On Saturday, April 27, 2013, I had the pleasure of attending and speaking at a unique dedication ceremony at Fort Halifax Park in Halifax Township, Dauphin County, just north of the Borough of Halifax. The ceremony was to dedicate numerous London Plane Sycamores recently planted to, if you’re feeling poetic, fix what time has wrought. You see, these trees were planted to replace missing Sycamores in the National Register of Historic Places-listed Legislative Route 1 Sycamore Allee (see the nomination on CRGIS for more information and for references). Continue Reading →
Spotlight Series: The Ashland Mother’s Memorial
Erected in 1938, the Mother’s Memorial is situated prominently in the town of Ashland, PA, in the anthracite coal region of Schuylkill County. The Ashland Boys’ Association (A.B.A.), an organization of men and boys born in Ashland, raised the funds for the fabrication and erection of this monument in 1938. Continue Reading →
The Potential of Cultural Landscapes
Peirce Lewis, an American geographer and emeritus professor at the Pennsylvania State University, may have best described the concept of cultural landscapes; “The human landscape is our unwitting autobiography, reflecting our tastes, our values, our aspirations, and even our fears in tangible, visible form.” Land shows both individual and collective beliefs in a physical manifestation. Most of us can physically see what we do to our land. However, stories associated with the “how” and the “why” we do these things are part of the cultural landscape because they support associated trends, events, and individuals. This is important to state, and restate, because we forget about the depth of information caught-up in the unseen value system that drives the building of communities and use of resources. Continue Reading →
The Statewide Conference on Heritage: Twenty-three Sessions, Five Tours, Three Private Evening Events, and One Unforgettable Experience
by Jennifer Horn, Preservation Pennsylvania
Every summer Pennsylvania’s preservation and conservation communities convene for a weeklong conference to explore current trends in archaeology and historic preservation. This year, the Statewide Conference on Heritage will be held at the historic William Penn Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh, PA. The conference will begin on Tuesday, July 16thwith a pre-conference workshop on the Federal and State Rehabilitation Investment Tax Credit programs and conclude with Preservation Pennsylvania’s Annual Meeting and Luncheon on Friday, July 19th. The conference is co-sponsored by Preservation Pennsylvania, PennDOT, PHMC, DCNR, Heritage PA, and local partners and attracts over 350 attendees annually.
SPA and PASS
These two acronyms represent years of cooperation among various groups of people who are concerned about Pennsylvania’s past. Continue Reading →
Conservation Landscape Initiatives: A Growing Opportunity for Preservation Partnerships
The Conservation Landscape Initiatives (CLI) were established by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) as an integrated approach to strategically investing the agency’s time and funding to protect, conserve, and enhance some of the state’s most important landscapes. Instead of working exclusively within the state park and forest boundaries or supporting a municipal park or trail, DCNR has developed partnerships with a variety of counties, communities, and nonprofit organizations as a way to effectively foster local conservation efforts in the seven multi-county CLI regions. Continue Reading →
Pennsylvania’s Post World War II Suburbs
The BHP launched the Pennsylvania’s Historic Suburbs website in September 2010. The first installment focuses on post World War II housing developments.
Keystone Fund Projects Receive Awards
Since its creation in 1993, the Keystone Recreation, Park & Conservation Fund has supported thousands of projects in countless Pennsylvania communities, including more than 500 historic preservation projects. So, on March 18, 2013, on the occasion of the Fund’s 20th Anniversary, the Keystone Partners took a moment to pause and reflect on the Keystone Fund’s impact and honor some of its success stories. Gathered under the dome of the Pennsylvania State Capitol Building representatives from several nonprofit fund partners, current and former state legislators, and agency directors presented awards to projects from across the Commonwealth that exemplify the intent and impact of the Keystone Fund. Continue Reading →
Spotlight Series: National Register – The Irving Female College
During the Civil War, countless Northern soldiers passed through the small town of Mechanicsburg on the Cumberland Valley Railroad. Often, hordes of townspeople turned out to cheer them on; sights not soon forgotten by the new soldiers.
Day on the Hill: Taking the Preservation Message to Pennsylvania’s Congressional Delegation
Tuesday, February 26, was the day the rubber literally hit the road! In fact, using a pedometer, one of the participants in “Day on the Hill” in Washington, D.C. determined that Pennsylvania’s two teams each walked about 5 miles in their efforts to deliver Pennsylvania’s preservation message to members of our Congressional delegation! Continue Reading →