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.

Each year, Preservation Pennsylvania asks the public to make recommendations for the annual Pennsylvania At Risk list. The list helps draw statewide attention to the plight of Pennsylvania’s endangered historic resources, promotes and supports local action to protect historic properties, and encourages funding and legislation that supports preservation activities.

This image shows a row of boarded up houses, with the text "2018 Pennsylvania At Risk" Call for Nominations Deadline Nov 13, 2017.

2018 PA At Risk Call for Nominations

Preservation Pennsylvania waives field service fees for At Risk properties for the year, and provides additional services and support. Common threats include development pressure, lack of local tools or regulation, functional obsolescence, financial capacity or weak local economy. Places on the list are most often historic buildings, but also include landscapes or structures, such as bridges.

Preservationists stand outside of the Kiddie Kloes factory to say "This Place Matters"!

Preservationists stand outside of the Kiddie Kloes factory to say “This Place Matters”!

What’s considered “historic”? 

  • The property is architecturally and/or historically significant as defined by local, state or National Register criteria. This includes properties that are (or could be) locally designated or determined eligible for or listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
  • The property is faced with imminent, recognized endangerment either from overt action, neglect, incompatible use, or loss of context.

 

This image shows a charm bracelet with four charms, each being a different building on Jeweler's Row. Text says Save Jewelers Row because it's full of charm.

2017 Preservation PA ad campaign to save Jeweler’s Row in Philadelphia.

What criteria will be used to evaluate your submission?

We’ll look at architectural and/or historic significance, the level of an identifiable threat; and the likelihood that inclusion on the list will make a positive impact on preservation efforts.

 You can read more about the Pennsylvania At Risk list at Preservation Pennsylvania’s website and download the nomination form.

What was included in the 2017 and earlier lists?

The 2017 Pennsylvania At Risk list includes two sites connected to the Underground Railroad, a landmark hotel in a downtown center, a former factory and former bank looking for new uses, two former tavern buildings, the nation’s oldest diamond district, and three former residences in need of vision. You can check out more in our 2017 newsletter.

 We’ve helped these places raise awareness and raise money for land use experts and lawyers, provided intervention grant money for emergency stabilization, worked with local townships to preserve instead of demolish, presented testimony at local meetings, worked to find new owners, and more.

On the Preservation Pennsylvania website, you’ll be able to browse past newsletters that highlight previous years’ At Risk sites and check our database to see which properties in your county are already on the At Risk list.

A group of men and women stand at a vacant corner in front of Colonial-era buildings holding signs showing their support for preserving the buildings.

Local advocates show their love for the Hovenden House in Whitemarsh, Montgomery County.

How can YOU help?

  • Post a flier at your local coffee shop, library or other community space
  • Share on social media #PAatRisk (Click here for FB-friendly image!)
  • NOMINATE a property that is important to you and your community!
Poster for 2018 PA At Risk showing a black and white photograph of a building and instructions on how to nominate a threatened historic resource.

2018 PA At Risk poster

This week’s post is by Sabra Smith. Sabra is Communications Director for Preservation Pennsylvania, the commonwealth’s only statewide, private, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to the protection of historically and architecturally significant properties. She received a Master’s Degree in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania School of Design and now blends her love of old buildings and their stories with a curious compulsion to create #hashtags on social media.

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