Month: September 2015

The uniformed toll collectors at each interchange were seen as the Turnpike's "ambassadors".

Happy Birthday, Pennsylvania Turnpike!

September 30, 2015 / Shelby Weaver Splain / 4 Comments

The Pennsylvania Turnpike turned 75 on October 1, and groups throughout the state have already started their tributes to this engineering marvel and cultural icon. On October 2, the State Museum opened a new permanent exhibit about the Turnpike in its Industry and Transportation gallery, and the recent issue of the Pennsylvania Heritage magazine featured a great piece on the Turnpike written by the exhibit’s curator, Curt Miner. Earlier this year, staff from the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and PHMC and Gerry Kuncio, senior historian for Skelly and Loy, Inc., gave a presentation about “America’s First Superhighway” at the Statewide Conference on Heritage. We wanted to send out our own birthday greeting and share with our readers some amazing historical facts about our beloved Turnpike.

5 Things To Do Now: Historical Markers

September 23, 2015 / Karen Galle / 0 Comments

Things To Do Now is an occasional series featuring tips and tricks for some of the SHPO’s most popular programs and projects.

Think there is a person, place, or event in your community that deserves some recognition? If you believe that one of PHMC’s blue-and-gold historical markers is a great way to tell that story to the world, then keep reading for some tips (in no particular order)on what you can be doing right now to prepare an application for the next round of marker nominations. The deadline is December 1, 2015. Continue reading

Special Announcement: Job Opportunity at the PA SHPO!

September 21, 2015 / Shelby Weaver Splain / 0 Comments

There is an immediate opening for the following position with the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission (PHMC):

Historic Preservation Specialist

THE POSITION:

This position supports and maintains the Commonwealth’s historic building survey, including maintaining the integrity of the historic property information in the Cultural Resources Geographic Information System (CRGIS) and facilitating new surveys in order to assist the PHMC, other agencies, and the public in evaluating the historic resources within the state and the effects of various programs on those resources. The incumbent digitizes data from the bureau’s legacy paper records and all newly recorded cultural resources into a computerized Geographic Information System (GIS) program. These duties include computerized mapping of cultural resources including historic property and district locations from both paper and outside electronic sources; entering and updating resource information; and facilitating the scanning, processing, and storage of resource images for linkage into CRGIS. Continue reading

CLG Soul Searching

September 16, 2015 / Andrea L. MacDonald / 1 Comment

The 1980 amendments to the National Historic Preservation Act established the Certified Local Government (CLG) program to give local governments a formal voice in the national historic preservation conversation.

The Central Market in Lancaster. The City of Lancaster is a Certified Local Government.

Let’s call out the super-powers of metaphor to explain this relationship. I often like to use the fabulously versatile bungee cord. Yes, the thing you use to keep your bike attached to the bike rack on your car or for a dozen other things. Imagine the CLG program as a bungee cord. It can expand. It can reinforce. In this metaphor, the CLG bungee cord connects the National Park Service to State Historic Preservation Offices to municipalities to citizens. The CLG bungee cord carries the energy and economic connection between the national preservation program and a local preservation program for participating local governments. Broad guidelines have been established by the National Park Service that provide the framework for participation in the CLG program; however, states have wide latitude to tailor the program to best assist the characteristics of their local governments. Continue reading

Fort Mifflin National Historic Landmark in Philadelphia (Key #001371). Source: Wikimedia Commons. Created by Fredericto and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Preservation Partnerships: Working Together To Save Historic Resources From Natural Disasters

September 9, 2015 / Jeremy R. Young / 3 Comments

We all know that partnerships, collaboration, and teamwork are critical in the effort to identify, preserve, and celebrate Pennsylvania’s historic resources. One such partnership in Philadelphia will help protect the city’s historic places and spaces from the devastating damage caused by natural disasters. Continue reading

People Power at the 2015 Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Awards

September 2, 2015 / Guest Contributor / 2 Comments

by Sabra Smith, Preservation Pennsylvania

What is the preservation community’s most important asset? It’s the people! Those passionate, creative, place-loving, story-telling folks who wear invisible super hero capes and do their best work so that a beloved landmark is restored, or a neighborhood story is discovered, or a community of advocates is activated. Continue reading