Pennsylvania Historic Preservation

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Special Announcement: Job Opportunity at the PA SHPO!

September 21, 2015 / / 0 Comments

There is an immediate opening for the following position with the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission (PHMC):

Historic Preservation Specialist

THE POSITION:

This position supports and maintains the Commonwealth’s historic building survey, including maintaining the integrity of the historic property information in the Cultural Resources Geographic Information System (CRGIS) and facilitating new surveys in order to assist the PHMC, other agencies, and the public in evaluating the historic resources within the state and the effects of various programs on those resources. The incumbent digitizes data from the bureau’s legacy paper records and all newly recorded cultural resources into a computerized Geographic Information System (GIS) program. These duties include computerized mapping of cultural resources including historic property and district locations from both paper and outside electronic sources; entering and updating resource information; and facilitating the scanning, processing, and storage of resource images for linkage into CRGIS. Continue reading

CLGs in Pennsylvania

CLG Soul Searching

September 16, 2015 / / 1 Comment

The 1980 amendments to the National Historic Preservation Act  established the Certified Local Government (CLG) program to give local governments a formal voice in the national historic preservation conversation.

The Central Market in Lancaster. The City of Lancaster is a Certified Local Government.

The Central Market in Lancaster. The City of Lancaster is a Certified Local Government.

Let’s call out the super-powers of metaphor to explain this relationship.  I often like to use the fabulously versatile bungee cord.  Yes, the thing you use to keep your bike attached to the bike rack on your car or for a dozen other things.  Imagine the CLG program as a bungee cord.  It can expand.  It can reinforce.  In this metaphor, the CLG bungee cord connects the National Park Service to State Historic Preservation Offices to municipalities to citizens.  The CLG bungee cord carries the energy and economic connection between the national preservation program and a local preservation program for participating local governments.  Broad guidelines have been established by the National Park Service that provide the framework for participation in the CLG program; however, states have wide latitude to tailor the program to best assist the characteristics of their local governments.   Continue reading

Fort Mifflin National Historic Landmark in Philadelphia (Key #001371).
Fort Mifflin National Historic Landmark in Philadelphia (Key #001371). Source: Wikimedia Commons. Created by Fredericto and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Preservation Partnerships: Working Together To Save Historic Resources From Natural Disasters

September 9, 2015 / / 3 Comments

We all know that partnerships, collaboration, and teamwork are critical in the effort to identify, preserve, and celebrate Pennsylvania’s historic resources.  One such partnership in Philadelphia will help protect the city’s historic places and spaces from the devastating damage caused by natural disasters. Continue reading

Courtesy of Preservation Pennsylvania.

People Power at the 2015 Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Awards

September 2, 2015 / / 2 Comments

by Sabra Smith, Preservation Pennsylvania

What is the preservation community’s most important asset? It’s the people! Those passionate, creative, place-loving, story-telling folks who wear invisible super hero capes and do their best work so that a beloved landmark is restored, or a neighborhood story is discovered, or a community of advocates is activated. Continue reading

The Mt. Gretna Historical Society, Mt. Gretna, Lebanon County. National Register nomination, 2014.

Offbeat Outing: Mt. Gretna Tour of Homes and Gardens

August 26, 2015 / / 1 Comment
The leafy streets of Mt. Gretna, Lebanon County. Photo by BHP staff, 2011.

The leafy streets of Mt. Gretna, Lebanon County. Photo by BHP staff, 2011.

Offbeat Outings is a bi-monthly series that highlights the travels of BHP staff as they experience history first-hand throughout Pennsylvania.

 

Trying to find something to do outside in Pennsylvania during the month of August is often challenging with our hot and humid days. Luckily, the first Saturday in August is always the Mt. Gretna Tour of Homes & Gardens.

“Mount Gretna” (“Mt. Gretna”) is a rather loosely defined residential area in southern Lebanon County and is about seven miles south of the city of Lebanon, twenty miles north of Lancaster and about thirty-five miles from Harrisburg. I figured you all would enjoy “touring” the countryside using a 1914 State Highway Map instead of that high tech GPS/Bing/Google mapping!   Mt. Gretna’s early communities are “cities in the woods” and due to the careful planning in the 1890s and maintaining of the overhead tree canopy, Mt. Gretna is at least 10 degrees cooler than the rest of Lebanon County during the summer. Continue reading

Erie Insurance Exchange Building after rehabilitation.

Good Things Take Time: The First Pennsylvania Tax Credit Project Comes Online

August 19, 2015 / / 1 Comment

erie after 5During my tenure with Pennsylvania’s Historic Preservation Office, I reviewed numerous legislative drafts for the long-awaited Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Tax Credit program.  Early drafts included a historic homeowner component.  Later versions proposed grants instead of tax credits.  All dozen or so drafts were bypassed in the legislative process until the approval of the Pennsylvania Historic Tax Credit program in the Fiscal Year 2012-13.

After a successful launch of the program in Fiscal Year 2013-14, I was eagerly anticipating the approval of the first historic tax credit project.  My money was on a project from Philadelphia or Pittsburgh. These two cities received the most state tax credit allocations and have a long track record for project completion.  To my surprise, those two cities will need to take a back to seat to the Flagship City of Erie – our Gem City situated on the sparkling water of Presque Isle Bay and Lake Erie – and the striking rehabilitation of the CF Adams Building by the Erie Insurance Exchange. Continue reading

Kiefel Bridge, taken by Nathaniel Holth. Courtesy of historicbridges.com. 2013. Used by permission of Nathaniel Holth.

Intern Introspect: 10 Historic Bridges in Pennsylvania to Paddle Under Before the Temperature Plummets

August 12, 2015 / / 0 Comments

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

Good to Know: The Bungalow – Cozy and Charming, America’s Early 20th Century Dream Home

August 5, 2015 / / 4 Comments
Bungalow_StateCollege

Bungalow in State College, Centre County. Photo by Bryan Van Sweden, PHMC.

Who doesn’t love a Bungalow?  This charming cottage-like dwelling was America’s favorite small house at the turn of the 20th century and was most popular between 1900 and 1930. Some view Bungalows as the embodiment of “home”  —  intentionally designed as a  cozy and  welcoming house form with a prominent front porch  and chimney.    It was even romanticized in songs of that period by Irving Berlin and others. In his 1925 lyrics Berlin described   “A little bungalow, an hour or so from anywhere. A little cozy nest, the kind that’s best for two. Among the shady trees, with birds and bees and lots of air.”   No wonder the popularity of Bungalows spread quickly across the country.   What exactly is a Bungalow house and where did the design come from? Continue reading

Shippensburg Corn Festival, 1982, by Edward Sheaffer, Courtesy of Shippensburg Historical Society.

Shippensburg’s Corn Festival: Thirty-Five Years of Corn, Fun, and Historic Preservation

July 29, 2015 / / 5 Comments

By Steven Burg

Shippensburg Corn Festival, 2006. Photo by Peter Linehan, Flickr Commons, Creative Commons, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.

Shippensburg Corn Festival, 2006. Photo by Peter Linehan, Flickr Commons, Creative Commons, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.

On the last Saturday in August for the last three and a half decades, tens of thousands of visitors have descended on downtown Shippensburg to enjoy the crafts, music, entertainment, and food of the Shippensburg Corn Festival. Despite the continued success of the event, many people know little about its origins as a fundraiser created to protect and preserve the community’s historic buildings. Continue reading

Conference goers gathered on the Plaza for this great photo. Image courtesy of Preservation Pennsylvania.

In Case You Missed It… the 2015 Statewide Conference on Heritage

July 22, 2015 / / 0 Comments
Conference goers gathered on the Plaza for this great photo. Image courtesy of Preservation Pennsylvania.

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

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