Blog of the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office
Have you ever driven along the back roads of Pennsylvania and come across one of the state’s beautiful metal truss bridges? Or seen a massive truss bridge spanning a major river crossing? These awe-inspiring bridges are a part of Pennsylvania’s landscape and an important part of the state’s engineering and technological history. Continue reading
There’s a scene in the 1960 classic, The Time Machine, where Rod Taylor escapes the imminent nuclear war by throwing his machine fast into the future. Quickly, the ground rises all around him and for what appears to be an eternity, he is sitting there isolated from the outside world. At that moment, as we watch him shivering, we wonder with him what is going on above ground. An archaeologist would empathize with Rod Taylor at that moment, not because he has put himself into a tight spot, but because Taylor’s experience is the experience of all artifacts in the ground. They are part of the world, then they are no longer part of the world, having disappeared beneath the earth.
As we mentioned in our recent post about new archaeology guidelines, The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), and PHMC partnered with URS Corporation to develop a statewide pre-contact archaeological predictive model for Pennsylvania.
Continue readingTime for April’s SHPO Shout-Out! I’m going to mix it up a bit this month and Shout Out about something that’s happening soon rather than something that’s already happened or is in the process of happening. It’s not that I don’t have a whole bunch of great things waiting in the wings – it’s just that the 2016 Pennsylvania Statewide Conference on Heritage is a REALLY big deal and I’d be derelict in my duties as Education and Outreach Coordinator if I didn’t make sure that all of our dedicated readers know all about it. Continue reading
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.
by Elizabeth Shultz
Nestled between the peak heat of July and the crispness of October’s flaming foliage is that special span of outdoor living in Pennsylvania that is the perfect time to hoist your kayaks and canoes onto your shoulders, strap your sturdiest water shoes to your feet, and set out to feast your eyes on some of the architectural and engineering gems that crisscross Pennsylvania’s diverse bodies of water. In the true Commonwealth spirit of discovery, before our rivers turn to frozen slush and our streams start to crunch, let your paddles guide you under some of Pennsylvania’s treasured pieces of transportation history – starting with those listed below! Continue reading
Conference goers gathered on the Plaza for this great photo. Image courtesy of Preservation Pennsylvania.
We all know that summer is a great time to kick back and relax, and it’s even better when you can do so while hanging out at the State Museum of Pennsylvania with your friends and learning some interesting stuff at the 2015 Statewide Conference on Heritage. There was so much going on, and so much to see and do, that I thought perhaps our readers would like a recap of the conference highlights. Continue reading
Some of the 2015 PA SHPO interns check out the Mid-Century design elements in the State Museum.
The PA SHPO provides opportunities for interested college students to work as interns in our office throughout the year, but summer always brings a crop of fresh faces. Our summer interns are participants in either the PHMC Keystone Internship Program or the PENNDOT sponsored summer internship program in cultural resource management. Continue reading
by Joe Baker, PennDOT Cultural Resources Program
Dr. Frank Vento along the banks of the Susquehanna River. Photo by Joe Baker.
On a lovely morning in early autumn, I arrive at an old farm along the Susquehanna River to find Dr Frank Vento in his natural element. That is to say, he is squatting down at the bottom of backhoe trench some eight feet deep, carefully examining the many layers of flood-deposited sediment left behind by the great river. Frank is a geomorphologist: a geologist and archaeologist whose specialty is the formation of floodplains, terraces, and other kinds of landforms created by the interaction of climate, gravity, water, wind, and sometimes, humans. Frank is down there looking for something, and as I walk up to the edge of the trench, he finds it.
“Hah! I knew it!” Continue reading
Along with the many insightful training sessions, in-the-field workshops, and engaging panel discussions offered at this year’s Pennsylvania Statewide Conference on Heritage (July 8-10th), we’ll blow out some candles honoring the 50th birthday of the State Museum & Archives complex in Harrisburg and discuss the challenges of restoring and advocating for modern architecture.
The 2015 conference is sponsored by Preservation Pennsylvania along with PHMC, PennDOT, DCNR, and local partners and is widely attended by heritage enthusiasts, students, and professionals in the fields of planning, preservation, transportation, community development, public history, heritage consulting, architecture, archaeology, real estate, and more. With dozens of sessions, workshops, tours, and social events, plus the hall of exhibitors, the Statewide Conference on Heritage is a don’t-miss opportunity for education, inspiration, experience and networking. The general registration rate is set at $150. (Some events may have associated fees.) Continue reading
© 2025 Pennsylvania Historic Preservation
Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑
Recent Comments