Germantown Jewish Centre

Posted by on Dec 15, 2022 in | Comments Off on Germantown Jewish Centre Rising dramatically above curving Lincoln Drive in the Mount Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia is the Germantown Jewish Centre. Part synagogue, part school, the stone building is entirely striking. The synagogue section facing Lincoln Drive suggests a mountainside breaking open to reveal a limestone tablet bearing the Ten Commandments. The opposite end features a smooth black granite wall within...
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Living in the Cornplanter Grant

Posted by on Dec 15, 2022 in | Comments Off on Living in the Cornplanter Grant The Cornplanter Grant is well known as the Warren County home of Cornplanter (Gy-ant-wa-chia, 1740?–1836), chief warrior and leader from the Seneca Nation in northwestern Pennsylvania and western New York. For nearly 200 years, this 700-acre tract of land along the Allegheny River was home to a thriving community of Cornplanter’s heirs and several hundred Seneca, Cayuga and Onondaga families....
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Harry Houck, Edwin Armstrong and the Superheterodyne Receiver

Posted by on Dec 15, 2022 in | Comments Off on Harry Houck, Edwin Armstrong and the Superheterodyne Receiver Harry Houck (1897–1989), a pioneer of radio technology, was born and raised in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania. At the age of 14, he built his first ham radio rig and began transmitting and receiving messages. He graduated from Harrisburg Technical High School in 1916 and then joined the U.S. Army shortly after the United States entered World War I on April 6, 1917. In February 1918 Sergeant Houck...
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Editor’s Letter

Posted by on Dec 15, 2022 in | Comments Off on Editor’s Letter As Pennsylvania Heritage moves into its 49th year of publication with this issue, we present three features about Keystone State phenomena that are marked by longevity and progression through the years. One of the highlights of the first wave of the movement for women’s rights in Pennsylvania was the 1897 founding of the Plastic Club for women artists in Philadelphia. At the time, most women who...
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From the Executive Director

Posted by on Dec 15, 2022 in | Comments Off on From the Executive Director When people think of Pennsylvania, its coastline is usually not the first thing that comes to mind — but Pennsylvania has a rich maritime history. The commonwealth is home to six ports: Philadelphia, Chester, Eddystone, Marcus Hook, Pittsburgh and Erie. During most of the 18th century and early 19th century, the Port of Philadelphia on the Delaware River was the largest port in the United...
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Forester Gifford Pinchot Becomes Governor, 100 Years Ago

Posted by on Sep 12, 2022 in | Comments Off on Forester Gifford Pinchot Becomes Governor, 100 Years Ago Gifford Pinchot (1865–1946) was elected twice to the highest executive office in Pennsylvania. He served two nonconsecutive terms as governor, 1923–27 and 1931– 35. This photograph was taken at his first inauguration on January 16, 1923, by the Philadelphia Public Ledger, a daily newspaper published from 1836 to 1942. The image shows Pinchot taking his oath of office on a temporary raised dais...
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Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation Newsletter

Posted by on Sep 12, 2022 in | Comments Off on Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation Newsletter Topics in the Fall 2022 Newsletter: PHF Expands Committee Work to Support PHMC Programs PHF Announces New Board Member Curators Highlights Documents in Collections John Fielding  on Eckley Scrapbooks   PHF-newsletter...
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Other Recent Releases

Posted by on Sep 12, 2022 in | Comments Off on Other Recent Releases Abandoned Eastern Pennsylvania Remnants of History by Cindy Vasko America Through Time, 96 pp., paperback $23.99 Vasko adds Eastern Pennsylvania to her growing series of books featuring her stunning photography of abandoned buildings and places throughout the Northeastern U.S. (her Abandoned Western Pennsylvania was published in 2019). In addition to well-known locations such as Eastern State...
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Philadelphia Stories by C. Dallett Hemphill

Posted by on Sep 12, 2022 in | Comments Off on Philadelphia Stories by C. Dallett Hemphill Philadelphia Stories People and Their Places in Early America by C. Dallett Hemphill; edited by Rodney Hessinger and Daniel K. Richter University of Pennsylvania Press, 349 pp., hardcover $35 This original and captivating book was a labor of love, both for its author, the late C. Dallett Hemphill, and the 13 scholars who came together to finish the almost complete manuscript Hemphill had left...
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Community Initiative Awards for 2021

Posted by on Sep 12, 2022 in | Comments Off on Community Initiative Awards for 2021 The Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office (PA SHPO) has announced the winners of its Community Initiative Awards to recognize accomplishments made in 2021. These awards acknowledge the hard work and dedication of outstanding organizations, municipalities, agencies and individuals whose work is advancing and expanding the definition of historic preservation in Pennsylvania. The awards...
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