Category Archive: News Wire Services
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Former School to Become Green Center
Friday, June 11, 2010By Diana Nelson Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The old Connelly Technical Institute is planned to be used as a business incubator.
The 80-year-old former Connelley Technical Institute in the Hill District is slated to become a green technology demonstration showcase under the ownership of Pittsburgh Green Innovators Inc.
PGI has a sales agreement with Pittsburgh Public Schools and expects to close this summer and begin retooling the former vocational school by fall, said Deno DeCiantis, a PGI board member and director of the Penn State Center, an outreach service for Penn State University in Pittsburgh.
Now vacant, the fifth floor of the "Academic Tower" at the old Connelly Technical Institute contained a full-size commercial kitchen for its culinary students.
The Bedford Avenue school was closed in 2004. It has 220,000 square feet of space. When retrofitted, it will be loaded with green technology to demonstrate function and to absorb the building’s costs.
The prospective new owners envision the site as an incubator of green industry, a job training center for green-industry jobs and a technical support center for work force development.
Now used as storage space, the fifth floor of the "Academic Tower" at the old Connelly Technical Institute previously served as a full-size commercial kitchen for its culinary students.
“There are so many jobs that will be created under the broad theme of energy independence,” said state Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park, a PGI board member.
PGI is a collaboration of representatives from universities, labor unions, the Green Building Alliance, Hill House and a dozen other entities, plus Mr. Ferlo, state Rep. Jake Wheatley, D-Hill District, and U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills.
Board members led two public tours of the building Thursday, from the spacious top floor with a view of the North Side to the darkened corridors lined with lockers to the ground floor of classrooms that are sky-lit by a sawtooth roof.
State grants of $4 million will enable the organization to create a geothermal pumping system that is expected to provide the building with 65 percent of the energy it will need, said Bill Miller of Pittsburgh Gateways, a nonprofit developer. The extension’s sawtooth roof — each panel of which slants toward the south — “is oriented perfectly for solar panels,” said Mr. DeCiantis.
“There’s nothing we’re doing that isn’t green” Mr. Miller said. Besides the geothermal system, he said, “the rest of our energy will come from solar, wind and microturbines fueled by different energy sources. We will do high-performance glazing, have a green roof, rain gardens and bioswales.”
Mr. DeCiantis said the first phase of retrofitting the building will be under way by fall.
The sales price will be about $200,000, Mr. Ferlo said, because PGI will take over the costs and burdens of remediation and rehabilitation that normally would be required of the seller.
The organization has raised $17 million from public and private donations toward an estimated $16.5 million for first-phase renovations, Mr. Miller said. The entire project will cost about $40 million, he said.
Two years ago, the initiative began establishing an alliance of unlikely collaborators: the Sierra Club, smart-growth advocates, labor leaders and academics.
Anchor tenants will be Penn State and the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 95.
When the project was in the early stage, founding board member Bernie Lynch said the organization’s goal “is to bring all these sectors together to make this an economic hotbed.”
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Historical Societies Foster Pride and Preservation
By Matthew Santoni
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Ronald A. Baraff, director of museums and archives for the Rivers of Steel Heritage Area, which chronicles the history and culture of the industries and mill towns along the rivers, visits the former Carrie Furnace steel mill site in Braddock. Rivers of Steel recently acquired the site from the county to turn into a museum. Sidney Davis | Tribune-Review
The statue of Pittsburgh Pirates legend Honus Wagner might stand outside PNC Park on the North Shore, but fans who desire something more can head six miles down the Parkway West to the Historical Society of Carnegie’s miniature museum to learn about its native son.
In a historic building along West Main Street, a small exhibit on Wagner shares space with yearbooks and photos from area schools, a memorial wall for the town’s military veterans, and a painstakingly crafted scale model of the borough’s buildings along East and West Main Street, all funded without help from the municipality.
“We support ourselves. We figured it was better to be people-funded rather than tax-funded,” said Marcella McGrogan, executive director of the society. “Our town’s streets and parking lots need the help more than we do.”
Volunteer Joan Harbin points out a model of the building housing the artifacts and exhibits on display at the Historical Society of Carnegie in the small museum on West Main Street. Keeping up with the maintenance of the building and expansion plans has been a struggle, but officials say local history groups, such as the Carnegie's, help to instill local pride and encourage tourism and redevelopment. James Knox | Tribune-Review
Carnegie is one of many communities in the region with a historical society, which officials say can encourage economic development by drawing tourists, instilling local pride and marketing a community’s historic assets.
“We have a ‘Babushkas and Hardhats’ tour … that looks at the development of the Pittsburgh region, why industry located here, why it isn’t here now and how Pittsburgh has reinvented itself,” said Ron Baraff, director of museums and archives for the Rivers of Steel Heritage Area, which chronicles the history and culture of the industries and mill towns along the rivers.
About 15 acres of the former Carrie Furnace steel mill site in Rankin and Braddock were transferred from the county to Rivers of Steel, and officials hope to turn the former blast furnaces into a museum.
“The idea is to bring people into the region and get them to understand that the past built the present, that that’s the foundation for the future,” he said.
About 15 acres of the former Carrie Furnace steel mill site in Rankin and Braddock were transferred from the county to Rivers of Steel, and officials hope to turn the former blast furnaces into a museum. Sidney L. Davis | Tribune-Review
How and why it helps
The Young Preservationists Society of Pittsburgh released a report last month estimating that preserving and restoring historic properties added at least $475 million to Southwestern Pennsylvania’s economy from 2003 to 2009. Local historical societies can encourage such redevelopment and reinvestment by making people more aware of the history of their communities and homes, said Arthur Ziegler, president of the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation.
“People tend to believe in the value of that area and are more willing to invest, particularly in historic buildings,” Ziegler said. “It can also develop visitor interest, which can bring income to a town.”
The Sewickley Valley Historical Society is too small to maintain a museum space of its own, but its library allows people to research the history of their families or their homes, said Harton Semple, executive director.
“We’re a small society — only about 400 members — but we have a rich history to draw upon,” Semple said. “We are assailed on all sides by development and general apathy, but we’re beating back that tide.”
The Sewickley Valley society’s “nest egg” was hit hard by the recession, but it has sustained itself with members who made donations above and beyond their yearly membership dues, Semple said. The group published a history of Sewickley last year, and is beginning a push to fund and erect historical markers around the area, he said.
The Historical Society of Mt. Lebanon charges a small fee for its “home history project,” which presents homeowners with a report on the architect who designed their houses, construction plans for them and any other tidbits that members of the historical society can dig up, said Executive Director Margaret Jackson.
Mt. Lebanon’s society is entering its second year of operating a small museum space off Washington Avenue, which hosts rotating exhibits on local subjects such as the nearby Washington School or the Mt. Lebanon Soccer League, Jackson said. More and more residents are donating artifacts and photographs, but that raises the new challenge of how to store and protect them all. Yearly contributions from the municipality’s budget are enough to cover rent on the museum space, she said.
“We’re slowly getting the word out that we’re here, that we’re not just for little old ladies,” Jackson said. “Mt. Lebanon is just celebrating our centennial. … Hopefully, we’ll preserve our community’s past for decades to come.”
The Westmoreland County Historical Society this week moved its library and museum space to a new location on Sand Hill Road, which is more accessible to the many people who use its archives to research their family’s past, said Executive Director Lisa Hays.
“What’s surprising is how far people will travel to study their genealogy. … We had people come from as far away as Australia last week,” Hays said. “Typically, one person will sit and do research while the rest of the family goes out and sees the local sights.”
Hays said local societies help residents understand their communities’ place in the larger events of history, and knowing what roles they played or how they were affected can foster civic pride.
“Everyone thinks nothing ever happened in their backyard, but it did — everything that’s happened on a national level, on a world level, was played out on a local level,” she said. “Once that dawns on people, it creates a real sense of local pride.”
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Penn Hills Development Group Begins to Bloom
By Tony LaRussa
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, June 10, 2010
President of the Penn Hills Community Development Corporation Erik Hardy, 58, of Penn Hills works with volunteer Colton Sankey, 17, of Plum High School to form a plumb line as they plot out a community garden. The municipality is allowing the CDC to use a parcel of land along Jefferson Road for a community garden in which residents and groups can rent 4- by 12-foot plots for $20. Samantha Cuddy | Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Penn Hills’ burgeoning Community Development Corporation took a significant step in its organizing efforts when the state recently designated it as a private, nonprofit organization.
That’s not all. The CDC has a project under way: a community garden.
Since last year, organizers have worked to create an organization to promote the community’s strengths: its location, plentiful and affordable housing, diverse population and parks and other recreation facilities.
Equally important is addressing the poor reputation of the community’s schools, its inability to attract and keep businesses, and the deteriorating quality of life in some neighborhoods caused by crime, poor property maintenance, government-subsidized housing and other factors, officials say.
Working committees include housing, economic development, education, community beautification, public safety and communications. CDC officials are encouraging residents to join the organization and serve on a committee.
“We’ve found that people here have a lot of energy and great ideas for promoting or improving various aspects of the community,” said Erik Hardy, CDC board president. “What we didn’t have was a central place to go to channel that energy and put those ideas into practice. That’s really what led us to form this organization.”
Margie Howard of the Community Technical Assistance Center in Pittsburgh said obtaining nonprofit status from the state is a critical step toward becoming eligible for funding.
Jim Black, standing, Vice President of the Community Development Corporation of Penn Hills, ponders his next move with fellow workers at the municipality's community garden. David Wolf, right, and his son Gregory Wolf, 13, are helping to construct 4 by 12 foot garden plots which residents and groups can rent. Samantha Cuddy | Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
“You have to have the state designation before applying for federal tax-exempt status,” said Howard, who helped the CDC develop its structure. “There are a lot of state and federal agencies and foundations that require groups to be a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization before they will consider them for grants.”
CDCs operate apart from local government, and money such as federal housing rehabilitation grants are available only to them.
Lack of money has not prevented the CDC from taking on a project its members hope will help spur interest in its activities.
The municipality is allowing the CDC to use a parcel of land along Jefferson Road for a community garden in which residents and groups can rent 4- by 12-foot plots for $20. Municipal officials also have agreed to supply water to the site.
Businesses donated materials, supplies and services for the garden. Penn Hills Lawn and Garden donated soil testing and mushroom manure; Penn Hills Rental provided equipment to clear the site; Hanson Aggregates gave gravel for the access road; and The Home Depot provided lumber, fencing, tools, water barrels and other supplies.
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Allegheny County Park Structure Inventory Requested Health, Safety Issues Concern Council
Thursday, June 10, 2010By Len Barcousky, Pittsburgh Post-GazetteAn old horse barn in North Park is a good example of a structure that has outlived its usefulness, according to Allegheny County Councilwoman Jan Rea.
“We have a lot of buildings in our parks that have not been used for as long as 20 years,” the McCandless Republican said. “Their windows are boarded up, and some pose a health and safety hazard to residents.”
Allegheny County’s nine parks are home to hundreds of structures, and council has asked the Parks Department to prepare an inventory of every one of them.
Council unanimously passed the building-survey ordinance last week.
It calls for preparing an inventory that will include information on location, condition and maintenance needs for every structure.
The final report is to include a recommendation and cost information on either maintaining or demolishing each building. The measure sets a 120-day deadline for completing the work.
Parks Director Andrew Baechle told council that members his department could make that late-September deadline. The county Department of Public Works is to assist in the effort.
“If it is cost-prohibitive to get a building into usable condition, we should take it down,” Ms. Rea said. “Some of them are crumbling, and they have animals living in them.”
Councilman Nicholas Futules agreed.
“We should know the condition and value of all our buildings,” he said. He is chairman of council’s Parks Committee, which recommended approval of the survey ordinance.
The parks department has a total of 341 rental facilities, which includes groves, shelters, gazebos, houses and other various buildings.
Hundreds of structures have to be painted, patched and updated. North Park, for example, has 119 picnic groves and shelters and at least two dozen other buildings.
The measure defines structures to include offices, barns, houses, picnic pavilions, swing sets, restrooms, changing facilities and locker rooms, greenhouses and nature centers. Creation of the oldest of the parks began in the 1920s and 1930s, and some structures from that era remain in use.
Maintenance is expensive and work on some structures has been deferred, Mr. Baechle said.
Restoration efforts involving one North Park landmark got a boost this month, thanks to a Hollywood movie company.
At the same meeting at which it approved the survey ordinance, council authorized DreamWorks Studios to film scenes for a science fiction movie called “I Am Number Four” in Deer Lakes and North parks.
The production company will pay the county a $10,000 fee.
Most of the money will be used to restore decorative terrazzo tile on North Park’s water tower. The 100-foot tower, or standpipe, was built in 1937 as part of the park’s water supply system. It is recognizable by its exterior spiral staircase that leads to a now-closed observation platform.
While the DreamWorks funds will help with renovation costs, additional work will be necessary before the platform can be reopened, Mr. Baechle said.
That work will include removal of lead-based paint and stairway repairs. The county has no timetable for the project, he said.
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Vacant Houses Spur Art Initiative in Wilkinsburg
Thursday, June 10, 2010By Deborah M. Todd, Pittsburgh Post-GazetteWhen Wilkinsburg artist Lazae LaSpina noticed bright neon swirls of abstract art decorating boards used to shutter the North Side’s vacant Garden Theater, she saw an opportunity to spruce up blighted properties in her own neighborhood.
“I could tell people cared about that area,” she said. “In Wilkinsburg, with all of the abandoned properties in that area, I thought that would be a good idea if we did something similar.”
Originally conceived as a small neighborhood project in May 2009, Ms. LaSpina’s idea has grown into a plan that will not only beautify the homes, but could potentially establish the community as a haven for artists. The Whitney Avenue Art Gallery “Houses in Waiting” project kicked off May 28 with a youth orientation event at Hosanna House.
Funded by the Wilkinsburg Weed and Seed, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the Wilkinsburg Municipal Authority and the Wilkinsburg Development Authority, the project’s goal is to recruit community members to paint plywood window covers for 10 to 12 vacant houses on Whitney Avenue’s’s 700 block — transforming the space to what organizers call an “outdoor gallery.”
But if the idea catches on the way Ms. LaSpina and Wilkinsburg officials hope it will, the project will spearhead a push to promote the properties for sale as well as programs available for potential homeowners.
“The theme ‘Houses in Waiting’ intends the board-up art to act as a placeholder while interest is generated for a wide spectrum of home buyers to invest in the neighborhood and take advantage of Wilkinsburg’s ten-year property tax abatement program,” reads the WAAG web site.
The initiative also has potential to bring neighbors in the Hamnett Place community together to collaborate behind a common theme for the artwork. Volunteers are split up into youth and adult groups where professional artists help lead discussion and activities to determine themes.
Artist Ernest Bey, whose work includes elaborate wood carvings created for the Garden Dreams Nursery on Holland Avenue, said he looks forward to speaking to youth about the project.
“I want to challenge students, who are going to be becoming the lead artists on this project. I want their input,” he said. “Because when you involve young people, they come up with something you totally didn’t anticipate.”
Multimedia artist Kate Joranson said she will encourage adult volunteers to observe the environment around the houses to come up with ideas for themes.
“Boarded up buildings and abandoned sites can evoke a lot of emotion,” she said. “I want to try to collect those stories through writing, drawings, maybe collect small objects.”
With the window covers painted and primed, workshops scheduled throughout the month and a grand opening event scheduled for July, organizers are optimistic the initiative will help residents see the community in a new way.
Councilwoman Vanessa McCarthy-Johnson said she hopes the initiative can grow to include more of Ms. LaSpina’s ideas, such as artists in residence and community parties to promote the site. But she said the initial start is more than enough to spark additional improvements in the neighborhood.
“It gives a sense of value instead of devastation to the properties in the neighborhood. People will look at where they live a little different,” she said.
They’ll see its not just an abandoned house, it can be just about anything you want it to be.”
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Students Pen a Historical Look at Homestead – Book Features Poems, Photos, Essays
Thursday, June 10, 2010By Dana Vogel, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
- Student authors from Propel Andrew Street High School sign copies of the book they authored about Homestead’s Eighth Avenue at the Tin Front Cafe. From left: Crystal Short, MalikQua Salter, Chaqua Johnson, Janiece Hall and Tikisha Johnson.
Thanks to the Young Preservationists Association — a nonprofit organization that encourages the participation of young people in historic preservation — the history of Homestead has come alive for a group of Propel Andrew Street High School students.
The association’s Youth Main Street Advisers Program and seven students from Propel Andrew Street held a book signing last Thursday in Homestead to launch their new book, “Take a Walk From the Past to the Future of Eighth Avenue,” published by Red Engine Press.
The book was the result of a year-long project to better understand Homestead’s historic commercial district and to envision a new future.
“Take a Walk From the Past to the Future of Eighth Avenue,” which is divided into three parts representing the past, present and future of Eighth Avenue, features essays, poems and interviews by the students. The book also includes photographs of the neighborhood from the past and present.
Dan Holland, CEO of the youth group, explained the idea for a book came from a desire to do something more enduring than a video. “We wanted something you can see, feel, touch,” he said.
The rest of the story came down to a combination of luck and preparedness, Mr. Holland said. He explained that he ran into his longtime friend Jeremy Resnick, executive director and founder of Propel, at a barber shop and mentioned his idea. With a grant from the Grable Foundation and approval from Propel superintendent Carol Wooten, students from Propel Andrew Street in Munhall turned Mr. Holland’s dream into a reality.
The most significant result of the project seems to be its effect on the students.
Stephanie Nachemja-Bunton, a teacher at Propel Andrew Street and the group’s adviser, said, despite a few initial setbacks, “the seven students who completed the books were dedicated and did a wonderful job.”
She said that in addition to researching Homestead in books and on the Internet, the students took a number of tours of the borough.
Dr. Wooten said not only did the project give the students a stronger sense of community, but it also helped them to meet Pennsylvania academic standards, particularly in communications. She also emphasized that the group aspect of the project will help to prepare the students for the workplace.
The students also agreed that, in the end, the project was about learning.
“The experience was good. I gained knowledge and learned about the community,” said MalikQua Salter, a 17-year-old junior from Rankin, who contributed an essay, interview and photo essay to the book.
MalikQua, whose father grew up in Homestead, wrote in the book, “Eighth Avenue is no longer what it used to be, but many people are coming together to make it what it once was.”
Freshman Janiece Hall, 15, of Penn Hills, said, “I learned about interviewing and communication skills.”
Janiece, who has a poem, photo essay, interview and essay feature in the book, also said that while the project seemed difficult at first, “as it was coming together, it got easier.”
In her poem, she describes earlier excitement on the avenue which is “now as empty as a dried up river bed.”
The result of all the hard work seems well worth it to MalikQua. “The book turned out great. We worked hard and put in a lot of effort, and it’s pretty good,” she said.
Echoing her sentiments, Mr. Holland said: “I’m thrilled with the book. It’s a very compelling product.
“Our hope is that the community will embrace this book as well,” he added.
For a copy of “Take a Walk From the Past to the Future of Eighth Avenue,” call the Young Preservationists Association at 412-363-5964.
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Elegant Vaudeville-Era Theater in Dormont to be Razed
By Chris Ramirez
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Demolition is taking place at West Liberty and Dormont avenues as the former South Hills Harris Theatre bites the dust. Once the elegant backdrop for countless Vaudeville acts and live-action performances, it will soon be gone, much to the dismay of local historians. It was built in 1927 and opened in 1928. Heidi Murrin | Tribune-Review
Harris moviehouse’s heyday long past, CVS now owns property, hit by vandals, in disrepair.
The final curtain is coming down on the old South Hills Harris Theatre.
Broken windows, stained walls and a partially collapsed roof are all that remain of the once-regal theater on West Liberty Avenue. Soon, the one-time hot spot will be demolished to make way for a pharmacy.
“It’s sad news, as far as I’m concerned,” said Muriel Moreland, president of the Dormont Historical Society, “It’s such a shame because it’s a beautiful building. It’s just one more thing that’s going down, going away.”
Long before there was Dolby Sound, multiplex theaters and six-story IMAX picture screens, there were entertainment houses like the South Hills Harris Theatre, which was the backdrop for countless Vaudeville acts and live-action performances.
It was built in 1927 and opened in 1928. Watching a production there was an experience.
Ushers in tuxedos and white gloves guided theatergoers of the 1930s and 1940s through a main lobby illuminated by the shimmering light of a crystal chandelier. There was no Dolby Sound. For many years, audiences heard just the music of Bob Mitchell, tickling the keys of a Wurlitzer pipe organ.
The site was converted to show motion pictures and short films, including pro-military spots that became popular during World War II.
After years of operation, the theater closed in 2001. Pharmacy giant CVS bought it, along with a corner property and two houses surrounding it, Moreland said. All of them are to be razed, she said.
Despite several fundraising campaigns and efforts to find new owners, the building has been cordoned off from public access, fallen into disrepair and become a magnet for vandalism and animal infestation.
The interior has been gutted. The organ has since been sold to a theater in Ohio. And no one seems to know what happened to the chandelier that greeted theatergoers when they entered.
“One part of it (the theater) is already pretty much rubble,” Moreland said.
Nancy Fenton chronicled the building’s lapse into disrepair over the years, snapping photos of her childhood getaway while walking her dog.
She was a child living in Brookline when she and friends went to see “Psycho” at the theater in the 1960s. “We always made sure we got to sit in the balcony,” said Fenton, 63, of Dormont. “It was like a big opera house.”
Walking there was part of the fun. Coming home later that night was more frightful after sitting through the thriller that “just about did us in,” Fenton said.
“The two houses that were by it had these bushes and trees that used to have branches that were hanging over the sidewalk we’d take to get back home,” she said. “That was spookier than the movie.”
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Historical Societies Foster Pride and Preservation
By Matthew Santoni
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Ronald A. Baraff, director of museums and archives for the Rivers of Steel Heritage Area, which chronicles the history and culture of the industries and mill towns along the rivers, visits the former Carrie Furnace steel mill site in Braddock. Rivers of Steel recently acquired the site from the county to turn into a museum. Sidney Davis | Tribune-Review
The statue of Pittsburgh Pirates legend Honus Wagner might stand outside PNC Park on the North Shore, but fans who desire something more can head six miles down the Parkway West to the Historical Society of Carnegie’s miniature museum to learn about its native son.
In a historic building along West Main Street, a small exhibit on Wagner shares space with yearbooks and photos from area schools, a memorial wall for the town’s military veterans, and a painstakingly crafted scale model of the borough’s buildings along East and West Main Street, all funded without help from the municipality.
Volunteer Joan Harbin points out a model of the building housing the artifacts and exhibits on display at the Historical Society of Carnegie in the small museum on West Main Street. Keeping up with the maintenance of the building and expansion plans has been a struggle, but officials say local history groups, such as the Carnegie's, help to instill local pride and encourage tourism and redevelopment. James Knox | Tribune-Review
“We support ourselves. We figured it was better to be people-funded rather than tax-funded,” said Marcella McGrogan, executive director of the society. “Our town’s streets and parking lots need the help more than we do.”
Carnegie is one of many communities in the region with a historical society, which officials say can encourage economic development by drawing tourists, instilling local pride and marketing a community’s historic assets.
“We have a ‘Babushkas and Hardhats’ tour … that looks at the development of the Pittsburgh region, why industry located here, why it isn’t here now and how Pittsburgh has reinvented itself,” said Ron Baraff, director of museums and archives for the Rivers of Steel Heritage Area, which chronicles the history and culture of the industries and mill towns along the rivers.
About 15 acres of the former Carrie Furnace steel mill site in Rankin and Braddock were transferred from the county to Rivers of Steel, and officials hope to turn the former blast furnaces into a museum. Sidney L. Davis | Tribune-Review
About 15 acres of the former Carrie Furnace steel mill site in Rankin and Braddock were transferred from the county to Rivers of Steel, and officials hope to turn the former blast furnaces into a museum.
“The idea is to bring people into the region and get them to understand that the past built the present, that that’s the foundation for the future,” he said.
How and why it helps
The Young Preservationists Society of Pittsburgh released a report last month estimating that preserving and restoring historic properties added at least $475 million to Southwestern Pennsylvania’s economy from 2003 to 2009. Local historical societies can encourage such redevelopment and reinvestment by making people more aware of the history of their communities and homes, said Arthur Ziegler, president of the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation.
“People tend to believe in the value of that area and are more willing to invest, particularly in historic buildings,” Ziegler said. “It can also develop visitor interest, which can bring income to a town.”
The Sewickley Valley Historical Society is too small to maintain a museum space of its own, but its library allows people to research the history of their families or their homes, said Harton Semple, executive director.
“We’re a small society — only about 400 members — but we have a rich history to draw upon,” Semple said. “We are assailed on all sides by development and general apathy, but we’re beating back that tide.”
The Sewickley Valley society’s “nest egg” was hit hard by the recession, but it has sustained itself with members who made donations above and beyond their yearly membership dues, Semple said. The group published a history of Sewickley last year, and is beginning a push to fund and erect historical markers around the area, he said.
The Historical Society of Mt. Lebanon charges a small fee for its “home history project,” which presents homeowners with a report on the architect who designed their houses, construction plans for them and any other tidbits that members of the historical society can dig up, said Executive Director Margaret Jackson.
Mt. Lebanon’s society is entering its second year of operating a small museum space off Washington Avenue, which hosts rotating exhibits on local subjects such as the nearby Washington School or the Mt. Lebanon Soccer League, Jackson said. More and more residents are donating artifacts and photographs, but that raises the new challenge of how to store and protect them all. Yearly contributions from the municipality’s budget are enough to cover rent on the museum space, she said.
“We’re slowly getting the word out that we’re here, that we’re not just for little old ladies,” Jackson said. “Mt. Lebanon is just celebrating our centennial. … Hopefully, we’ll preserve our community’s past for decades to come.”
The Westmoreland County Historical Society this week moved its library and museum space to a new location on Sand Hill Road, which is more accessible to the many people who use its archives to research their family’s past, said Executive Director Lisa Hays.
“What’s surprising is how far people will travel to study their genealogy. … We had people come from as far away as Australia last week,” Hays said. “Typically, one person will sit and do research while the rest of the family goes out and sees the local sights.”
Hays said local societies help residents understand their communities’ place in the larger events of history, and knowing what roles they played or how they were affected can foster civic pride.
“Everyone thinks nothing ever happened in their backyard, but it did — everything that’s happened on a national level, on a world level, was played out on a local level,” she said. “Once that dawns on people, it creates a real sense of local pride.”