Curating a New Home for History: A Conversation with W. Fred Kinsey and Irwin Richman

Posted by on Jun 19, 2015 in | Comments Off on Curating a New Home for History: A Conversation with W. Fred Kinsey and Irwin Richman Established institutions rarely get the opportunity to hit the reset button. But that’s what happened with The State Museum of Pennsylvania in the early 1960s, after the long-anticipated William Penn Memorial Museum and Archives Building cleared its last bureaucratic hurdle. Ground was broken north of the State Capitol in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, in January 1962, and by summer Pennsylvania’s...
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A Home for History: S.K. Stevens and the Campaign for the William Penn Memorial Museum and Archives

Posted by on May 11, 2015 in | Comments Off on A Home for History: S.K. Stevens and the Campaign for the William Penn Memorial Museum and Archives by Curtis Miner On December 23, 1959, Dr. S.K. Stevens (1904-74) sent out a final, end-of-the-year message to members of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC). It came in the form of a brief, typewritten memo, informing them that Governor David L. Lawrence (1889-1966) had that morning signed a spending bill for the construction of a museum and archives building. “I think this...
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Pennsylvania Farm Show

Posted by on May 11, 2015 in | Comments Off on Pennsylvania Farm Show For more than 30 years before Lawrie & Green developed the design for The State Museum and Archives Complex in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, the architectural firm designed a number of other important structures throughout the city, including the Pennsylvania Farm Show building. The Pennsylvania Farm Show began in 1917. In its early years, it was held in several different locations throughout...
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Pennsylvania State Archives: Past, Present and Future

Posted by on May 11, 2015 in | Comments Off on Pennsylvania State Archives: Past, Present and Future Designed by the Harrisburg architectural firm Lawrie & Green as part of the project for the William Penn Memorial complex, the current Pennsylvania State Archives building opened in October 1964. The need for a new archives building, however, dates back to when the State Archives was originally established in 1903 as the Division of Public Records under the State Library of Pennsylvania. For...
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Editor’s Letter

Posted by on May 11, 2015 in | Comments Off on Editor’s Letter Names and dates. To some they’re the dreaded stuff of high school history exams. To those of us who study and preserve history, however, they’re essential keys for understanding the past. As we continue our commemoration of the 50th anniversary of The State Museum and Archives Complex at PHMC, a clarification of certain names and dates may be in order for understanding exactly what...
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From the Executive Director

Posted by on May 8, 2015 in | Comments Off on From the Executive Director Those who appreciate the beauty, simplicity and material honesty of Midcentury Modern architecture know, as with every style, there are good and bad examples, but only a few works are truly exemplary. Fortunately for PHMC, The State Museum and Archives Complex in Harrisburg is an exemplary work of Midcentury Modern design. In fact, in August, the complex was listed in the National Register of...
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