The Continental Building

Posted by on Aug 29, 2025 in | Comments Off on The Continental Building As Pennsylvania prepares for the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding, much attention will be given to Independence Hall and the surrounding mall in Philadelphia. But it’s not only these colonial buildings that deserve our attention. In the adjacent blocks stand several significant modernist structures worth noting, too. One such example, the Continental Building, was listed in the...
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Margaret Esherick House

Posted by on Feb 24, 2025 in | Comments Off on Margaret Esherick House Nestled to the east of Chestnut Hill’s Pastouris Park in Philadelphia, along a quiet cul-de-sac, sits an architectural masterpiece that exudes the International style, popular in the mid-20th century. Completed in 1962 by prolific architect Louis Kahn (1901–74), best known for his institutional works, in collaboration with prominent artist Wharton Esherick (1887–1970), this one-bedroom,...
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Victorian Modern vs. Midcentury Modern: West Chester’s Old Main and New Main

Posted by on Sep 18, 2023 in | Comments Off on Victorian Modern vs. Midcentury Modern: West Chester’s Old Main and New Main   The West Chester University campus originated in 1871 as one building situated on 10 acres. This multipurpose building, the sole campus structure for 20 years, housed all the functions of the normal school: boys’ and girls’ dormitories, faculty quarters and home for the principal’s family, classrooms, study rooms, administrative offices, laboratories, library, dining room, infirmary,...
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From the Executive Director

Posted by on Sep 12, 2022 in | Comments Off on From the Executive Director When I talk with others about the new Pennsylvania State Archives building that is being constructed in Harrisburg, the most frequent follow-up question I get is, “So what is happening with the old archives building?” I must admit that for many the 1964 building is a love it or hate it resource. The sleek State Archives tower, with its companion drum-shaped State Museum of Pennsylvania, is a...
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Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation Newsletter – Winter 2016

Posted by on Apr 19, 2016 in | Comments Off on Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation Newsletter – Winter 2016 Topics in the Winter 2016 Newsletter: PHF Hosts the 50th Anniversary Gala for The State Museum and Archives Complex The Giving Circle Pennsylvania Turnpike Exhibit Opens Pennsylvania Turnpike Exhibit Sponsors PA Modern Exhibit Opens Join the Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation   pennsylvania-heritage-foundation-newsletter-winter-2016...
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Back in Plain Sight: Restoring the Midcentury Modern Furnishings at The State Museum and Archives Complex

Posted by on Apr 12, 2016 in | Comments Off on Back in Plain Sight: Restoring the Midcentury Modern Furnishings at The State Museum and Archives Complex October 14, 1964 With the construction of the new William Penn Memorial Museum and Archives Building (now The State Museum and Archives Complex) in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, PHMC Executive Director S.K. Stevens penned an urgent memo to the commonwealth’s secretary of property and supplies requesting nearly $25,000 worth of “chairs, sofas, and upholstered benches,” as well as numerous...
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Modernizing Center City: Philadelphia’s Penn Center

Posted by on Apr 12, 2016 in | Comments Off on Modernizing Center City: Philadelphia’s Penn Center Modernism came to Philadelphia in September 1947. It had been creeping up on the city for some time, but that’s when the citizenry who for decades had come to expect little from the machine that controlled city politics came to see how a modern Philadelphia could look. It was a 10-part vision of Modernism presented by the City Planning Commission’s Better Philadelphia Exhibition that was...
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Editor’s Letter

Posted by on Apr 12, 2016 in | Comments Off on Editor’s Letter Throughout 2015 PHMC has been celebrating the 50th anniversary of The State Museum and Archives Complex in Harrisburg with initiatives to preserve the original Midcentury Modern features of the buildings, both outside and inside, from architectural elements to original furnishings (see Hands-On History). A concurrent effort to update and revitalize the museum’s galleries also has been underway,...
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Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation Newsletter – Spring 2015

Posted by on May 11, 2015 in | Comments Off on Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation Newsletter – Spring 2015 Topics in the Spring 2015 Newsletter: Restoration of Mammal Hall – Your Help is Needed! The Giving Circle Trails of History Sites and Museums Inaugural Exhibit of Pennsylvania Arts The State Museum Opens New Nature Lab Pennsylvania Modern Architecture Save the Date – 50th Anniversary Gala Join the Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation  ...
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Midcentury Modern Trails

Posted by on May 11, 2015 in | Comments Off on Midcentury Modern Trails From the 1950s into the 1970s, when Midcentury Modern architecture was at its height, a flurry of new construction took place on the Trails of History. Many of the visitor centers and museums from this period echoed historic forms appropriate to the sites where they were built. The visitor center at Ephrata Cloister, constructed in the late 1950s to mid-1960s, is complementary to the surviving...
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