Category: Preservation Backstory

Color rendering of people around a two story stone building with an arched doorway and two windows above. — Future Interpretation of Presidential Pump House by Spillman Farmer Architects.

Exciting news for the President Pumping Engine House

February 1, 2023 / Karen Arnold / 0 Comments

Readers in the Lehigh Valley saw some interesting news stories throughout the month of January as the one of the boilers from the Ueberroth Zinc Mine Historic District (1995RE50357) was removed from the former American Atelier furniture factory on Front Street in Allentown.

Small stone church with large corner tower surrounded by grass. — Second United Presbyterian Church, Stanton Avenue facade. Photo by PHMC

The Union Project: Planning for a Community Asset

December 7, 2022 / Karen Arnold / 1 Comment

At the start of the 20th century, Pittsburgh’s Highland Park neighborhood was becoming a bustling place. The leaders of the United Presbyterian Church decided to build a new church, which became the Second United Presbyterian Church, at the corner of North Negley and Stanton Avenues in the city’s east end in 1903.

Line drawing with lines connecting circles on a map of Pennsylvania. — This map shows the lines of connections southeastern Pennsylvania, including safe houses, station masters and UGRR conductors. Wilbert Seibert included this map, which is based on Robert Smedley's 1883 book, in his 1898 The Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom.

The Underground Railroad in Columbia, Lancaster County

September 14, 2022 / Guest Contributor / 1 Comment

September is International Underground Railroad Month. September was chosen because it is the month that two of the most well-known people associated with the Underground Railroad – Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass – escaped from slavery. Today’s post was written by guest author Dr. Leroy Hopkins and he provides a glimpse into the Underground Railroad in Columbia, Pennsylvania.

The Warner Theatre with its new marquee and lighting.

Dramatic Finish for Warner Theatre Project

August 10, 2022 / Guest Contributor / 1 Comment

Few buildings are more iconic to downtown Erie than the historic Warner Theatre. At 91-years-old, the luxury movie palace still offers an environment “twice as rich, three times more fanciful than life.”

Large blue and gold metal marker surrounded by people. — Me with the newly dedicated Sylvania Electric Products historical marker.

Preservation Backstory: Emporium’s Sylvania Corporation Marker

July 14, 2021 / Andrea L. MacDonald / 27 Comments

The Historical Marker Program is one of the PHMC’s most popular public history programs, and the recently approved nominations prove these aluminum markers dotting our roads and city sidewalks are more than just “history on a stick.” The words cast into markers and the marker topics have deep meaning to many Pennsylvanians.