Blog of the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office
Its been a few months now since we introduced you to the Community Connections: Planning for Preservation in Pennsylvania campaign and I thought it was a good time for an update. We’ve been making great progress over the summer and we have some exciting things coming up this fall.
Due to Fiscal Year 2015-2016 budget challenges, the status of Year 3 of Pennsylvania’s Historic Preservation Tax Credit program was up in the air through March 2016. With the enactment of a budget, there was a brief application window with a March 24, 2016 deadline. The shortened budget period did impact the total number of applications to the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) as the total decreased from 30 in the second round to 23 applications for the third round.
PHMC quickly reviewed the applications to ensure applicants owned qualified historic buildings and that proposed rehabilitation plans met the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. As the qualified applications far exceed the limited $3 million in available credits, DCED used a fair and balanced selection process based on a first -come, first serve basis with regional distribution to select the first round of projects. Continue reading
by Brenda Barrett, Living Landscape Observer
What happens when a highway project long planned to improve the functionality of the overall transportation system runs up against newer approaches of planning on a landscape scale? Continue reading
What new challenges will preservationists face over the next 50 years? It’s clear that the impacts on historic places by hurricanes Katrina and Sandy and other recent tropical storms, combined with growing international concern about rising sea levels, has started to “change the tide” and bring a new focus to preservation professionals. In April and June 2016, national and international experts in historic preservation, climate change, emergency management, architecture, and planning gathered in three U.S. states to participate in a series of “firsts” to address the threats facing the nation’s historic coastal and riverine (meaning ‘situated or dwelling beside a river’) communities from flooding and climate change. Continue reading
We’re back to our regular SHPO Shout-Out post this month, and I get to tell you about some great local preservation activities, two national award winners, and a cool new park in Jefferson County. Two quick things before I launch into my list of happy news: have you taken our online survey for the next statewide historic preservation plan yet? Or have you registered for the upcoming Statewide Conference on Heritage? There is still time to do both! Continue reading
By Samantha Kuntz
Philadelphia has managed to accrue some significant historic resources over the past, oh, 300 years or so. It is home to no fewer than 550 resources (including districts) listed on National Register of Historic Places, and it holds over 11,087 resources (including districts) on the local Philadelphia Register of Historic Places. Philadelphia possesses relics of our nascent nation (the U.S. Constitution, the Liberty Bell), contains a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Independence Hall), and boasts an impressive new heritage association (full membership in the Organization of World Heritage Cities).
In other words, there must be something in the (Schuylkill and Delaware) water here.
May is National Historic Preservation Month and a great time to announce two new exciting preservation initiatives at the PA SHPO. We’re celebrating this year by kicking off our “Community Connections” campaign, the outreach and planning efforts for Pennsylvania’s next statewide historic preservation plan, and our Preservation50 Community Recognition campaign. Continue reading
by Abigail Watson-Popescu
As a child growing up in Titusville the first thing you are taught about your hometown is that Edwin Drake struck oil here on August 27, 1859. The thing you notice, though, is that your town feels very different from other towns. With wrought iron fences lining slate sidewalks, horse hitching posts and carriage mounting blocks dotting the streets, and gigantic Victorian houses abounding there is a feeling of actually living in another time.
Question: What do a Georgian country estate, an African American Methodist Church, the Whiskey Rebellion, and Chester County all have in common?
Stumped? Can’t think of an answer? Then you’re not paying attention! It’s the last Wednesday of the month, which means its SHPO Shout-Out Day, and this month’s Shout Outs go to an interesting array of worthy preservation activities in Pennsylvania. That’s not to say that these are the only good preservation projects out there. We know there are more! You just need to drop me a note and tell me about what’s going on in your neck of the woods.
45 communities in Pennsylvania have a formal working relationship with the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office (PA SHPO) on a variety of preservation-related programs and projects.
Known as Certified Local Governments (CLGs), these communities represent a broad geographic, demographic and economic swath across the Commonwealth. From Philadelphia (Pop. 1.5 million) to Mercersburg, Franklin County (Pop. 1500) and located in over a third of Pennsylvania counties, the CLG program provides exclusive funding and technical assistance for local governments. As you may remember from this post a few months ago, the CLG program is one of several federal programs administered by the PA SHPO; in this case, the National Park Service provides guidance, rules and funding for the CLG program.
Three CLG communities in the PA SHPO Western Region provide a glimpse into the range of preservation activities CLGs can sponsor. Over the next few months, we’ll illustrate how the City of Bradford, Moon Township and the City of Pittsburgh have used the CLG program to leverage their preservation programs. We’ll turn our spotlight on Bradford first.
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