Historic Happenings Blog

Preservation in Practice: A Primer for Historic Preservation Commissions and Planners This one-day workshop is open to all preservationists, but it is specifically geared toward those serving on a local commission. This program is designed to benefit both new and experienced commission members and will also be relevant for planning and zoning board members and elected officials. The course provides an in-depth examination of current topics and issues relevant to integrating preservation into community planning and zoning. Focus will be on legal parameters for implementing a commission, conducting an effective public meeting, and understanding and implementing tools to foster good preservation at the local level. Instructors:  Janine Baur, Esq., Jonathan Kinney, and Barton Ross, RA Date(s): Saturday, April 25, 2020 Time: 9:00AM - 4:00PM Cost: $75 Click for more information and to register!  

What's New in History  Do you want to learn more about the latest trends in history and public history and how you might apply them where you work, live, or volunteer? Join us and read up on the latest in African American history, LGBTQ+ history, disability history and more. Meet local museum professionals who have experience interpreting people, places, and events within the context of these themes and making visitors and staff who identify with these and other groups feel welcome. Instructor: Nicole Belolan Date(s): Thursdays, April 2 - April 30, 2020 Time 6:30PM - 8:30PM  Cost: $150 Click for more information and to register!

Preservation Planning  This course provides an overview of urban planning as it relates to the preservation field, with a specific emphasis on the history of planning, planning processes, land use laws in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and economic development best practices at the municipal level. Students will learn through lectures, hands-on activities, and at-home assignments.  Instructor: Meredith Johnson Date(s): Mondays, March 9 - March 11, 2020 Time: 6:30PM - 8:30PM Cost: $275 Click for more information and to register! 

Materials and Techniques for Historic Restoration and Rehabilitation This course offers an overview of different materials commonly used in this region and the techniques for their repair. Materials to be examined are: masonry (stone, brick, concrete, terra cotta, mortar), wood, finishes, plaster, and metals. The class will discuss techniques utilized to read historic evidence in buildings and be introduced to rehabilitation codes.  Instructor: Bob Russell  Date(s): Wednesdays, February 26 - April 29, 2020 Time: 6:30PM - 8:30PM Cost: $275 Click for more information and to register! 

Introduction to Historic Preservation Historic Preservation at MARCH About : This course is an introduction to the preservation of the built environment, examining the history and philosophy of historic preservation and how the discipline is practiced today. It will provide the historic framework of how preservation has emerged as a field of specialization and a foundation for understanding preservation issues, terminology, and public policy. Through discussions on the history and guiding principles of historic preservation, the class will explore the secretary of the interior’s standards, national and state register programs, preservation techniques, and the overall benefits of historic preservation. Who should register? : This course is a required course for the certificate in historic preservation. This course will be useful for anyone looking to broaden their understanding of current issues in historic preservation. Credits:  2 CEUs For up-to-date course info:  https://pre...

Costuming your Historic Site Interpreters on a Budget Historic Preservation at MARCH About : Do costumed guides or docents give tours or perform craft demonstrations, living history events, or reenactments at your small museum or historic site? Would you like to learn about how to improve the historic authenticity and quality of what they are wearing? In this workshop, Kimberly Boice and Tyler Putman, experts in eighteenth-century costumed living history interpretation and hand-sewing, will give participants the tools they need to improve and enhance the preservation of their historic site’s history through the people who tell their stories. This workshop focuses on sites that interpret eighteenth-century history. Who should register :  Those who work or volunteer at small museums and historic sites and oversee or participate in eighteenth-century costumed interpretation. Those who work or volunteer at small museums or historic sites who would like to introduce eighteenth-century c...

Introduction to Online Historic Sources for Preservation Research Historic Preservation at MARCH About:  Are you telling the same old story at your small museum or historic site? Maybe you worry about whether it’s even historically accurate! Join us to learn how to improve your interpretive materials, grant application, or even your rack card so you can start connecting with visitors in new ways using historical materials. In this workshop, you will learn up-to-date techniques for researching historic buildings online and preserving and interpreting their histories for today’s audiences using digitized historic sources such as guidebooks, trade catalogues, maps, and museum artifacts. Who should register:  This workshop is geared toward participants who want to learn more about how to conduct historical research using free, digitized historic sources available online to conduct historical research on historic sites and houses where they work, volunteer, or live. This workshop w...

Introduction to Historic Preservation Historic Preservation at MARCH About : This course is an introduction to the preservation of the built environment, examining the history and philosophy of historic preservation and how the discipline is practiced today. It will provide the historic framework of how preservation has emerged as a field of specialization and a foundation for understanding preservation issues, terminology, and public policy. Through discussions on the history and guiding principles of historic preservation, the class will explore the secretary of the interior’s standards, national and state register programs, preservation techniques, and the overall benefits of historic preservation. Who should register? : This course is a required course for the certificate in historic preservation. This course will be useful for anyone looking to broaden their understanding of current issues in historic preservation. Credits:  2 CEUs For up-to-date course info:  https://pre...

Introduction to Historic Interiors 5-week course When we think about historic preservation, we often think of preserving the outside of buildings by painting wooden porches or recreating historic kitchen gardens. But historic preservation also encompasses the insides of buildings. What is there to preserve inside, and why does it matter? Instead of focusing on the outsides of buildings, this course, an Introduction to Historic Interiors, will introduce students to the history of domestic activities such as eating, resting, dying, and working and how they related to the spaces inside buildings where they occurred from the colonial era to the present. This course will feature in-class, hands-on activities and at least one site visit. It is designed for a variety of preservationists, ranging from individuals working at historic sites to folks who own their own historic home. Instructor: Nicole Belolan Dates: Wednesdays, April 3, 10, & 24; May 1 & 8 (Skipping April 17) Time: 6:30PM...

Cultural Heritage Tourism 5-week course Do you want to enhance your visitors’ engagement with history at your site or in your municipality but need a jump start on inspiration or project planning? Would you like a chance to consider how your historic site fits within the broader landscape of the region’s heritage tourism so you can identify prospective collaborators and funding sources? Then join us for a course on Cultural Heritage Tourism lead by Dorothy Guzzo, Executive Director of the New Jersey Historic Trust. Cultural heritage tourism, defined by the  National Trust for Historic Preservation  as “traveling to experience the places, artifacts, and activities that authentically represent the stories and people of the past and present,” encompasses a range of activities central to our work in historic preservation, broadly defined. Whether you work at a historic site or within the hospitality industry, this course is designed to provide a basic understanding of why visitors...

American Architectural History 10-week course Architecture is the product of social, cultural, religious, and political forces. Great cultures and civilizations throughout the world have produced not only great monuments but robust vernacular architectural traditions, closely tied to the environment and their local contexts. This course will present an introduction to buildings, landscapes, and other built artifacts in the United States constructed from the colonial period to the present, looking at both urban and rural, domestic and public building types. Its approach will be pluralistic, drawing historical references from art history, social history, and cultural studies and introducing the range of material culture produced by Americans of all ethnic and socioeconomic groups. In addition to addressing domestic and public buildings, the course will also discuss the most significant works of engineering that relate to the creation of architecture such as train sheds, exposition halls,...