Pennsylvania Historic Preservation

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Category: Historic Preservation (Page 41 of 48)

Taking Stock of 2014 at the PaSHPO

December 31, 2014 / / 0 Comments

There’s something about turning the final page of the calendar each year that makes us all a little introspective.  What were the high points of the past 12 months?  The low points?  The successes? The challenges?  What might we do differently in the coming year?  What should stay the same?

This past year has been a pretty exciting one for the Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Office, so we thought we’d take one last glance through the 2014 calendar before hanging up the new one – just for old times’ sake.  Continue reading

Large two-story brick home surrounded by green lawn.
Wheatland, home of James Buchanan, the 15th President of the United States. (1961RE00031)

The Keystone Fund Partners in Preserving James Buchanan’s Wheatland

December 10, 2014 / / 0 Comments
The home of James Buchanan, the 15th President of the United States, BHP Key No. 001061

Wheatland, the home of James Buchanan, the 15th President of the United States, BHP Key No. 001061

I realize that when it is cold outside, it might be more comfortable to hibernate on the couch watching television, but this is a great time of year to visit the Commonwealth’s museums and historical sites.  Always in need a last-minute hostess gift for a party, I often pop into the Landis Valley Museum Shop for a unique gift or just take respite in exploring the material cultural of our great Commonwealth.  One of my favorite historic houses to visit this time year is President James Buchanan’s Wheatland in Lancaster.  Constructed in 1828 for William Jenkins, the president of Farmer’s Bank of Lancaster, the Federal-style brick house and surrounding 24 acres were purchased by retiring U.S. Secretary of State, James Buchanan, in 1848.  Wheatland remained Buchanan’s home during his presidency until his death on June 1, 1868.  The Mansion was sold in 1935 to the James Buchanan Foundation for the Preservation of Wheatland to develop a Presidential House Museum.  Continue reading

Eliza Kirkbride School, Philadelphia
The Kirkbride school in the 1500 block of S. 7th Street at the south edge of Center City was listed in the National Register in 1988 as a good example of a Late Gothic Revival school by the school district’s architect, Irwin T. Catharine. This school is one of 114 listed in the National Register through the first historic context prepared for Philadelphia public schools in the 1980s.

School Daze

December 3, 2014 / / 2 Comments

No, this isn’t a review of Spike Lee’s 1988 movie.  I’m referring to my state of mind when I think about all of the work I’ve done with public schools in Philadelphia over the past few months.

As you may remember from this post, I joined BHP in July and my first assignment was to complete the survey component of a larger project to document Philadelphia elementary and secondary public schools of all types, styles, and dates.  I had a good start on the survey work thanks to the headway my predecessor made in 2013 by assembling lists and survey maps, which are organized by zip code.  My school daze started when I realized that there were about 300 public schools that qualified for this reconnaissance-level survey.  And, even more intimidating, that 205 still needed to be surveyed before school started on September 8th!  Continue reading

Updated Forms and Guidance from the SHPO

November 26, 2014 / / 1 Comment

StaffRegionsBite off more than you can chew, then chew it. Plan more than you can do, then do it.
– Anonymous

It’s that time of the year for excess chewing, and it’s also timely for the Bureau to take a mid-plan stretch (after a turkey-induced slumber) and to regain focus on evaluating the accomplishments of Pennsylvania’s Statewide Historic Preservation Plan, Building Better Communities: The Preservation of Place, 2012-2017.  The Plan includes an ambitious Action Agenda that was developed with the direct intent of being highly responsive to public needs and desires.   While the Plan was created for all Pennsylvanians and depends on assistance and full participation for it to be successful, Goal 5’s objectives and strategies resulted from some internal soul-searching.  Continue reading

History with a slice of pie: on the road with the Heinrichs

November 12, 2014 / / 2 Comments

Late in August this summer Keith and I found ourselves in Westmoreland County, on a rare working Saturday, with a couple hours of down time. Between my meeting with a consultant in the morning and Keith’s event to celebrate the National Register listing of the Concord School in the evening, we needed a plan: something better than hanging out at the closest mall or park for a few hours. Continue reading

Lancaster's Central Market providing fresh food for their healthy community.

Spotlight Series: Lancaster Central Market celebrates its 125th Anniversary

October 15, 2014 / / 0 Comments

bannerFor some readers the onset of seasonal fall weather means bundling up for Friday night high school football games or starting the furnace, but I’m always reminded that another growing season is coming to a close.  However, It is not too late to find great local produce at any of Pennsylvania’s local market houses! Continue reading

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

October 8, 2014 / / 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

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

Looking Down The Road: The PHMC’s Role in Regional Transportation Planning

October 1, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Over the past several years the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission has developed an innovative partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to provide regional Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) and Rural Planning Organizations (RPOs) with free technical assistance to help them develop their Long Range Transportation Plans (LRTP). Supported by funding from FHWA, the goal is to encourage these planning organizations to integrate cultural resources and historic preservation issues into their transportation planning.  Continue reading

Spotlight Series: A neglected architectural gem in North Philadelphia

September 24, 2014 / / 2 Comments

The Spotlight Series is an occasional series that highlights interesting people, places, programs, and partner organizations working on historic preservation issues.

At the turn of the last century, the 2200 block of West Tioga Street was a fashionable address for business owners and professionals. Homes were up to 5,800 square feet, housing large families and live-in servants.

Architect Edgar Viguers Seeler designed the gem of the block — an 1898 chateau-style twin at 2224-26 West Tioga – for two families that owned the Conkling-Armstrong Terra Cotta Co. In fact, it was an ornate showpiece for their business: making architectural ornamentation. It featured columns encrusted with floral detail, ornate stringcourses and porch balustrades, all made of terra cotta. Combining his training from the Philadelphia Museum and School of Industrial Art, MIT, and the Ecole de Beaux Arts in Paris, Seeler was able to design ornate structures that spanned multiple aesthetics. Continue reading

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commision Logo

Unscripted: an archaeologist’s journey into the world of film production

September 17, 2014 / / 0 Comments

In my position here at BHP, I am involved in a wide variety of activities, in addition to my primary job duty, review of compliance projects in the Western Region for archaeology. Most of these activities center on keeping all the internal bits and parts of BHP moving, including processing archaeological reports for final storage in our archive, collaborating on updating our Guidelines for Archaeological Investigation, or chairing the committee on addressing our bureau storage and archive issues. All of these activities keep me entirely within my Historic Preservation, Cultural Resource Management comfort zone. Like all comfort zones, though, it can sometimes get, well, a little too comfortable. Back in the summer of 2011, looking for a change of pace, I volunteered to manage a PennDOT/Federal Highways (FHWA) mitigation project: a short film about historic bridges aimed at inspiring public interest in bridge advocacy. Did I know anything about historic bridges? Nope. Did I know anything about producing films? Nope. Did I know a great deal about public advocacy? Nope. Piece of cake, right? Continue reading

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