Pennsylvania Historic Preservation

Blog of the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office

Page 54 of 82

Hazard Mitigation in a Historic Context: Update on Historic At-Risk Properties Initiative

Historic resources inform citizens of their unique local heritage, cultural identity, and the origins of their community.  They are the corner stones of our built environment and they provide a “sense of place”. In the aftermath of a disaster, these buildings, structures, objects, and sites are often associated with the very memories and connections that a community needs to begin to rebuild. Continue reading

Preservation PA Calls for “Pennsylvania At Risk” Nominations!

Is there a local landmark you’ve got your eye on, wondering how much longer it will last without someone doing something? Well, now you can be the someone who can help change the fate of the place! The deadline to submit a nomination to the Pennsylvania At Risk list is November 13, 2017. Continue reading

The Keystone Grant and the Mystery of the Missing Piazza

Ever wonder just how much scholarship of construction chronology is behind your visit to a historic property in Pennsylvania?  Or how that research is funded?  Woodford is one of Fairmount Park’s most carefully documented and researched buildings because of its architectural significance and as its interpretive use as a historic house museum.  Recorded in the Historic American Building Survey (HABS) in 1932 and listed as a National Historic Landmark in 1963, the building was studied and theorized by architectural historians for decades.  The Naomi Wood Trust at Woodford Mansion turned to the PA SHPO’s Keystone Historic Preservation Grant program for financial help to plan the historic restoration of Woodford’s 1772 piazza on the west elevation of the 2-story main house. In addition to sifting through all of those relevant published sources and past theories, an archaeological investigation would be the foundation to restore this missing element. Continue reading

Certified Local Government Reboot – Public Comments Welcome

The Certified Local Government (CLG) Program has been part of the national preservation toolbox since the early 1980s.  Like other programs established by the National Historic Preservation Act, the CLG program is administered by each State Historic Preservation Office based on state-specific guidelines approved by the National Park Service.  Pennsylvania’s CLG guidelines procedures were last updated in 2009, but haven’t changed substantially since the program started almost 30 years ago.  That’s all about to change!  The PA SHPO has recently released a draft of proposed changes to the CLG program and will be accepting comments from the public until December 4, 2017. Continue reading

Listening to the Public: Results of the Marketing Archaeology Survey

In the previous Marketing Archaeology blog post, we introduced you to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP)-eligible Armstrong Site and the associated current Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) road reconstruction and widening project . Continue reading

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