Category: Section 106 (Page 5 of 5)

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 / Shelby Weaver Splain / 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 8^th! Continue reading

Updated Forms and Guidance from the SHPO

November 26, 2014 / Andrea L. MacDonald / 1 Comment

Bite 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

Improving Archaeological Reports and Review: Part 2

February 5, 2014 / Multiple Authors / 0 Comments

Archaeology is a destructive science. Generally there are no exciting explosions, or catastrophic collapses when undertaking an excavation, but all the same, once a site or portion of a site is excavated it is gone for good. Every good archaeologist is trained to take this fact into account when doing archaeological work. We sketch, note, measure, photograph, and generally record every minute detail of an excavation knowing that we are destroying the very thing we are interested in understanding. This is why there is more than a little truth in the old adage that for every day spent in the field, the archaeologist spends at least as much time, and often more, analyzing, interpreting, and reporting on the information that has been collected. Continue reading

Section 106 Consultation: 5 Steps to Meaningful Mitigation Outcomes

December 25, 2013 / Barbara Frederick / 1 Comment

Last month we discussed Section 106 consultation and how the outcome of the process is not predetermined but rather a result of the interaction among the participants, with the Federal agency making the final decision about how a project will proceed. Agencies in coordination with consulting parties are required to consider project design options that avoid or minimize effects to historic properties. However, it is not always possible to meet the needs of the project and simultaneously preserve a historic property. Continue reading

7 Most Frequently Asked Questions About Section 106 Consultation

November 27, 2013 / Barbara Frederick / 1 Comment

The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966 recognizes that historic preservation is a public interest. Under Section 106 of the NHPA, Federal agencies are required to consider the effects of their projects on historic properties in consultation with historic preservation stakeholders. There is a general lack of understanding related to the consultation process, and how it is carried out varies widely by Federal agency and by project. This blog hopes to provide answers to more common questions about consultation and references for additional information.

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Archaeological Survey and Marcellus Shale

July 3, 2013 / Steven McDougal / 0 Comments

In the past five years since Marcellus shale drilling has started, the pace of archaeological survey in the northern tier and the western counties has increased sharply. Continue reading

“How do you know where to dig?”

June 19, 2013 / Douglas McLearen / 2 Comments

Almost every archaeologist I know has heard this question from somebody from the general public: “How do you know where to dig?” Although it used to give me a facial tic after hearing it over and over, it’s actually not a bad question.

Pamela at the Broad Street Market Building (1878)

New Year, New Approach to Environmental Review

January 9, 2013 / Pamela Reilly / 0 Comments

As we ring in a new year, the PA Historic Preservation Office (PA HPO) is also fine tuning a new approach to the review of state and federal projects that have the potential to affect historic structures. The review process, mandated by federal law (Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 as amended) and state law (the PA History Code), is a core responsibility of all state historic preservation offices. Here in Pennsylvania we have made some changes in order to expedite and streamline our review process. Continue reading