Blog of the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office
Andrea L. MacDonald serves as the Director of the PA SHPO and is the Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer. Andrea is passionate about Pennsylvania’s food geography and is committed to discovering unique ways to connect Pennsylvanians with their unique history and communities. Andrea is has been with the PA SHPO since 2004.
The 2016 Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Awards offered me the opportunity to get a break from Harrisburg, away from everyday work, and to see the bigger picture. While traveling south to York for the ceremony blue skies and sunshine beamed through my car windows. It was a remarkably beautiful fall day. Continue reading
I had to quickly learn the answer to that question for the first time this year… Advocacy Week is our annual opportunity to have a mass impact on opinion leaders and policy makers – together with a cohesive message in support of preservation-positive legislation. Advocacy Week is organized each year by Preservation Action and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Offices (NCSHPO) and brings together over 250 preservationists to Washington, DC to promote sound federal preservation policy and programs.
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
Just Listed is a semi-annual feature of Pennsylvania’s cultural resources that were recently listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Since our last Just Listed post, four properties from across the Commonwealth have been listed in the National Register of Historic Places. You can explore these National Register nominations and other historic properties in Pennsylvania via CRGIS, our online map and database.
The History of Pennsylvania Breweries
Pennsylvania may be the home to Yuengling, known as “America’s oldest brewery,” however the Commonwealth has yet to officially declare a craft beer month. However the ‘Official Tourism Website of the State of Pennsylvania’ dedicated a page to Pennsylvania Craft Brews, where Pennsylvania’s beer culture is significantly truncated…
The German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania in the 1700s and 1800s brought many of their old-world traditions with them, including the love of great beer.
This particular blog post isn’t going to detail Pennsylvania’s brewing history (but maybe we’ll mull over the idea of a beer blog for a future post). And we’re a little late to honor American Craft Beer Week (which was mid-May this year). Regardless of any future beer narrations, resolutions or festivals, Pennsylvania indisputably has a rich brewing history and those buildings where brewing happened have been recognized by the National Register of Historic Places. Continue reading
Just Listed is a semi-annual feature of Pennsylvania’s cultural resources that were recently listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Since our last Just Listed post, 27 resources from all corners of the Commonwealth have been listed in the National Register of Historic Places. You can explore these and other historic properties in Pennsylvania via CRGIS, our online map and database. Continue reading
Bite off more than you can chew, then chew it. Plan more than you can do, then do it.
– Anonymous
It’s that time of the year for excess chewing, and it’s also timely for the Bureau to take a mid-plan stretch (after a turkey-induced slumber) and to regain focus on evaluating the accomplishments of Pennsylvania’s Statewide Historic Preservation Plan, Building Better Communities: The Preservation of Place, 2012-2017. The Plan includes an ambitious Action Agenda that was developed with the direct intent of being highly responsive to public needs and desires. While the Plan was created for all Pennsylvanians and depends on assistance and full participation for it to be successful, Goal 5’s objectives and strategies resulted from some internal soul-searching. Continue reading
Sunny and 82 degrees — every day. This type of weather forecast isn’t what I typically look forward to during a conference week. However FORUM 2014 – A Keystone Connection wasn’t your typical conference. Through an unprecedented partnership, FORUM 2014 harnessed the energy of 781 preservation-minded individuals from 48 states. These attendance numbers and ideal weather conditions will be hard to top in future years. Continue reading
My motoring memoirs of the ERIEsistable journey I personally never wanted to end (my travel companion may have felt otherwise), returned us to where we pulled over two weeks ago… lunch!
The odometer read 19 when we rolled out of the state garage. We had an ambitious three-day schedule planned to northwestern Pennsylvania. The Bureau’s new director, Serena Bellew, had never been to the ‘Erie triangle’ or the northwest corner of the Commonwealth and she was in for a treat… or two, or three – because great local eateries were also on the itinerary. Our mantra for the trip was “positive preservation.” At each stop we planned to meet with some of our partners who have been thoughtfully and purposefully working toward accomplishing various preservation goals.
If you haven’t participated in a Pennsylvania National Register nomination you may not have experienced a Historic Preservation Board meeting. But that shouldn’t stop you! The meetings are open to the public and we welcome all preservation aficionados to attend a future meeting. The 2014 schedule is posted on our website. The nominations to be reviewed at an upcoming meeting will also be posted to the website about one month prior to the scheduled meeting.
The purpose of the Historic Preservation Board is to provide expert judgments about the historical, architectural, and archeological significance of resources in Pennsylvania as authorized by Section 101 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, and Sections 504 and 505 of the Pennsylvania History Code. Continue reading
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