Before and After the Act: Historic Preservation in Pennsylvania

Independence Hall, the first preservation effort in the nation. Library of Congress

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 federal government’s roles and responsibilities regarding the protection of the country’s historic buildings and spaces. Thus Congress and the president made an official commitment to help states and local communities preserve their own histories.

Many of the programs administered by Pennsylvania’s State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), such as the National Register of Historic Places, Rehabilitation Investment Tax Credit, Certified Local Governments, and project reviews, are a direct result of this successful federal legislation. These programs touch every Pennsylvanian by contributing to an understanding of our individual and shared histories, recognizing and protecting the meaningful places that make our communities unique, and enhancing our quality of life.

This year the nation will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act. This article highlights some of the significant milestones of the historic preservation movement in Pennsylvania before and after the act, reflecting the hard work and dedication of countless individuals, organizations, municipalities and state agencies toward identifying and preserving Pennsylvania’s history.

State Historical Marker are dedicated at community ceremonies. State Historic Preservation Office

1945

The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) is created by Act No. 446 to unite the separate Pennsylvania Historical Commission, State Museum and State Archives into one official history agency. Although the State Historical Marker Program began in 1914, it is in 1945 that the iconic blue and gold roadside markers are first used.

To date, more than 2,400 State Historical Markers have been installed throughout the commonwealth.

1955

The City of Philadelphia becomes the first municipality in Pennsylvania – and was among the first in the nation – to enact a city ordinance through its home rule charter to create a Historical Commission with the power to certify properties as “historic” and to regulate alteration and demolition of the properties.

1959

The General Sutter Hotel, Lititz, Penna. Pennsylvania State Archives/MG-213

Lititz Borough Council enacts an ordinance that identifies a historic area and regulates the construction, alteration and demolition of buildings within the designated area. Lititz is the first community in Pennsylvania to use their authority for this purpose at a time when no statewide legislation exists.

1961

Pennsylvania becomes the third state in the country to enact legislation for statewide historic district designation. The Historic District Act of 1961 enables municipalities and counties to designate and regulate certain areas as historic districts through Boards of Historic Architectural Review or Historical Commissions. The City of Bethlehem is the first to enact a historic district ordinance for the Moravian neighborhood.

The National Historic Preservation Act

October 16, 1966

1966

William J. Murtagh, first Keeper of the National Register. PHMC

President Johnson signs into law the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, which sets forth a national program and policy for the protection of the nation’s historical and cultural treasures. Pennsylvania leaders step into important positions created by the act. S. K. Stevens (1904-74), PHMC’s executive director, serves as the first chairman of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. William J. Murtagh (1923- ) of Philadelphia is selected as the first Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places, which was established by the act as the nation’s official list of places worthy of preservation.

1967

S. K. Stevens at the first conference on historic preservation. State Historic Preservation Office

Pennsylvania sets out to meet its obligations under the new law. PHMC assumes the responsibilities laid out in the act for the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), such as managing the National Register of Historic Places program at the state level, conducting a statewide survey of historic and archaeological resources, and reviewing federally funded undertakings for their potential to effect resources. SHPO holds Pennsylvania’s first statewide conference on historic preservation in Harrisburg.

1970

Old Franklin County Jail, an 1818 building in Chambersburg that survived the burning of the city by Confederate forces during the Civil War, is the first resource in the commonwealth individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places. (National Historic Landmarks and properties of the National Park Service were automatic entries.) Plymouth Meeting Historic District in Montgomery County is Pennsylvania’s first historic district listed in the National Register.

Today, there are more than 3,100 Pennsylvania properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places. More than 5,600 additional properties are eligible for listing.

Old Franklin County Jail in Chambersburg. PHMC

1976

An amendment to the National Historic Preservation Act creates the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentive program, encouraging private investment for the rehabilitation and reuse of historic properties. In Pennsylvania it is jointly administered by SHPO, the National Park Service and the Internal Revenue Service. The state’s first certified rehabilitation project is 544 Main Street, in Bethlehem, a three-story Italianate commercial row building in the central business district.

Since the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentive program began, Pennsylvania has been a national leader, completing more than 2,421 projects and generating more than $5.9 billion in private reinvestment in commonwealth communities.

544 Main Street, Bethlehem. State Historic Preservation Office

1978

The Pennsylvania State Legislature passes the Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Act (Act 273) establishing the Bureau for Historic Preservation as an independent entity within PHMC that incorporates the duties of SHPO, solidifying the commonwealth’s role in historic preservation by placing greater emphasis on preservation’s importance for the future.

1980

An amendment to the National Historic Preservation Act establishes the Certified Local Government program, which gives municipalities the option of strengthening their local preservation activities through exclusive funding incentives and enhanced technical assistance. Pennsylvania’s first Historic Preservation Board is seated under the auspices of Act 273. Pennsylvania-native James Biddle (1929-2005), longtime president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, is appointed chair.

1982

The Pennsylvania legislature creates the Preservation Fund of Pennsylvania, known today as Preservation Pennsylvania, as a statewide nonprofit organization to assist in the preservation of historic properties and act as a preservation advocate.

1986

Gettysburg. State Historic Preservation Office

Bristol, Philadelphia, York, and Gettysburg are designated as the first Certified Local Governments in Pennsylvania under the 1980 amendment to the act.

To date, there are 45 Certified Local Governments in Pennsylvania.

1988

On May 26, the Pennsylvania History Code is signed into law, consolidating all of the previous statues related to PHMC, its bureaus and programs into one piece of legislation. The code also establishes that state agencies, like federal agencies under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, must consult with PHMC to protect historic resources that may be affected by their projects.

1993

State legislation creates the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund as a dedicated and permanent funding source for making investments in recreation, parks, conservation, libraries, historic preservation and education.

Since the creation of the Keystone Fund, more than 660 preservation projects have been funded with an investment of more than $33.5 million.

Dennis Farm, established by free African American Prince Perkins around 1800 in Brooklyn Township, Susquehanna County, under renovation through the Keystone Fund. State Historic Preservation Office

1997

SHPO, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the Army Corps of Engineers develop the Cultural Resources Geographic Information System (CRGIS). In 2005 CRGIS could be accessed through the Internet, allowing anyone, anywhere, at any time, to work with Pennsylvania’s historic property and archaeological site databases.

As of September 2015 there are more than 23,400 archaeological sites and 132,000 historic properties in the Cultural Resources Geographic Information System. A half century’s worth of paper files and maps are now available online to state agencies.

2012

The Pennsylvania Incentive Tax Credit Program is passed, providing an additional incentive for investment in Pennsylvania’s past for its future. The Erie Insurance Exchange in Erie is the first project completed with this credit.

The Erie Insurance Exchange in Erie. State Historic Preservation Office

2014

SHPO receives $1.5 million from the National Park Service following Hurricane Sandy. In 2015 SHPO launches pilot projects in four Pennsylvania counties to develop a model framework for integrating historic property information into county hazard mitigation plans. Bedford, Cameron, Monroe and Philadelphia counties will become the first in the U.S. to complete this nationally innovative effort.

Future

Historic preservation as a concept, movement, profession or passion did not start in 1966 with the passage of National Historic Preservation Act. The act, however, marks a point in time in which new legislation gave people who cared about preservation an organized way to advocate for it at the local, state and federal levels. Like the people who worked tirelessly to champion for environmental protection or equal rights, preservationists fought for more than a century before the act – and continue to fight today – to protect the buildings and sites that reflect our shared history – and therefore our identities.

For More Information

In addition to the federal programs created by the National Historic Preservation Act, SHPO also administers the Historical Marker Program, conducts State History Code project reviews, employs regional community coordinators to support local communities, and advances historic preservation throughout the commonwealth through its many initiatives. Visit the PA State Historic Preservation Office website and PA Historic Preservation blog. To learn more about historic preservation, visit the National Park Service’s historic preservation website.

Shelby Weaver Splain, Scott Doyle and Andrea MacDonald work in Pennsylvania’s State Historic Preservation Office.