Category: Montgomery (Page 4 of 4)

Sunnybrook Ballroom, Montgomery County — The Sunnybrook Ballroom in Lower Pottsgrove, Montgomery County.

Discovering Pennsylvania’s Jazz History

April 8, 2015 / Cory Kegerise / 2 Comments

Turning the calendar page from March to April is a cause for celebration on many fronts – the end of winter, the blooming of spring flowers, and an official reason to celebrate jazz! Yes, April is National Jazz Appreciation Month and Pennsylvania has a long, rich history with the musical genre. Jazz has its roots in the African-American communities of the American South, but made its way north during the Great Migration in the 1910s and 20s. Artists and organizations from Pennsylvania, especially Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, were hugely influential in the evolution of jazz and numerous communities built concert halls that hosted some of the most legendary performers on their cross country tours. Pennsylvania’s role in the history of jazz is so significant that Explorepahistory.com has a whole section devoted to the subject, including photos, recordings, and lesson plans. Continue reading

Just Listed: Recent Additions to the National Register of Historic Places

March 11, 2015 / Andrea L. MacDonald / 0 Comments

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

From the collection of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, this WW II newspaper photograph of students from the Horticultural School, tools in hand, showed American women on the march for victory.

It’s January – Time for the 2015 Pennsylvania Farm Show!

January 7, 2015 / Scott Doyle / 0 Comments

UPDATE! The PHMC booth showcasing the Historical Markers Program was selected as the Best Educational Display by the Farm Show judges! Thank you to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and the thousands of Farm Show attendees who visited the booth to learn about Pennsylvania’s rich agricultural heritage.

: PHMC staff Scott Doyle, Serena Bellew, and Karen Galle pose with the Best Educational Display Award.

: The BHP 2015 Farm Show booth showcasing “History on a Stick”.

Make room on your calendars because the Pennsylvania Farm Show, the nation’s largest indoor agricultural exposition, is about to descend upon the historic Farm Show complex in Harrisburg from Saturday January 10 through Saturday January 17, 2015. The 99th Pennsylvania Farm Show includes nearly 6,000 animals, 10,000 competitive exhibits and 300 commercial exhibits. Continue reading

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

Just Listed!

April 23, 2014 / April Frantz / 2 Comments

Just Listed is a semi-annual feature of Pennsylvania’s Cultural Resources that were recently listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Three very different Pennsylvania resources were recently listed in the National Register of Historic Places. They hold significance for very different reasons, too, ranging from design and architectural merit, to labor history in the textile industry, to the development of Philadelphia’s court system.

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

Old Main Fountain. Shippensburg University’s restored Old Main Fountain will receive a Construction Project Award for Public & Institutional Properties at the Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Awards luncheon in Pottstown on Friday, September 27.

Help Celebrate Success at the Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Awards

August 14, 2013 / Guest Contributor / 0 Comments

Photo: Shippensburg University’s restored Old Main Fountain will receive a Construction Project Award for Public & Institutional Properties at the Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Awards luncheon in Pottstown on Friday, September 27.

by Erin Hammerstedt, Preservation Pennsylvania

Earlier this summer Preservation Pennsylvania, along with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and our other partners, announced the recipients of the 2013 Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Awards. Presented annually since 1979, the awards honor impressive historic preservation projects and inspiring commitment to preserving and protecting Pennsylvania’s rich historic resources. We want to highlight just a few of the 2013 recipients and invite you to join the celebration by attending the awards ceremony and luncheon on September 27 in Pottstown, Montgomery County.

Continue reading

PHMC Executive Director Jim Vaughan and Teresa Mandic, Vice President of Programs, Pearl S. Buck International at the Keystone Awards Ceremony. Photo Courtesy of Mindy Crawford, Preservation Pennsylvania.

Keystone Fund Projects Receive Awards

March 27, 2013 / Cory Kegerise / 1 Comment

Since its creation in 1993, the Keystone Recreation, Park & Conservation Fund has supported thousands of projects in countless Pennsylvania communities, including more than 500 historic preservation projects. So, on March 18, 2013, on the occasion of the Fund’s 20^th Anniversary, the Keystone Partners took a moment to pause and reflect on the Keystone Fund’s impact and honor some of its success stories. Gathered under the dome of the Pennsylvania State Capitol Building representatives from several nonprofit fund partners, current and former state legislators, and agency directors presented awards to projects from across the Commonwealth that exemplify the intent and impact of the Keystone Fund. 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.