Category: Preservation Partners (Page 7 of 26)

Designing for Distance in Pennsylvania’s Historic Communities

April 21, 2021 / Cory Kegerise / 0 Comments

To say that COVID-19 changed things about away we live our lives would be the understatement of the century. Virtually everything about the ways in which we live, work, learn, recreate, shop – everything – changed in an instant and we have spent the last 12+ months learning how to adapt, as individuals and communities. The pandemic has also prompted a lot of pondering and forecasting about the long term effects on our society and how many of these adaptations will become part of our “normal” lives going forward. In Pennsylvania’s traditional communities, the sudden loss of foot traffic, festivals, and events hit small businesses and restaurants especially hard. Revitalization organizations and local governments have had to reimagine, with little or no time or experience, how to allow people to use streets, sidewalks, parks, and trails in a safe and responsible manner. Enter Designing for Distance.

Sancturary after rehabilitation, 2020. Photo by David B. Schneider, Schneider Historic Preservation, LLC.

Rehabilitating Wilkes-Barre’s Memorial Presbyterian Church

March 24, 2021 / smassey / 1 Comment

Rehabilitating a religious property, like a church, using historic tax credits can be very challenging because it is often difficult to match the building’s desired new use with the historic floor plan and character-defining spaces. Design professionals and building owners have to negotiate a difficult balance between preserving a church’s large, open sanctuaries with the need for income-producing spaces like apartments or multi-tenant office spaces.

The rehabilitation of Wilkes-Barre’s Memorial Presbyterian Church is a good example of how to apply the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, which are the guiding principles for historic tax credit projects, to church buildings.

Preservation’s March Madness

March 17, 2021 / Shelby Weaver Splain / 0 Comments

“March Madness” in the historic preservation world isn’t quite the same as the highly competitive, single-elimination college basketball tournaments that happen each March.

I’ve coopted the phrase to describe National Historic Preservation Advocacy Week and the days leading up to it in our office. Just like the NCAA I players that begin prepping and practicing weeks and months before their games, we kick off each New Year with making plans, preparing materials and partipants, and scheduling visits for Advocacy Week.

One big difference, of course, is that preservationists don’t compete against each other in a nail-biting, winner-takes-all game. One big similarlity, however, is the frenzy of activity, nerves, and excitement before the big event.

Artifacts recovered from (36FO0367) including biface (l), phallic object (c), and Meadowood point (r).

The 2020 PASS Report

March 10, 2021 / Noël Strattan / 0 Comments

For the past several years, PA SHPO archaeologists have issued an annual report – known as the PASS Report – detailing the ongoing efforts to record Pennsylvania’s archaeological sites.

Despite 2020’s many challenges, over 280 new archaeological sites were recorded thanks to cultural resource management (CRM) projects and continued contributions from independent research projects, members of the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology (SPA), and long-time avocational archaeologists.

Mosaic panel detail with signature plaque (Ricketts 2018).

Virgil Cantini: Saving Cantini’s Mosaics

March 3, 2021 / Guest Contributor / 1 Comment

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.

Metal truss bridge over water. — Undated photo of Hull Drive bridge over Bermudian Creek.

Preserving York County’s Hull Drive Bridge

October 28, 2020 / Guest Contributor / 2 Comments

As the air becomes a little brisker over the last few days, the chill enhances visual clues that autumn has officially arrived. Leaves slowly change from their summer greens to vivid Fall oranges, browns, and reds.

People sitting and standing around table with laptop computer. — PA SHPO archaeologist Noel Strattan (seated) and Casey Hanson (standing at back) talking about site recording at the 2019 Workshops in Archaeology at the State Museum in Harrisburg. Photo by Don Giles, PHMC.

From SPA to PHMC and Back Again – One Archaeologist’s Journey

October 21, 2020 / Noël Strattan / 2 Comments

I grew up in Western Pennsylvania – mostly Somerset County. Everywhere around me there was evidence that we were not the first people to inhabit this land.

Telling a Fuller Story about African American History in Pennsylvania’s Chesapeake Bay Watershed

October 14, 2020 / Shelby Weaver Splain / 1 Comment

Earlier this month, the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) announced a new pilot project with PHMC, PA DCNR, the states of Maryland and Virginia, and National Park Service Chesapeake Bay to identify, document, and map sites and landscapes in the Chesapeake Bay watershed region significant to African American history and culture.

Row of two two story brick buildings along a pathway, canal, and railroad track. — Rear elevations of buildings in Manayunk overlooking the Manayunk Canal. PA SHPO, 2020.

Manayunk Main Street Historic District Flood Guide

September 30, 2020 / John Gardosik / 0 Comments

September is National Preparedness Month. According to the PA Emergency Management Agency (PEMA), this year’s theme is “Disasters don’t wait. Make your plan today.”

Preservation Planning through Mitigation in Western PA

September 23, 2020 / Bill Callahan / 0 Comments

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.