Representing Pennsylvania’s “Precious Heritage”: Art of the State 50

Posted by on Jun 13, 2017 in | Comments Off on Representing Pennsylvania’s “Precious Heritage”: Art of the State 50 Art of the State is an annual juried exhibition that has been showcasing the work of Pennsylvania’s artists at The State Museum of Pennsylvania since 1968. The body of art that has been exhibited reflects half a century of creative endeavor in the Keystone State. Through the years, exhibitors have shared their ideas and engaged viewers in the categories of painting, photography, craft,...
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The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania: Smithsonian Affiliation and New Museum History Book

Posted by on Dec 13, 2016 in | Comments Off on The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania: Smithsonian Affiliation and New Museum History Book Smithsonian Affiliations has accepted the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania as one of its newest members, clearing the way for the eventual exhibition of Smithsonian artifacts at the site in Strasburg, Lancaster County. “This type of association with the Smithsonian gives you instant credibility” said Jeffrey Bliemeister, director of the Railroad Museum. “It’s a good marketing tool that I hope...
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Coal Patch, Take Two: The Preservation of Eckley Miners’ Village

Posted by on Apr 19, 2016 in | Comments Off on Coal Patch, Take Two: The Preservation of Eckley Miners’ Village “A ghost town surrounded by strip mines.” That was how Eckley was described in the 1960s, a far cry from its heyday in the late 1800s when the coal-mining “patch town” had boasted a population of 1,500. At Eckley’s peak, more than 350 men and boys were engaged in mining nearly 144,000 tons of anthracite coal a year from local seams. By the 1960s, however, mining...
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Before and After the Act: Historic Preservation in Pennsylvania

Posted by on Apr 19, 2016 in | Comments Off on Before and After the Act: Historic Preservation in Pennsylvania In 1816 the City of Philadelphia purchased Independence Hall to save it from demolition. This was the first historic preservation effort in the United States. One hundred and fifty years later, the historic preservation movement found its footing as a national priority when President Lyndon Johnson signed the National Historic Preservation Act into law on October 16, 1966. The act codified the...
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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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Reimagining William Penn: Janet de Coux and the Creation of the Pennsylvania Icon

Posted by on Jun 19, 2015 in | Comments Off on Reimagining William Penn: Janet de Coux and the Creation of the Pennsylvania Icon In 1944 Pennsylvania was celebrating the 300th anniversary of William Penn’s birthday. More than 2,580 celebrations were held across the commonwealth and the nation, and approximately 1,550 Pennsylvania schools each honored Penn with the planting and dedication of a hemlock, the state tree. These activities coincided with a movement on the part of several state officials and Pennsylvania...
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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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Piper J-3 Cub

Posted by on May 11, 2015 in | Comments Off on Piper J-3 Cub Even before the William Penn Memorial Museum was under construction in the early 1960s, PHMC Executive Director S.K. Stevens had initiated an ambitious plan to acquire objects for a massive Pennsylvania “transportation exhibit.” The gallery was to be arranged chronologically, starting with a pair of Indian moccasins, on to wagons and carriages, then to locomotives and automobiles, and ending...
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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 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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