10 North 2nd Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101
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Historic Preservation
about our connection to the past and ourselves. It grounds us in reality and gives us a sense of place and purpose.
Welcome to the City of Harrisburg's Historic Preservation Page. This page is an effort to educate the residents of the City's historic district regulations and to encourage sustainable and proper stewardship of our cultural resources.
There are six municipal historic districts within the City of Harrisburg that are protected through the historic district ordinance and the zoning code. Please use the mapping tools below to determine whether your property is in a municipal historic district.
Any exterior alterations within any municipal historic district that would be visible from a public right of way (street, sidewalk, alley) are subject to historic district regulations (see the 2021 Harrisburg Historic District Design Guidelines).
Historic preservation is an important way for us to transmit our understanding of the past to present and future generations. Current and future generations can learn much from earlier cultures and its built environment. History is not the stagnant past, but it is a dynamic presence in our lives at this present moment. The present is a product of the past and it is important to understand our sense of time and place through historic buildings. We are only temporary stewards of these cultural resources just like those who came before us. Historic preservation is important because it impacts our sense of being and community today and ensures that future generations can experience being a product of an intricate past. Preservation, in a broad sense, is a long-term maintenance program to preserve unique neighborhoods and their historic places. With a preservation program, changes to a particular neighborhood is calibrated and justified based on the context of the setting and the appropriateness of the change.
There are a multitude of reasons why historic preservation is important, but there are four primary reasons.
Economic Stability: Historic preservation stabilizes real estate costs and is in essence a large-scale insurance policy to ensure long term stability and growth. New businesses generally prefer old buildings and their unique materials, designs, and architecture as people are drawn to historic places. Additionally, the preservation of neighborhoods allows for businesses and individuals to develop long term plans due to the fact that the surrounding neighborhood and building stock has protection from radical alterations or demolition.
Environmental Stewardship: The greenest building is one which has been already built. Historic buildings have the intrinsic value of high-quality materials many of which were handmade or used with precious materials including old growth lumber. The embodied environmental cost of these materials has already been expended; therefore, preservation is environmentally sustainable. Repairing historic places reduces waste, conserves resources, and saves money by repairing rather than replacing architectural elements.
Sense of Place and Identity: Simply put, people are attracted to historic buildings and streetscapes. These historic settings are part of our collective memory and therefore are the binders in developing a cohesive community. Historic communities are unique to a particular place and time and therefore make a place unique. The historic built environment contributes to our sense of community and identity and bolsters community pride, unity, and well-being.
Cultural and Educational Value: Historic buildings are a reminder of previous cultures and complexities of the past. Historic neighborhoods and cultural resources are the physical evidence of the evolution of a place giving us a sense of wonder and depth. Historic communities spark the imagination and allow for current generations to interpret this history and how previous cultures and people once lived.
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The Planning Bureau's historic preservation specialist is available for historic building and project consultation. They are able to perform preliminary archival research on your property and perform an on-site inspection to evaluate any existing preservation concerns and recommend treatment and repair options. They can also evaluate building and site chronology, building materials, and periods of change and alterations, and evaluation of a structure's historical integrity.
If you are interested in this free service, please email the City's historic preservation specialist and archivist, Ericka Kauffman, at [email protected].
When admiring Harrisburg's historic architecture, it is easy to be consumed by the architectural details and styles but it is also important to consider the materials themselves and how they were extracted. The majority of the existing building stock in the City has at least some elements made from old growth lumber. These old growth trees extracted from the ancient forests of Pennsylvania throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries built much of Pennsylvania's existing historic housing stock. These trees, including white pine, chestnut, hemlock, white oak, and other native species had variable characteristics which specified their specific functions and uses in construction and industry in Harrisburg. Unfortunately, this widespread extraction also had a devastating impact on the ecology and biodiversity of the land.
Many of these trees were saplings even before William Penn stepped foot onto the land which would become Pennsylvania. This material, once seemingly an infinite resource, is now a rare asset which only exists in existing historic architectural features. The tight grain of old growth lumber is superior to that of new growth lumber found in new construction as it naturally resists decay. Furthermore, the preservation of this finite resource is important to ensure that the ancient forests of Pennsylvania were not harvested in vain and that the legacy of these once towering beings continues to live on. Before you consider removing existing historic wooden architectural features, consider the cost its extraction and production exacted on our environment. Visit the Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation PA Conservation Heritage Project website for more information about the history of conservation in the Commonwealth.
The Harrisburg Architectural Review Board (HARB) has one vacant seat which needs to be filled by a licensed architect who is passionate about historic preservation and community service. Interested individuals are required to live within the boundaries of a municipal historic district and be willing to learn the principles of historic preservation. Those who are interested or have questions should submit their resume to the City's historic preservation specialist at [email protected].
Inspecting exterior architectural elements such as roofs, porches, wood details, trim, windows, and siding to ensure that there has not been any damage or rot over the winter is an important task. Removing accumulated organic debris from porches and roofs as well as cleaning out gutters eliminates substrate for water and fungi to reside.
Painting is another important task that is often completed in the spring season as it is an ideal temperature for paint to properly cure to surfaces. The most important part of painting historic features is surface preparation. Properly preparing the surface involves scraping loose paint, removing rot, filling cavities, and sealing seams with appropriate products. Oil based paint is recommended for use on historic buildings as most historic paints were oil based. Using oil-based paint will ensure that the new paint will bind to existing oil based paints on existing surfaces. Using oil-based paint can also reintroduce oils to the historic lumber to rehydrate the grain. Additionally, high quality exterior latex paint could also be used if previously used on the surface.
Lastly, general cleaning of surfaces should be an annual task including house washing, mopping, and sweeping. Pressure washing is a common method to clean architectural elements. If using this method, It is important to ensure that the pressure is low enough so that it does not cause damage to wood grain and paint. Lastly, it is also important to utilize environmentally sensitive cleaning products so the product has a minimal impact on soil and water health.
Historic district design guidelines, last updated in 2021, are a technical guide which outline the recommended procedures and methods to preserve historic architecture and streetscapes in the City of Harrisburg. The appropriateness of changes in historic districts can often be subjective without delineated standards; design guidelines standardize recommended procedures based on best historic preservation practices thus making decisions more objective and grounded in reason. The guidelines further outline the City’s historic district regulations and give guidance how to navigate HARB and the application process.
The purpose of these Historic District Design Guidelines is to provide comprehensive information regarding Harrisburg’s local history and architecture as well as specific guidelines for appropriate maintenance, rehabilitation, and new improvements that preserve and enhance the character and appearance of Harrisburg’s important historic buildings and neighborhoods.
Additionally, the manual provides education and resources to the Historic Architectural Review Board and assists them in making well-informed decisions that are essential to protecting and maintaining the overall character of the Historic District as well as the architectural integrity of the district’s individual buildings and other locally designated historic structures.