Category: Chester (Page 5 of 5)

Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Awards: The Case of the Missing Pachyderms and the Marvel of a Brand-New Old Ceiling

October 8, 2014 / Guest Contributor / 0 Comments

Paul Heberling, center, accepts the F. Otto Haas Award from John A. Martine, right, and Peter Benton. Top right, Mayor Salvatore Panto, Bottom right, The Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka

Each year, Preservation Pennsylvania presents the Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Awards as a way to honor individuals and organizations that exhibit excellence in the field of historic preservation. The 2014 award recipients exemplify some of the core values of historic preservation, such as a community pulling together to save a building from demolition or the revitalization of an urban neighborhood thanks to rehabilitation – not razing — of an aging school.

“Partnerships, cooperation, and taking the long-term view are themes that run through many of this year’s projects,” said Mindy Crawford, Executive Director of Preservation Pennsylvania, the statewide historic preservation nonprofit. “Whether at the local, state or federal level, this year’s award recipients demonstrate how people working together can create positive change.” Continue reading

Photograph of the dedication ceremony including the Boy Scout budlger, Chief Strong Wolf, Miss Buelah Webb, and P.S. duPont

Remembering Indian Hannah

May 28, 2014 / Multiple Authors / 7 Comments

by Karen Galle and Cory Kegerise

Hannah Freeman is not a name that you’ll find in most history books, though her story and her legend live on in southern Chester County. Known more popularly as “Indian Hannah”, Freeman is remembered in local lore as the last Lenni Lenape living in Chester County at the time of her death in 1802. She was born c.1730 on the Webb farm in Kennett Township not far from the Delaware border. Today the Webb farm is part of Longwood Gardens and her life and story are commemorated by a large stone monument erected in 1925 and rededicated in May 2014.

Hosanna Church: The Last building in Hinsonville

March 26, 2014 / Guest Contributor / 27 Comments

In the shadow of Lincoln University – one of Pennsylvania’s four “state affiliated” universities (its fellows being Pitt, Temple, and Penn State) – can be found the small and stoic Hosanna AUMP Church. One pragmatic story tall, with a grand total of eight windows on four sides, the modest footprint of Hosanna belies its cultural significance, yet remains unevaluated for inclusion in the National Register. Continue reading

Preservation Achievement Awards

January 15, 2014 / Guest Contributor / 0 Comments

Every year the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia presents the Preservation Achievement Awards to individuals, organizations, businesses and projects from throughout the region that exemplify outstanding achievement in the field of historic preservation. The Awards include Grand Jury Awards to specific projects and Special Recognition Awards to individuals and organizations whose extraordinary accomplishments in preservation contribute to the region’s unique character and sense of place. Continue reading

Uncommon Modern

January 2, 2013 / Cory Kegerise / 1 Comment

Professional Offices, Chester, Delaware County. Photograph by Betsy Manning.

Being one of the earliest areas of European settlement in the United States means that Pennsylvania has an incredible, and in some ways unrivaled, architectural legacy that encompasses every major era in American history. We’ve got colonial taverns, frontier log cabins, charming farmhouses, monumental churches, imposing 19^th century factories, one-of-a-kind government buildings, and everything else in between. But being the place where so many important events of our nation’s founding took place, and where America’s industrial age flourished, also means that the buildings that came after those periods don’t often get the attention or respect they deserve. That’s right, I’m talking about Modernism – the buildings of the post World War II era. The architecture of the automobile. The design of the Space Age.