Blog of the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office
The Community Initiative Award from the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office (PA SHPO) recognizes organizations, municipalities, agencies, individuals, and others whose work embodies the theme of Pennsylvania’s recently released statewide historic preservation plan, #PreservationHappensHere.
The 2016 awardees are Bradford Revitalization Team (McKean County), East Liberty Development, Inc. (Allegheny County), and Hidden City Philadelphia (Philadelphia).
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Picture yourself – lounging poolside, lakeside, or on the beach – with your tablet or smart phone (or even good old-fashioned paper) enjoying the hottest summer publication that hasn’t yet made the New York Times bestseller list: #preservationhappenshere, Pennsylvania’s next statewide historic preservation plan. Continue reading
The 2016 Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Awards offered me the opportunity to get a break from Harrisburg, away from everyday work, and to see the bigger picture. While traveling south to York for the ceremony blue skies and sunshine beamed through my car windows. It was a remarkably beautiful fall day. Continue reading
It’s that time again!
As some of you may know, the National Park Service highlighted Pennsylvania in their #50for50 social media campaign earlier this month. This initiative is part of their broader effort to celebrate and recognize the 50th anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act this year. Each week, NPS has been promoting the interesting, meaningful, and successful historic preservation work being done in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. (FYI, this week is South Carolina’s turn!)
Here at PHMC, we participated by adding the #50for50 and #Preservation50 hashtags to all of the preservation-related posts on the Pennsylvania Trails of History Facebook page and @PHMC Twitter feed. I think NPS could have featured Pennsylvania’s successes for a year and still not have gotten through them all, but alas, we need to share the limelight. So, I thought it would be a great idea to share with you some of the stories that didn’t get aired that week and that we haven’t covered in previous posts and Shout-Outs.
Every two years, the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions hosts a conference unlike any other – an event focused on providing training and education on issues relevant to historic preservation commissions, review boards, and local governments. FORUM is a truly national event, drawing participants from all over the country to share ideas, war stories, and best practices for making local preservation efforts more effective. You might remember that FORUM 2014 was held in Philadelphia and attracted nearly 800 attendees from 48 states! Mobile, Alabama played host to FORUM 2016 from July 27-31, and nearly 600 people gathered to bask in the balmy Gulf Coast weather and Southern hospitality, including a few of us from Pennsylvania. Here are some of the highlights. Continue reading
What new challenges will preservationists face over the next 50 years? It’s clear that the impacts on historic places by hurricanes Katrina and Sandy and other recent tropical storms, combined with growing international concern about rising sea levels, has started to “change the tide” and bring a new focus to preservation professionals. In April and June 2016, national and international experts in historic preservation, climate change, emergency management, architecture, and planning gathered in three U.S. states to participate in a series of “firsts” to address the threats facing the nation’s historic coastal and riverine (meaning ‘situated or dwelling beside a river’) communities from flooding and climate change. Continue reading
As part of our Preservation50 activities during this milestone year, we’d like to share some stories we think showcase the people and projects that celebrate, protect, and promote important pieces of Pennsylvania’s heritage. The first story we want to share is about the Carver Court neighborhood in Caln Township, Chester County, just on the edge of Coatesville. This week’s blog post celebrates the recent efforts made by Carver Court’s community members, a group made up of current and former residents, government officials and entities, historians, and more. The happy outcome for this story is the listing of Carver Court in the National Register of Historic Places on May 31, 2016. Continue reading
From June 6-8, 250 of Pennsylvania’s spiffiest preservationists made Lewisburg, PA the most happening scene in the Commonwealth during the 2016 Statewide Conference on Heritage, and – by all accounts – every beach bunny, bookbuster, cat, chick, cool head, dove, dude, flap jaw, flower child, fox, hodad, hot dog, hunk, mop-top, mover, skirt, and teenie bopper in attendance had a totally way out blast! As you whiz kids out there may know, 2016 is the year that the preservation community is celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the utterly rad National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, and part of that wicked celebration involves recognizing, praising, and engaging with Pennsylvania’s diverse and awesome communities that exist throughout the state. Continue reading
We’re back to our regular SHPO Shout-Out post this month, and I get to tell you about some great local preservation activities, two national award winners, and a cool new park in Jefferson County. Two quick things before I launch into my list of happy news: have you taken our online survey for the next statewide historic preservation plan yet? Or have you registered for the upcoming Statewide Conference on Heritage? There is still time to do both! Continue reading
May is National Historic Preservation Month and a great time to announce two new exciting preservation initiatives at the PA SHPO. We’re celebrating this year by kicking off our “Community Connections” campaign, the outreach and planning efforts for Pennsylvania’s next statewide historic preservation plan, and our Preservation50 Community Recognition campaign. Continue reading
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