Pennsylvania Historic Preservation

Blog of the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office



May 11, 2020
by Shelby Weaver Splain
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#FavoritePAPlaces: PAC’s Ira Beckerman

Pennsylvania’s communities are filled with special and meaningful historic places and spaces that add value to our lives and offer comfort and stability vitality during these challenging times. Now more than ever, it is important to stay connected to our communities.

Today’s Spotlight: Ira Beckerman

The next entry in PA SHPO’s #FavoritePAPlaces campaign is Ira Beckerman, President of the Pennsylvania Archaeological Council talking about why the Yuengling Brewery in Pottsville, Schuylkill County is one of his favorite Pennsylvania places.

Yuengling Brewery

Making beer since 1829, the historic Yuengling Brewery in Pottsville, Schuylkill County holds the honor of being the oldest continuously operating brewery in the country. You can read more about Yuengling’s history in this post.

The Yuengling Brewery complex (Key #078564) was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

Share your #FavoritePAPlace

What older and historic places in your community are you looking forward to connecting with again?  Share your answer with us in the comments or email us at mail@pahistoricpreservation.com. 

Use the hashtags #FavoritePAPlace and/or #PreservationHappensHere and your entry just might be featured, too!

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commision Logo

May 8, 2020
by Shelby Weaver Splain
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#FavoritePAPlaces: PDC’s Julie Fitzpatrick

Pennsylvania’s communities are filled with special and meaningful historic places and spaces that add value to our lives and offer comfort and stability vitality during these challenging times. Now more than ever, it is important to stay connected to our communities.

Today’s Spotlight: Julie Fitzpatrick

The next entry in PA SHPO’s #FavoritePAPlaces campaign is Julie Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Downtown Center talking about why the Union Meeting House in Marietta, Lancaster County is one of her favorite Pennsylvania places.

Union Meeting House

The Union Meeting House was built in 1818 for all Protestant congregations in Marietta before they each had their own place of worship; it was consecrated in June 1823.

According to the CRGIS record for the Union Meeting House (Key # 082262), the Union Meeting House “is believed to have been the only meetinghouse type church ever erected in Marietta. It is among the later—but not the latest—of all meetinghouse type churches in Lancaster County.” You can read more here.

The Union Meeting House held its last church service in 1976. A few years later it was determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The building underwent an exterior and interior restoration campaign in the 1980s. It is now available as community space and for private rentals.

Share your #FavoritePAPlace

What older and historic places in your community are you looking forward to connecting with again?  Share your answer with us in the comments or email us at mail@pahistoricpreservation.com. 

Use the hashtags #FavoritePAPlace and/or #PreservationHappensHere and your entry just might be featured, too!

May 6, 2020
by Shelby Weaver Splain
0 comments

#FavoritePAPlaces for Preservation Month

Pennsylvania’s communities are filled with special and meaningful historic places and spaces that add value to our lives and offer comfort and stability vitality during these challenging times. Now more than ever, it is important to stay connected to our communities.

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This photograph shows two late 19th century buildings along a street in Bradford, PA.

April 22, 2020
by Bill Callahan
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Supporting Pennsylvania’s Main Streets

As one of PA SHPO’s Community Preservation Coordinators, one of the more heartening things I’ve observed (and participated in) the past few weeks has been the response of many Main Street communities and their partners to the COVID 19 crisis.

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April 15, 2020
by April Frantz
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Inspiration in Philadelphia

When the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia announces the recipients of their annual Preservation Achievement Awards, I immediately skim through the list of properties looking for familiar names and places. This year’s list did not disappoint.

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April 8, 2020
by Shelby Weaver Splain
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Advocacy Week 2020

Each year, the PA SHPO and members of Preservation Pennsylvania join other SHPOs and historic preservation partners from across the country in Washington for National Historic Preservation Advocacy Week to learn from and network with other states and educate our federal legislators about the important of historic places and spaces in Pennsylvania.

In this post, hear from two students who joined the PA SHPO this year for Advocacy Week Hill visits.

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Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commision Logo

April 6, 2020
by Shelby Weaver Splain
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Digitization Project Update!

In Fall 2017, PA SHPO contracted with JMT to help us complete an ambitious digitization project to turn all of the CD and paper files in the PA SHPO file room into digital documents for greater accessibility and as part of the move to the PA SHARE system. All the files scanned are available on CRGIS; you can get to CRGIS through this link: https://www.phmc.pa.gov/Preservation/Cultural-Resources-GIS/Pages/default.aspx

Working with PA SHPO staff, JMT contractors spent over two years on this project, which involved a gap analysis, document prep and scanning, and filing for all 67 of Pennsylvania’s counties. This included over 1 million pages of reports and HRSF (Historic Resource Survey Form), and PASS (Pennsylvania Archaeological Site Survey) files.

Thanks, JMT, for assisting PA SHPO in accomplishing this monumental task!