Pennsylvania Historic Preservation

Blog of the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office

Category: Planning (Page 9 of 9)

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Disaster Planning for Historic Properties in a World Heritage City

March 9, 2016 / / 2 Comments

by Emily Paulus Everett, AECOM Technical Services

On November 6, 2015, the City of Philadelphia became the first United States city to join the Organization of World Heritage Cities – a prestigious designation that recognizes, among other things, its vast and significant collection of well-preserved historic resources. That same week, representatives from the PA SHPO, US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management, and AECOM Technical Services, Inc. gathered in Center City, Philadelphia to kick off Phase 1 of a two-phase effort to protect those historic resources before, during, and in the aftermath of, future flooding events.  As part of the PA SHPO’s Disaster Planning for Historic Properties Initiative, Philadelphia County joins Monroe, Bedford, and Cameron as one of four pilot counties to take into account the impact of future flooding events on historic properties.   Continue reading

Germantown Avenue Corridor. Photo by Monique Brand courtesy of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council.

Heart + Soul + Humanities: Stronger Civic Engagement in PA!

January 20, 2016 / / 1 Comment

by Mimi Ijima, Pennsylvania Humanities Council

In 2015, the Pennsylvania Humanities Council launched a partnership with the Orton Family Foundation to help Pennsylvania communities engage in meaningful civic and engagement and community planning using the Foundation’s successful Community Heart & Soul™ planning method. Community Heart & Soul is a tried and tested process that empowers people to shape the future of their communities. The “heart and soul” of this process are the humanities which unearths vital values and concerns and brings people together to create a shared sense of belonging.  Key to the process is learning what matters most to the community through gathering stories from and engaging as many residents as possible, including those who don’t typically participate in public processes. Stories are data with soul!  With storytelling at the heart of planning and development, local values and voices become the foundation for building communities that are connected, innovative, competitive, and strong. Continue reading

City of Bradford Welcome Sign

Spotlight Series: Preservation At Work in Bradford

December 23, 2015 / / 1 Comment

45 communities in Pennsylvania have a formal working relationship with the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office (PA SHPO) on a variety of preservation-related programs and projects.

Known as Certified Local Governments (CLGs), these communities represent a broad geographic, demographic and economic swath across the Commonwealth. From Philadelphia (Pop. 1.5 million) to Mercersburg, Franklin County (Pop. 1500) and located in over a third of Pennsylvania counties, the CLG program provides exclusive funding and technical assistance for local governments.  As you may remember from this post a few months ago, the CLG program is one of several federal programs administered by the PA SHPO; in this case, the National Park Service provides guidance, rules and funding for the CLG program.

Three CLG communities in the PA SHPO Western Region provide a glimpse into the range of preservation activities CLGs can sponsor. Over the next few months, we’ll illustrate how the City of Bradford, Moon Township and the City of Pittsburgh have used the CLG program to leverage their preservation programs.  We’ll turn our spotlight on Bradford first.

Continue reading

December’s SHPO Shout-Out

December 2, 2015 / / 0 Comments

It’s hard to believe that a month has gone by since our first ever SHPO Shout-Out! I’ll give my own Shout-Out to everyone who liked, posted, shared, tweeted, and emailed our November post to spread the word not only about the great projects I featured but also to let people know that we’d like to crowd-source candidates for future posts.  The number of emails I got from readers with ideas for candidates were low – like zero! – but I understand that you’re all just getting used to the idea, right?!  I can’t possibly know about all the good preservation victories across the 46,055 sq. mi. that make up Pennsylvania and I need your help!

shout out 4 Continue reading

The Battle of Brandywine Revisited

February 25, 2015 / / 0 Comments

By Jill Hall and Karen Marshall

Brinton 1704 House and the surrounding lands were the location of core combat actions in the final phase of the Battle, Chadds Ford, Delaware County

Brinton 1704 House and the surrounding lands were the location of core combat actions in the final phase of the Battle, Chadds Ford, Delaware County

On September 11, 1777, British General William Howe and his professional army engaged General George Washington and his citizen soldiers along the banks of the Brandywine River about 30 miles southwest of Philadelphia. Part of a larger strategy known as the Philadelphia Campaign, the Battle of Brandywine was one of the earliest and largest battles of the American Revolution, encompassing some 30,000 British and American soldiers. The Battle lasted from sunup to sundown, instantly changing the character of a quiet farming community that consisted predominately of Quakers. Although the Battle of Brandywine was a loss for the Americans, they proved that they had the resiliency to withstand the British, increasing French support of the American cause.  Continue reading

Before the (Next) Storm: The Disaster Planning for Historic Properties Initiative

February 4, 2015 / / 3 Comments

The Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office (PA SHPO) is pleased to announce that it has begun moving forward on an exciting and historic new initiative to continue through 2017.

Special funding awarded by the National Park Service following Hurricane Sandy has enabled the PA SHPO to assist select counties with prioritizing their communities’ historic properties during the pre-disaster planning process—to help ensure they are better protected the next time a major disaster strikes the Keystone State. Continue reading

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