They experimented for their project by building several houses on West Wayne Avenue.These were successful, so they continued to North Wayne.