Blog of the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office

Category: Disaster Relief (Page 3 of 3)

Preservation Partnerships: Working Together To Save Historic Resources From Natural Disasters

We all know that partnerships, collaboration, and teamwork are critical in the effort to identify, preserve, and celebrate Pennsylvania’s historic resources.  One such partnership in Philadelphia will help protect the city’s historic places and spaces from the devastating damage caused by natural disasters. Continue reading

‘Disaster Planning for Historic Properties’ Exhibit Debuts at the PA State Association of Township Supervisors Conference

Staff from the PA State Historic Preservation Office were on location at the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors’ (PSATS) 93rd Annual Educational Conference and Trade Show in Hershey, Dauphin County, from April 19-21 to promote the Commonwealth’s new Disaster Planning for Historic Properties Initiative and to convey the importance of considering the impacts of a variety of natural disaster types upon historic resources. Continue reading

Spotlight Series: Easton Cemetery

The monumental 7th Street Gate to the Easton Cemetery.  Photo by Jeremy Young, October 2014.

The monumental 7th Street Gate to the Easton Cemetery. Photo by Jeremy Young, October 2014.

High on a hill overlooking the City of Easton is the serene, picturesque, and endlessly fascinating Easton Cemetery.  The cemetery occupies a point of land created by a bend in the Bushkill Creek that, at the time of the cemetery’s establishment in 1849, was on the edge of a rapidly growing industrial community in desperate need of both parkland and sanitary burial options.  The historic core of the burial ground, 48 acres assembled in two parcels during the 19th century, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1990 for its significance in landscape architecture and art.  Continue reading

Before the (Next) Storm: The Disaster Planning for Historic Properties Initiative

The Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office (PA SHPO) is pleased to announce that it has begun moving forward on an exciting and historic new initiative to continue through 2017.

Special funding awarded by the National Park Service following Hurricane Sandy has enabled the PA SHPO to assist select counties with prioritizing their communities’ historic properties during the pre-disaster planning process—to help ensure they are better protected the next time a major disaster strikes the Keystone State. Continue reading

2nd Time Around: PaSHPO Accepting Pre-Application Materials for the Hurricane Sandy Disaster Recovery Grant Program for Historic Properties through October 10

Last call! On September 2, the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office (PaSHPO) began accepting its second and final round of Part 1 submissions for its Hurricane Sandy Disaster Recovery Grant Program for Historic Properties. Submissions will be accepted through October 10. Continue reading

New Projects and New Faces at the PaSHPO

The Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office has multiple roles and frequently has many irons in the fire. Among the responsibilities that people are most familiar with are facilitating National Register nominations, assisting tax credit applicants, managing grants, advising community leaders, reviewing state and Federally-assisted project, and maintaining historical markers. But from time to time, the office has the opportunity to delve into other projects and issues that will help Pennsylvania’s communities better preserve and enhance historic places. There are a number of special projects underway right now and two new staff members, Jeremy Young and Shelby Weaver-Splain, have recently come aboard to manage these programs.

Jeremy and Shelby joined the PaSHPO staff in July 2014 and I asked each of them to share a little bit about their backgrounds, interests, and projects. Continue reading

Following in Sandy’s Path: $1.5 Million Awarded to PA for Recovery and Planning

In the bill authorizing funds for recovery from Hurricane Sandy, Congress allocated $50 million to the National Park Service (NPS) specifically for projects related to historic properties in the affected states.  The majority of these funds were directed to New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, while the rest was made available on a competitive basis to other states in the region.  The Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Office submitted their request for funding to the NPS in July, and in December the Park Service announced that the Commonwealth had been selected for a $1.5 million grant, the largest amount awarded through the competitive funding process! The staff is now working to finalize the scope of the project and to move forward with the next steps. Continue reading

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