The Value of Historical Resources

Working in partnership with private investors, the TREHAB Center, a regional nonprofit organization, rehabilitated the Wilbur House Hotel in Sayre, Bradford County and developed the upper floors into 30 affordable apartments. TREHAB was awarded a Keystone Historic Preservation Grant, and the project also qualified for federal Rehabilitation Investment Tax Credits.

Pennsylvania’s constitution recognizes the value of its historic resources by charging state government to protect natural and cultural resources on behalf of commonwealth citizens. The Bureau for Historic Preservation works to make sure that Pennsylvanians appreciate the value of their historic and prehistoric resources, so they will be available for the enjoyment and use of future generations. Acting as the State Historic Preservation Office, the bureau advises and assists federal and state agencies and local governments to fulfill their historic preservation responsibilities.  Public education is a key component of this work, since communities that value their heritage are more successful in adapting and reusing existing assests as a key strategy for sustainable development.

Maintained, well-cared-for historic places provide distinctive character to communities, making them particularly attractive places to live and work. As Pennsylvanians become more conscious of energy conservation and the value of green buildings, the reuse of existing buildings as part of a green strategy is attracting renewed interest as an important economic tool. A developer can consult National Register records to identify an appropriate site for redevelopment. A development project seeks National Register status for a building in order to qualify for Historic Tax Credits as part of the funding package.

An individual homeowner seeks information about listing their property in the National Register. Museums seek funding to support projects and operating support. Federal agencies seek assistance from staff to review and advise them on projects affecting historic properties in Pennsylvania. PennDOT (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation) and highway engineers consult with PHMC staff on the effect of bridge and road designs on cultural resources in communities. 

• Valued Training: The bureau conducted a well-attended workshop series in Cultural Resources Essentials, starting with “The Basics” and developed a new educational seminar for Pennsylvania realtors. In addition, workshops were presented on historic preservation planning and grant writing for Lehigh Valley municipalities and organizations. This was sponsored by Representative Charles W. Dent, U.S. House of Representatives, District 15.
  


Burial grounds, churchyards and cemeteries may represent the only reminder of an influential person or group, be a significant example of landscape architecture or simply be public space available for solitude, contemplation and reflection.

• Valued Designations: Forty-one new historical markers were dedicated, and the condition of markers was surveyed in Allegheny, Lackawanna, Monroe, Pike and Wayne counties. Eighteen properties in 10 counties were approved by the National Park Service as “Certified Rehabilitations” as part of the Rehabilitation Investment Tax Credit program, representing a total of $180,614,354 of private capital was reinvested into Pennsylvania’s communities.  Among the notable buildings that were rehabilitated were the Keystone Grocery and Armstrong Cork Company, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County; Bedford Springs Hotel, Bedford Township, Bedford County; Uneek Havana Cigar Company, Hilltown Township, Bucks County; Kendig C. Bare Building, Lancaster, Lancaster County; Perry Building, Philadelphia; Tamaqua Boot & Shoe, Tamaqua, Schuylkill County; and the Hanover Shoe Factory Annex, Hanover, York County.   
  
• Valued Assessments and Leadership: The bureau launched the Local Development District Pilot Survey Project with the Northern Tier Local Development District (LDD) to identify significant historic and cultural resources in their region. This project is being looked at as a model for ways of working more closely with all Metropolitan and Rural Planning Organizations (MPOs/RPOs). The survey will be incorporated into a regional transportation planning process that will identify significant historic and cultural resources and result in a strategy for their future preservation or interpretation. Ten thousand bridges from the Lichtenstein Bridge Survey were entered into the CRGIS and filed. The bureau developed a pilot for a community design program for Certified Local Governments in cooperation with the Community Design Center of Pittsburgh.
  
• Valued Information: The bureau published a biennial e-newsletter, Preservation News and Notes. “Latinos and Their Impact on Historic Districts” was published in Borough News magazine and “A Progressive Government in Harrisburg: Governor George Earle and Pennsylvania’s ‘Little New Deal’” appeared in Pennsylvania Heritage magazine. During this fiscal year, the bureau launched new Web communities and public programs for the following subject areas: The New Deal in Pennsylvania, Cemetery Preservation, Field Guide to Pennsylvania Architecture and Preserving Public Schools.
  
• Valued Response and Service: The Bureau for Historic Preservation responded to 6,338 requests for review and comment on projects submitted by 68 separate federal and state agency requests for programs. More than half of the proposed state and federal projects had no effect or no adverse effect on any cultural resources; 11% had insufficient information for bureau staff to review potential impacts on resources; and less than 3% included determinations of eligibility to the  National Register of Historic Places.