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 →
You Speak and We Listen: Design Assistance for Pennsylvania’s Communities
Or at least we try to. In 2008, BHP conducted a questionnaire for Certified Local Governments (CLGs). Among many other suggestions, the most frequent request we received was to help with design issues. The Certified Local Government (CLG) program is one of the federal historic preservation programs administered by the BHP. Essentially, local governments who agree to operate their historic preservation programs according to Pennsylvania’s CLG guidelines can be certified through our office and the National Park Service. CLG certification, among other benefits, provides access to a dedicated source of funding for non-construction preservation projects from BHP.
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Unearthing the Forgotten Past at Pandenarium, Site 36ME0253
Growing up in a small northwestern Pennsylvania town, I always assumed that while our local history was important to us – it didn’t always carry the same import to the world beyond. As so often happens, I was wrong and, in this case, willingly so. In graduate school, I was fortunate enough to work on a local archaeological site with national, even international implications on our understanding of a shared history.
Smokin’ Joe Frazier and Pennsylvania’s Boxing History
On February 5, 2013, the Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Board gave their support to heavyweight boxer Joe Frazier’s Philadelphia gym for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. That’s one step closer to official recognition for not just the man but also the gym where he trained for most of his career and later shared his skill and experience with Philly’s youth. Continue Reading →
A Refocus on Preservation in Pittsburgh
Anne E. Nelson
Historic preservation in Pittsburgh has had a productive past few months. Activity in downtown Pittsburgh is blossoming due to the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of several historic buildings by developers using historic preservation tax incentives. The boundaries of a locally designated historic district were recommended for expansion by the City of Pittsburgh’s (City) Historic Review and Planning Commissions to the City Council. The City issued a Request For Proposal (RFP) to undertake an economic study of the financial and social impacts of preservation. In addition, the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission (PHMC) is recommending to the National Park Service for listing on the National Register of Historic Places a new historic district, as well as boundary expansions and updated inventories for four existing National Register districts in downtown Pittsburgh.
T.H.I.S and a little bit of that
Gabrielle Vielhauer
My name is Gabrielle Vielhauer. I am a student at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania where I am studying anthropology. From September to December 2012, I was pleased to be selected to participate in The Harrisburg Intern Semester (THIS) program sponsored by the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). This program places one student representative from each university, within the state system, with an office of the legislature or in a government agency. Continue Reading →
Camp Security
Camp Security is a Revolutionary War period prisoner-of-war camp occupied by British, Scottish and Canadian prisoners and camp followers (often wives and other family members) between 1781 and the end of the war in 1783. The site is located about four miles east of the City of York, in a relatively small, undeveloped portion of suburban Springettsbury Township. Thirty years ago, PHMC archaeologists Barry Kent and Charles Hunter, with a small field crew, located over 100 archaeological features containing artifacts dating to the latter part of the 18th century. In all likelihood, these materials are related to the prisoner-of-war camp. Most of the features are pits which were dug into the ground and which ultimately became receptacles for a variety of domestic debris associated with the occupation of the camp. Continue Reading →
Pennsylvania At Risk: Twenty-Year Retrospective of Pennsylvania’s Endangered Historic Properties
Preservation Pennsylvania established the annual Pennsylvania At Risk list in 1992, making us the first statewide preservation organization in the United States to have an annual roster of endangered historic properties. Since 1992, we have listed and worked to preserve more than 200 endangered historic resources, including individual buildings, historic districts and thematic resources statewide. Continue Reading →
Mark your Calendars – Keystone Grant Applications are due March 1, 2013!
The PHMC is proud to announce that eGrant is open for applications for the Keystone Historic Preservation Grant Program. Many applications are already started for this immensely popular grant program but it isn’t too late for your community or local-nonprofit to submit an application.
Preservation’s Next Generation: PennDOT/PHMC Internships in Cultural Resource Management
Hannah touring the Lackawanna Coal Mine
If you’ve been to a preservation or archaeology conference lately, you may have found yourself looking out at a sea of grey heads. The generation that began working on public projects in the 1970’s and 1980’s with the initial implementation of Federal and State Historic and Archaeological Preservation laws and regulations, is now retiring. These are the people who invented what is known as Cultural Resource Management (CRM). If important historic places are going to continue to be protected and managed for the future, a new generation of cultural resource professionals will have to carry the standard. Continue Reading →