The Formidable Chews of Cliveden Preserve a National Landmark

Posted by Michael O'Malley on Jun 6, 2016 in | Comments Off on The Formidable Chews of Cliveden Preserve a National Landmark Fifty years ago on October 15, 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), the federal government’s first official and all-encompassing policy designed to preserve and protect the nation’s irreplaceable historic, cultural, architectural and archaeological sites. The act spurred citizens throughout the country to actively embrace historic...
read more

Battle of Germantown

Posted by Karen Galle on Jun 6, 2016 in | Comments Off on Battle of Germantown During the American Revolution, the fight for independence reached its most dire moment in 1777 when the British embarked on a campaign to capture the seat of American government in Philadelphia. After defeating the Continental forces of Gen. George Washington (1732–99) at the Battle of Brandywine in September 1777, Gen. William Howe (1729–1814) and his British army outmaneuvered Washington and...
read more

Editor’s Letter

Posted by Kyle Weaver on Jun 6, 2016 in | Comments Off on Editor’s Letter The roots of rock ‘n’ roll music have been traced to several places in America, Philadelphia among them. It was there in 1949 that the Gotham label released what is considered to be one of the first rock ‘n’ roll records, “Rock the Joint,” by Jimmy Preston & the Prestonians of Chester, Delaware County. “Rock the Joint” had an impact on another rock...
read more

The Philadelphia Country House by Mark Reinberger and Elizabeth McLean

Posted by Emily Cooperman on Apr 19, 2016 in | Comments Off on The Philadelphia Country House by Mark Reinberger and Elizabeth McLean The Philadelphia Country House: Architecture and Landscape in Colonial America by Mark Reinberger and Elizabeth McLean Johns Hopkins University Press, 464 pp., cloth $69.95 Architectural historian Reinberger and garden specialist McLean’s Philadelphia Country House is the most complete study ever of the city’s colonial rural residences. It is likely to remain the definitive word on...
read more

Pennsylvania’s Architectural Heritage: Representative Styles as Seen in Lancaster County

Posted by John Snyder on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off on Pennsylvania’s Architectural Heritage: Representative Styles as Seen in Lancaster County At the time of the Common­wealth of Pennsylvania’s Ter­centenary, it is appropriate that architecture receive special atten­tion. Of all the arts, architecture is most closely related to life itself: whether a barn or a cathedral, a build­ing satisfies a human need. Thus, buildings are a mirror of a given epoch’s ideals and functions. 1n this light, Pennsylvania’s architectural...
read more

If Only the Walls Could Talk: The Story of the Federal Barn

Posted by Anne Cook on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off on If Only the Walls Could Talk: The Story of the Federal Barn “There is no building that does nor develop some unexpected charm with age; but the early American barn, taking into consideration its reason for being, I’ve found to be an exceptional and impressive subject. The growth of moss, the dust of hay, the powdering of mortar in joints, the mellowing of cut stone, the aging of wood – all things thought to be unfortunate – are...
read more

The Revolutionary War in Pennsylvania

Posted by John Trussell on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on The Revolutionary War in Pennsylvania With some conspicuous exceptions, Pennsylvania was largely on the outskirts of the scenes of Revolutionary War military operations. True, in December, 1776, Gen. George Washington brought the remnants of his retreating army from New Jersey into Pennsylvania, using the area in the vicinity of McKonkey’s Ferry as the jumping-off point for the Christmas-night crossing of the Delaware and the...
read more

Gardens Change with Time

Posted by Irwin Richman on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on Gardens Change with Time William Penn’s wish that Philadelphia, the capital of his colony, should be a “Greene Country Towne” never was to come to fruition. The town’s settlers really preferred a re-creation of London in miniature. However, gardens and gardening have been an important aspect of the Pennsyl­vania heritage. Gardening has been practiced as a fine art and as a necessity based upon...
read more

Shorts

Posted by PA Heritage Staff on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Shorts The distinctively decorated furniture of Soap Hollow in Somerset County (see “Makers’ Marks and a Master’s Touch” by Edna V. Brendlinger and Robert B. Myers in the winter 1986 edition) is on view at the Southern Alleghenies Mu­seum of Art, Loretto, from Saturday, March 27, through Monday, May 31, 1993. Soap Hollow furniture, made during the second half of the nine­teenth...
read more

Shorts

Posted by PA Heritage Staff on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Shorts Fort Hunter Day, a celebra­tion of autumn, will be hosted on Sunday, September 19 [1993], from 10 A. M. to 5 P. M. by Fort Hunter Mansion and Park. The event, free and open to the public, will feature crafts show and demonstrations, carriage rides, period entertainment, and numerous activities designed especially for children. Also featured throughout the day will be demonstrations of...
read more