Pennsylvania Hospital is both a historic treasure and thriving community. Established in 1751, it’s been in continuous operation at the current site in Philadelphia’s Society Hill neighborhood since 1755. People come from all over the globe to tour the hospital, one of the earliest to be built in the United States. Yet people who live a few blocks away may have no idea about its legacy, says Stacey Peeples, the hospital’s curator and lead archivist.
“No matter how much you think people know about you, there’s always more education to be had,” Peeples says.
Recently, the hospital commissioned a Conservation Management Plan to help guide planning and upgrades for the Pine Street building, grounds, and collections. And it turned to PennPraxis, the consulting and community engagement arm of the Weitzman School, and the School’s Center for Architectural Conservation (CAC) to produce the plan. The work is being led by Frank Matero, professor of architecture and chair of the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation and director of the CAC, and project managers Kecia Fong, a lecturer in the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation, and Starr Herr-Cardillo, research associates with PennPraxis and the CAC. Together with a group of student interns and faculty consultants, the team is working to produce a Conservation Management Plan that “sets out the significance of [the property], and how that significance will be retained in any future use, management, alteration or repair,” as described in a progress report prepared for the hospital’s leadership last fall.
“A site that remains in use for its original purpose is a prime candidate for a Conservation Management Plan, because it is a historic resource and it has these continuous use values,” Herr-Cardillo says.
This story is by Jared Brey. Read more at Weitzman News.
