Blog of the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office
Each year we meet to share and learn at the Statewide Conference on Heritage and to be inspired at the Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Awards. This year, those two inspiring events combine offering preservation festivities from June 19-21 in Chambersburg. For the first time, we’ll host an all-day Pennsylvania Barn & Farm Symposium.
Continue readingThis post contains updates to the statewide agricultural context, also known as the Pennsylvania Agricultural History Project, through January 2022. The development and implementation of Pennsylvania’s Historic & Archaeological Resource Exchange (PA-SHARE) has necessitate updates to the way information is collected and provided to the PA SHPO.
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This post is the second of two highlighting the work of two recent interns to preserve WPA-era Civilian Conservation Corps camps at Laurel Hill State Park. You can read Part 1 and the history of the park in this post.
Continue readingThis post is the first in a two-part series written by former interns highlighting the CCC history and historic resources at Laurel Hill State Park and the work the PA Department of Conservation & Natural Resources and the PA SHPO are doing to preserve and celebrate them as part of the Laurel Hill landscape.
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The biggest obstacle for a small trail or historic preservation group to assume ownership of a historic bridge is usually funding. They operate on lean budgets and do not always have the extra resources to purchase, rehabilitate and maintain a historic bridge. However, a success story is in the making with the transfer of the Watts Mill Bridge from PennDOT to the people of Beaver County.
Continue readingMay is Historic Preservation Month and what better way to kick it off than with a fun – and impactful – social media campaign about our favorite hashtag, #PreservationHappensHere!
#PreservationHappensHere! isn’t just the title of Pennsylvania’s statewide historic preservation plan. It’s also the idea that great preservation activities are happening every day across the commonwealth.
Use the #PreservationHappensHere! hashtag in your social media posts to discover, share and celebrate the older and historic places in your community.
Tell us how preservation is happening where you are! The Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office (PA SHPO) will select the next Community Initiative Award winners from the people, places, events and projects that use the #PreservationHappensHere hashtag or tell us about their #PreservationHappensHere story here.
The fire that ravaged the Cathedral of Notre Dame in mid-April was a tragedy felt around the world. In a digitally-connected age, viewers from all parts of the globe were able to watch the flames engulf the centuries old landmark in real time and collectively grieve in ways previously unimaginable. The fire will become an important part of the building’s history and provide important lessons about the fragility of our shared heritage for successive generations. But I am also hopeful that the response to the fire and its aftermath will be equally instructive and help give this tragedy some meaning and purpose.
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A few of my PA SHPO colleagues and I traveled to Washington, D.C. in March to join State Historic Preservation Offices and other preservationists from around the country at National Historic Preservation Advocacy Week.
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Many communities across Pennsylvania have prominent memorials to honor their local veterans. Centre County is no exception displaying their memorial proudly in front of the Centre County Courthouse in downtown Bellefonte.
The Certified Local Government (CLG) program is one of the unsung heroes of the historic preservation world. Less well known than the National Register, Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits and Section 106, the CLG program’s utilitarian name has surely contributed to the bewilderment about what the program can do for community-level preservation efforts over the years. It’s also fair to say that the CLG program hasn’t been given the proper attention necessary to reach its full potential – until now! In late 2018 the PA SHPO rolled out revised guidelines for the CLG program in Pennsylvania, complete with a renewed sense of purpose, clearer goals and revamped technical assistance and grant programs. So, here are five things you wanted to know about the new and improved CLG program in Pennsylvania but didn’t know to ask. Continue reading
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