Community Initiative Awards Honor Historic Preservation Successes
Written by Shelby Splain in the PHMC Highlights category and the Spring 2021 issue Topics in this article: Community Initiative Awards, COVID-19 pandemic, Erie County, historic districts, historic preservation, Keystone Historic Preservation Grant, Mainstreet Waynesboro Inc., Maksimilijan “Maxo” Vanka, mural painting, National Register of Historic Places, Old Erie on Foot, Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office, social media, Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka, virtual programs, Waynesboro
Conservators Patty Buss and Patty Huss West test the surface of a mural for the Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka.
Photo, Anna Doering, Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka
The Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office (PA SHPO) has announced its Community Initiative Awards for 2020. These awards recognize individuals, organizations, municipalities, agencies and others for their hard work and dedication in achieving preservation successes throughout the commonwealth.
The awards are a program of PA SHPO’s innovative statewide historic preservation plan, #PreservationHappensHere. Intended to help Pennsylvanians achieve preservation outcomes in their communities, the plan is grounded in the idea that great preservation activities are happening every day across Pennsylvania but often go unnoticed. Recognizing these achievements helps broaden the understanding of historic preservation and encourages communities to promote preservation successes.
This year’s recipients have demonstrated the power of digital engagement and using 21st-century technology to advocate, promote and preserve Pennsylvania’s older and historic places, which has been especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic. Virtual events honoring the winners will be held in May 2021 to celebrate National Historic Preservation Month.
Erin Phillips of Old Erie on Foot on the front porch of her historic home in Erie.
Photo, Jeffery Phillips
Old Erie on Foot Instagram Influencer Erin Phillips
Erin Phillips has used her Old Erie on Foot Instagram account to build a social media presence that highlights, celebrates and appreciates Erie County’s historic locations by “discovering the beautiful old places by foot, stroller, papoose, bike and occasionally minivan.” The Old Erie on Foot account promotes historic preservation, local history, community engagement, and Erie County’s unique communities through high-quality photographs, bits of local history, and personal insights. Phillips engages her followers by showing the beauty of history embodied in older and historic places that most Pennsylvanians can relate to and by proving that every old building has a story that needs to be told.
Phillips also maintains the Old Erie on Foot blog, writes about place and preservation for the Erie Reader, and serves on the Board of Preservation Erie, the county’s preservation education and advocacy organization.
Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka
The Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka (SPMMMV) proves that social media and virtual events can be powerful tools for building awareness and support in the 21st century. Founded in 1991, SPMMMV is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to the conservation and protection of the nationally recognized murals by Maxo Vanka (1889–1963) in Millvale’s St. Nicholas Catholic Church, the first Croatian Catholic parish in the country. SPMMMV’s “behind-the-scenes” social media posts about the ongoing mural conservation work and “Table Talk” events on Vanka and his murals, St. Nicholas Church, and preservation have been successful in captivating and engaging people around the country.
PHMC awarded SPMMMV a Keystone Historic Preservation Planning Grant in 2019 to prepare a historic structures report for the National Register–listed church to help guide the long-term planning and care of the building and its unique murals.
Don and Angela Smith of Mainstreet Waynesboro Inc., here on the stoop of the Bank Building, were instrumental in getting the Waynesboro Historic District listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo, Bill Kohler, Mainstreet Waynesboro Inc.
Mainstreet Waynesboro Inc.
Mainstreet Waynesboro Inc. hosted a successful virtual Historic Designation Celebration in May after quickly pivoting to an online platform when they could not hold in-person events to celebrate the recent listing of the Waynesboro Historic District in the National Register of Historic Places. Waynesboro had been working toward this national recognition of the community’s history and architecture for a long time. Now that the historic district is listed, preservation incentives like historic tax credits are available to business owners there.
Mainstreet Waynesboro’s Facebook Live event included local leaders, PA SHPO staff, and the National Register–nomination consultant to talk about designation, history of the community, and what listing in the National Register means. The transition to an online event was a true preservation success. Although a large crowd would have joined Mainstreet Waynesboro to celebrate its new National Register status in person, more than 1,700 people have watched its recording, spreading a positive message about Waynesboro’s historic community and historic preservation far and wide.
You can learn more about PA SHPO’s Community Initiative Awards at phmc.pa.gov/Preservation/education-outreach.
Shelby Weaver Splain is the education and outreach coordinator for the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office.
