What better way to celebrate archaeology during Preservation50 than to share the PA State Historic Preservation Office’s recently revised and newly issued of the Guidelines for Archaeological Investigations in Pennsylvania? Another bit of big news is that the revised Guidelines are being released in tandem with the much-anticipated Pre-Contact Probability Model layer on CRGIS.
Category: Preservation Partners (Page 21 of 28)
Disaster Planning for Historic Properties in a World Heritage City
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
We have probably all visited places or done things in our childhood that we’ve long since forgotten, and certainly didn’t appreciate the significance of it until much later in life. Thinking about the National Park Service’s Centennial and the #FindYourPark campaign recently brought back a memory of visiting Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site with my parents when I was a kid. I couldn’t have known it at the time, but I’m beginning to realize that a fun little day trip many years ago helped to pique my interest in and appreciation for historic places in ways that changed my life. Continue reading
Preservation Pennsylvania has announced the addition of 8 properties to Pennsylvania At Risk, the list of sites determined to be among the most endangered historic resources in the Commonwealth. The sites were selected from nominations submitted by the public in 2015 and will become Preservation Pennsylvania’s work priorities in 2016. Continue reading
The internet tells me that 45% of all Americans make News Year’s resolutions. The top ones – which I think we’ve all made at one time or another – are to be happier, healthier, and more organized. A psychologist friend tells me that one of the ways to be happier and healthier is to manage your stress. Well, duh, right? This same friend also tells me one way to do that is to all seek out good news to balance all of the bad news in our world. I’m sure you’re all thinking, “well, that’s great, Shelby, but why are you talking about this in a SHPO Shout-Out post?” I’m talking about it because the SHPO Shout-Out is all about good news! A well-known TV talk show doctor even says sharing good news boosts your mood. I’m no doctor or expert on these matters, but it seems like taking just a few minutes to read this post and think about all the wonderful things happening in our communities can help reduce your stress level and – like icing on a cake – if you share it with others you might just be happier, too!
Heart + Soul + Humanities: Stronger Civic Engagement in PA!
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
It’s that time of year again . . . . . not holiday shopping, but Farm Show planning! That’s right, the Pennsylvania Farm Show will be taking place soon, January 9-16, and the SHPO will be there for the whole week. 2016 marks the 100th time Pennsylvania has celebrated agriculture and farmers with a multi-day exhibition in Harrisburg. Building on the number 100, this year we’re partnering with the Department of Agriculture’s Century Farm Program to recognize farms that have been owned and operated by members of the same family for at least 100 years. Our theme this year is “Farms + Family = Heritage.”
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This past June Barbara Frederick and I were in Saltsburg, Indiana County attending a stakeholder meeting for the Loyahanna and Conemaugh Dam’s master planning process. The Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh District has been hard at work this summer updating their planning documents, and, as the Western Region Section 106 review team, Barbara and I have been doing our part to provide our support to their process. We also used the opportunity to get a first-hand look at the Dams, Saltsburg, and some really great historic resources! Continue reading
The National Park Service will marks its 100th anniversary in 2016, and in honor of this centennial celebration, PHMC will highlight the National Parks in Pennsylvania throughout the coming year, as seen through the eyes of our staff.
Recently, a couple of us from the office went on a trip to the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton. The site is owned by the National Park Service and is the site a rail yard and engine roundhouse of the former Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad. We went to discuss consultation between our office and NPS on maintenance and infrastructure improvements at the site. Once we were done with our official discussions, we got a tour of the facilities. Continue reading
How often is it that we, as preservationists and champions of history, get to hear some good news about historic preservation? When I check my Facebook feed every morning, I usually see one post after another calling attention to the plight of our cherished historic places and spaces. Finally, one morning, I said, “Enough! There has to be some good in the world!” And the SHPO Shout-Out was born…
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