Pittsburgh’s Park of a Century

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on Pittsburgh’s Park of a Century Currently ranked first as the Most Livable City by the Rand-McNally annual survey, Pittsburgh is reveling in media exposure comparable to the boosterism of the town of Zenith which writer Sinclair Lewis satirized in his novel, Babbit. Accompanying the zealous, self-proclaimed promotion, however, has been a healthy dose of self­-examination, with the city’s less enviable qualities suddenly...
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Frederick J. Osterling and a Tale of Two Buildings

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on Frederick J. Osterling and a Tale of Two Buildings There was much to build in a growing industrial city like turn-of-the-century Pittsburgh, and many of the important architectural com­missions went to Frederick J. Osterling, a versatile designer, a respected businessman and a prominent – if occasionally controversial – architect. But when Osterling received that commission of which all archi­tects dream, it resulted in the sudden...
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Expanding A Vision: Seventy-Five Years of Public History

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on Expanding A Vision: Seventy-Five Years of Public History Three-quarters of a century ago, it proba­bly surprised no one that the first act of the Pennsylvania Historical Com­mission, not long after its creation in 1913, was to survey all monuments and memorials in the Commonwealth’s sixty­-seven counties. At that time it was universally assumed that public history involved com­memoration and the rituals associated with recognizing significant...
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Executive Director’s Message

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on Executive Director’s Message Pennsylvania enjoys a rich heritage, reflected in both urban and rural areas. This heritage is preserved in structures, furnishings and implements, and it is exemplified individually through works of art. We also see it in customs of ethnic as well as other groups, and naturally, it is evidenced in documents that relate details of events and the involvement of individuals and organizations in...
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Historic Preservation

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on Historic Preservation In the United States, more than in Europe, historic sites and structures are nearly always in danger of destruction. As land becomes increasingly valuable in America those who have an eye only on money and who are almost completely devoid of culture move in, obliter­ate the site or structure, and “develop” the area – for a huge profit to themselves. Had Independence Square in...
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Historic Preservation in Pennsylvania: A Primer

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on Historic Preservation in Pennsylvania: A Primer Depending on the individual, historic preser­vation evokes a myriad of interpretations. To the local historical society, it’s restoring the town’s oldest structure to a house-museum showcasing collections of period antiques. To community planners, it often results in a challenge of saving the best while destroying the rest. And to many, historic preservation means little more than a...
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Three Farmhouse Styles of Lawrence County

Posted by on Nov 28, 2013 in | Comments Off on Three Farmhouse Styles of Lawrence County During the spring of 1975, I interviewed fifteen people who had grown up in farmhouses in Lawrence County. The dwellings described by the informants had been built between 1835 and 1900; most were or are located within present-day Hickory Township in the north-central part of the county. Three typical structures will serve as examples of the influence of various architectural styles, tracing the...
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Reading’s Past Will Be a Part of Its Future

Posted by on Nov 28, 2013 in | Comments Off on Reading’s Past Will Be a Part of Its Future Travellers, visitors, or out-of-towners have associated Reading, Pennsylvania, at various times in its history with its most sa­lient industry or activity. In the eighteenth century, had our ancestors been as ready as we to identify a per­son or place solely by one feature, Reading could have been known as “Felt Hat City.” In the nineteenth century, when railroading became one of...
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A Challenge to Restore

Posted by on Nov 28, 2013 in | Comments Off on A Challenge to Restore One of the most exciting challenges facing historic preservationists today is the rehabilitation and adaptive restoration of buildings significant to our cultural and historic past. Rehabilitation projects are being partially supported by federal funds in an attempt to re­vitalize urban areas, for example in Lancaster and Phila­delphia and on Pittsburgh’s north side. But not all...
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The Great Valley Regional Archaeology Center Public Programs for Preservation

Posted by on Nov 28, 2013 in | Comments Off on The Great Valley Regional Archaeology Center Public Programs for Preservation With the construction of the Blue Marsh Dam in Berks County, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers took an unprecedented step by provid­ing in their plans for land to be set aside to form a publicly managed cultural preserve. A consortium of interested organizations and individuals assumed the task of creating an agency to establish and manage the sanctuary. In No­vember 1976, the Old Dry Road Farm...
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