My SHPO colleagues and I, just like the rest of the world, are continuing to emerge from our COVID cocoons. We’ve been getting out and about more each month but still find ourselves wanting to be physically connecting with places in every way we can.
Continue readingCategory: Offbeat Outings (Page 1 of 2)

Exploring the Harrisburg Cemetery
Spring has sprung in Harrisburg! So when I was deciding what National Register resource to focus on for this week’s blog post, my office mate/dining room table neighbor/husband suggested we take a walk through Harrisburg Cemetery, listed in the National Register in 1985.
Continue readingThere are only so many times I could run to the Race Street Pier or the Art Museum steps… I needed my next destination.
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Dip into History: Five Historic Pools and Swimming Holes in Pennsylvania
Summer is definitely here in Pennsylvania! And when the weather turns hot and humid, my mind turns to swimming and lazy days by the water.
Continue readingDid you know that the first American Heart Month took place in February of 1964, over two years before the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966?
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Laurel Hill State Park and HistoriCorps: Partnership for Preservation
In preservation, it is often observed that one of the most promising tactics for the achievement of a “preservation win” is the engagement of as diverse a collection of partners as possible to participate in the project at hand.
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Offbeat Outing: The Green Book in Philadelphia
Some of my colleagues are known to check their Facebook accounts while they drink their morning coffee, and on more than one occasion that has resulted in a Facebook message or email with the subject line “I have a great idea…” One of these great ideas led to one of the more interesting, informative, and eye-opening surveys I’ve done – Green Book locations in Philadelphia. Continue reading

We LOVE Barns!
The PA SHPO’s staff has been thinking a lot about barns. But then again, who doesn’t?! Continue reading

Offbeat Outing: Mt. Gretna Tour of Homes and Gardens
Offbeat Outings is a bi-monthly series that highlights the travels of BHP staff as they experience history first-hand throughout Pennsylvania.
Trying to find something to do outside in Pennsylvania during the month of August is often challenging with our hot and humid days. Luckily, the first Saturday in August is always the Mt. Gretna Tour of Homes & Gardens.
“Mount Gretna” (“Mt. Gretna”) is a rather loosely defined residential area in southern Lebanon County and is about seven miles south of the city of Lebanon, twenty miles north of Lancaster and about thirty-five miles from Harrisburg. I figured you all would enjoy “touring” the countryside using a 1914 State Highway Map instead of that high tech GPS/Bing/Google mapping! Mt. Gretna’s early communities are “cities in the woods” and due to the careful planning in the 1890s and maintaining of the overhead tree canopy, Mt. Gretna is at least 10 degrees cooler than the rest of Lebanon County during the summer. Continue reading
Offbeat Outings is a bi-monthly series that highlights the travels of BHP staff as they experience history first-hand throughout Pennsylvania.
Although I’m Pennsylvania born and raised, I’m the first to (sheepishly) admit that there are many counties within the Commonwealth where I have never stepped foot. So when the invitation arose under the guise of project and covenant review to visit Pike County in the far northeast reaches, I eagerly accepted and grabbed an able co-pilot, Karen Arnold, for what turned out to be a gorgeous day in April. (Disclaimer: the musings of one mere BHP staffer does not do these places justice –if you’ve never been, add them to your bucket list – they do not disappoint [unlike my writing skills]). Continue reading
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