Category: Environmental Review (Page 2 of 12)

Group of young adults in background with text "Make the most of your summer!" in the foreground. — 2024-Keystone-Internship

Apply Now! PA SHPO’s Summer 2023 Internships

January 10, 2024 / Shelby Weaver Splain / 0 Comments

Are you exploring the field of historic preservation and looking for some real-world experience? The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission’s Keystone Internship Program provides opportunities to pursue your professional growth and contribute to sharing Pennsylvania’s rich heritage with the public.

We’d like to invite college and graduate school students interested in historic preservation, archaeology, community planning, cultural resources, architectural history, public history, and other related fields to apply for their summer 2024 interning experience.

Head and shoulders image of a woman on a bike along with the words "looking forward to 2024" above three green arrows.

24 Things to Look Forward to in 2024

January 4, 2024 / Andrea L. MacDonald / 2 Comments

While I am still enjoying the holiday high (and feeling blissfully stuffed), I am also looking forward to the many initiatives the PA SHPO has in the works for 2024.

Text "2023 Year in Review" over a collage of six photos of buildings and people.

ICYMI: PA SHPO’s Blog in 2023

December 27, 2023 / Shelby Weaver Splain / 0 Comments

It’s been a minute since I did a “year in review” post for the blog, so I thought I’d treat our readers to PA SHPO’s version of the ubiquitous end-of-year list.

In the spirit ICYMI, here is a list of the best posts from 2023 that you want to be sure to read. If I had to sum up the blog’s year in one phrase, I think it’s “a year of education, entertainment, and everything in between.”

Person walking through covered bridge. — Interior of Zimmerman Covered Bridge after rehabilitation. The Burr arches were painted white, similar to the pre-rehabilitation condition. Source: PennDOT.

From Fifty-One to Two: Rehabilitation of One of Schuylkill County’s Last Two Remaining Covered Bridges

December 20, 2023 / Guest Contributor / 3 Comments

The Rock Covered Bridge and Zimmerman Covered Bridge National Register nominations note that Schuylkill County once had fifty-one covered bridges. By the time the nominations were written in 1977, the total count was down to two.

The Elusive Historic Agricultural District

December 13, 2023 / Barbara Frederick / 1 Comment

We had some fun recently during a site visit to identify the presence of a historic agricultural district for a solar project…

*Cue Sir David Attenborough’s voice*

Here we are searching for the elusive historic agricultural district. Often impossible to find, we are hoping to get a glimpse of it today, as whispers of its appearance have been heard. What vast expanses of agricultural land use and lack of modern residential development, perhaps we will get a sighting after all. But what is this that appears on the horizon? Large modern grain bins indicative of monocropping, followed by farmsteads lacking historic barns? Ah well, it would appear the earlier rumors of a visit from that elusive beast, the historic agricultural district, have been unfounded. Perhaps when we return to the hunt tomorrow, we may catch a glimpse.

PA SHPO is Hiring an Above Ground Environmental Reviewer!

October 4, 2023 / Shelby Weaver Splain / 0 Comments

Are you interested in joining a proactive and dedicated team of historic preservationists, historians, archaeologists, and planners? The Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office (PA SHPO) is seeking a Historic Preservation Specialist with a discipline in architectural history or history within the Environmental Review Division.

Mitigation Spotlight: Section 106 Agreements, January 2023 – June 2023

July 19, 2023 / Emma Diehl / 0 Comments

This is part of a biannual blog series highlighting the agreement documents executed by PA SHPO in accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and its implementing regulations.

Between January 1 and June 30, 2023, PA SHPO has been a signatory to approximately nine (9) Section 106 agreement documents with six different federal agencies as part of consultation for the resolution of adverse effects to historic properties.

Group of people standing on a metal bridge over water. — June 2020 Friends' event commemorating their Cumberland County Historical Society History Pops! grant and the unveiling of their Save Our Bridge banner. Photo courtesy of WSHS.

Celebrating the Friends of Sheepford Road Bridge

May 10, 2023 / Shelby Weaver Splain / 1 Comment

Each week in May, to celebrate National Historic Preservation Month, we will highlight one of the 2022 Community Initiative Award winners. In this week’s post, I asked Janice Lynx, Executive Director of the West Short Historical Society, about their successful efforts to save Sheepford Road Bridge.

Sheepford Road Bridge is one of the first bridges to receive funds from PennDOT’s Historic Metal Truss Capital Rehabilitation Program, a new program created to promote the rehabilitation of historic metal truss bridges. I’ll take this opportunity to let our readers know that we also publish a biannual newsletter in partnership with PennDOT dedicated to the preservation and reuse of metal truss bridges. You can sign up here!

Celebrating Preservation Month with the 2022 Community Initiative Award Winners

May 3, 2023 / Shelby Weaver Splain / 1 Comment

What better time of year than National Historic Preservation Month to announce the latest round of PA SHPO’s Community Initiative Award winners! The four recipients and their projects showcase a range of preservation success stories, demonstrating the value of volunteers, creativity, and community engagement.

Metal bridge with wood railings on concrete abutments over water. — Messerall Road Bridge in its new location over Linesville Creek along the Pymatuning State Park Spillway Trail in Linesville, Crawford County. Photograph by Daniel Bickel, 2022.

Messerall Road Bridge: The Next Chapter

April 26, 2023 / Guest Contributor / 3 Comments

The main character of our story, the Messerall Road Bridge, began its life over Pine Creek near East Titusville in 1876, carrying traffic associated with the local oil and lumber industries. The bridge served as a crossing over Pine Creek nearly 140 years before it was closed to vehicular traffic in 1987.