Blog of the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office

Category: Mitigation Files (Page 3 of 4)

Virgil Cantini: Saving Cantini’s Mosaics

Last week’s blog post introduced the life and work of artist Virgil Cantini and highlighted the vulnerable position of postwar public art objects and installations, which often require special expertise to understand and articulate their significance for preservation. 

This week’s post recounts part of the struggle to save one of Cantini’s largest works of public art, which came dangerously close to disappearing forever.

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Virgil Cantini: A Purpose in Public Art

On a sunny August morning in 2017, a group of Pittsburgh-based architects, historians, artists, students, preservationists and art enthusiasts convened before venturing out with a shared goal; to experience first-hand nearly all public artworks accessible in the vicinity, both indoors and outdoors, created by the late Virgil Cantini (1919-2009). 

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Surveying Western Pennsylvania Communities

With support from the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation office, this summer, a team from ASC Group, Inc. and Aurora Research Associates, LLC undertook a community survey project in the Beaver and Monongahela river valleys in western Pennsylvania.

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Preservation Planning through Mitigation in Western PA

In spring of 2015, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE), the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office (PA SHPO), Shell Chemical Appalachia, LLC (applicant) and the Seneca Nation of Indians (SNI) concluded consultation after 18 months of discussions under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act about the construction of a petrochemical complex in Beaver County along the Ohio River.

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Saving the Watts Mill Road Bridge: Part 1

The biggest obstacle for a small trail or historic preservation group to assume ownership of a historic bridge is usually funding.  They operate on lean budgets and do not always have the extra resources to purchase, rehabilitate and maintain a historic bridge. However, a success story is in the making with the transfer of the Watts Mill Bridge from PennDOT to the people of Beaver County.

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The Lenticular of Lazy Brook Park: Bridging the Gap between Idea and Execution

It was ten years ago, almost to the day, that I participated in a series of scoping field views for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) that involved a brilliant idea to address the needs of two seemingly separate projects. Continue reading

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