Godey's Lady's Book: Early 1800's "Queen of Monthlies"

Godey’s Lady’s Book was a United States magazine published in Philadelphia from 1830-1878.  At the height of its popularity in the 1860’s, Godey’s referred to itself as the “Queen of Monthlies”. Marketed specifically to women, each issue contained poetry, articles, recipes, sheet music for the piano, dress patterns, illustrated fashion styles, and other engravings.  At …

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Wood Window Restoration Project at Anselma Mill

  We recently completed a historic wood window restoration project at the Mill at Anselma. Those who are into vintage and historic architecture can check this out as this mill is a gem of historic architecture in our country – the most complete example of a functioning historic grist mill in the entire country. History …

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PENELOPE'S PRESERVATION POINTERS: What to do when you think you need to replace your historic wood windows

Hi! I’m Penelope and I’m new around here, but my Mommy and Daddy know a lot about historic preservation and have been teaching me new things every day. Yesterday they taught me not to chew on Karri’s office slippers (even if I really want to) and then they taught me something that really blew my …

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Preserving Pennsylania: A Journey Through the Last 20 Years, Part 18

Preservation Pennsylvania has released their “Pennsylvania At-Risk: Twenty-Year Retrospective of Pennsylvania’s Endangered Historic Properties, Where Are They Now” edition. It’s a fascinating look at preservation in action and we’ll be posting a look at each property in a series of posts over the next several months. INTRODUCTION Preservation Pennsylvania established the annual Pennsylvania At Risk list in …

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Preservation Education: A History of the American Porch

There is no architectural element in our historic architecture more nostalgic than the American porch.  We remember playing on them as kids.  We hung out on them with our friends as teenagers (probably stealing a kiss or two we weren’t supposed to have yet).  We sat on them as adults sipping iced tea on hot …

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PA Architecture Colonial Period

This article is a part of a series from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission’s excellent field guide on the architectural styles found in Pennsylvania.  In it, they’ve assigned key periods of development – from the Colonial period in the 18th Century to the Modern Movements of the 29th Century.  This article focuses on an overview of the …

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Preservation in Progress: Historic Porch Restoration at the Harris-Cameron Mansion in Harrisburg, PA

History of the Harris-Cameron Mansion in Harrisburg, PA   In the early 1700′s, Harrisburg’s founder John Harris Sr. immigrated to the area from Yorkshire, England after receiving a land grant.  When he first arrived, Harris Sr. built a homestead on the bank of the Susquehanna River and established a trading post, and then a successful ferry business …

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Preservation Spotlight: Somerset Door & Column Company

We recently completed a historic porch restoration at the Harris-Cameron mansion in Harrisburg, PA.  Part of the project involved fabricating new wood columns to match a few existing column we were salvaging.  For that work we turned to Somerset Door & Column Company. For over 100 years, Somerset Door & Column Company has manufactured architectural …

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