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Wise Home Projects and Services Wise Happenings Wise Consultants Contact Wise  Wise Preservation Planning LLC Main Office 1480 Hilltop Road Chester Springs PA 19425 Phone (484) 202-8187 Northeast Pa. Office 115 West 3rd Street, 2nd Floor Berwick PA 18603 Phone (570) 218-4028
Mission and Practice
Wise Preservation recognizes that the future is a direct result of our actions. We strive to help you make the right choices, and make it easier for you to do so. Before we undertake a project, we ask "what are its potential public benefits?" If there are no public benefits, we probably are not involved. (We are of course retained by property owners and developers for preservation and investment projects.) We utilize the latest technology, continuing education, and experience working on the front lines of preservation. We often retain architects, engineers, and archaeologists for additional documentation and evaluation. Ever involved, we volunteer on boards and commissions and train others in the preservation community.
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BREAKING NEWS |
Wise Preservation Planning LLC is pleased to report that the Sharpless Homestead was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 15, 2011. It is the 24th successful nomination drafted by Wise. The four-section house was built with green serpentine stone. The last section, built in 1860, was constructed with hexagonal shaped serpentine specially cut for decorative effect. The farmhouse is augmented by three serpentine stone outbuildings: a smoke house, springhouse, and stable. The historic sketch of the house and smoke house below was drawn in 1838 by a grandfather of Philadelphia councilman Thatcher Longstreth.
Several locally prominent members of the Sharpless family lived here. Joshua Sharpless, who built the southeast section, was the first important headmaster at Westtown School and played an important role in negotiations with Indian Chief Cornplanter that led to the establishment of the Tunesassa School for Indians in western New York State. His grandson Isaac Sharpless, the last family member to own the property, was a long time President of Haverford College who introduced a rigorous academic discipline there and helped establish the initial guidelines for accreditation of universities and colleges.
| ABOUT WISE | Wise Preservation Planning LLC is a full-service historic preservation planning firm serving clients in the greater Philadelphia area and beyond. Our clients include municipalities, historical commissions, developers, attorneys, planning and engineering firms, and individuals. Wise conducts a wide variety of historic preservation products and services, including: – National Register Nominations – Historic Resource Surveys – Historic Structure Reports – Historic Resource Impact Studies – Municipal Planning Assistance – Training / Presentations – Other Major Project Types After serving as Senior Planner, Historic Preservation, at the Brandywine Conservancy's Environmental Management Program, Robert J. Wise Jr. founded Robert Wise Consulting in 1997. The name was changed in 2001, and the firm relocated to Chester Springs, Pa. in 2006. Tackling a myriad of preservation issues in this very diverse region, Wise helps clients determine the extent of their historic assets, assess their significance, and establish the best means of protecting these assets, through the inclusion of and benefit to the public. We utilize the latest technology, continuing education, and experience working on the front lines of preservation. Wise offers a full range of relevant preservation planning services. Our professional consultants meet the federal standards for architectural historians as outlined by the National Park Service (48 FR 44716 and 36 CFR 61 Professional Qualification Standards), a standard required for many federal and state-funded grant projects. Wise historic preservation consultants hold Master's of Science Degrees in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania (1993, 2001) and are among the few professional consultants certified through the Cultural Resource Essentials program (2009) sponsored by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Wise consultants also hold certificates in Community Planning from the Pennsylvania Municipal Planning Education Institute (2008). The firm is listed on the Pennsylvania and New Jersey historic preservation consultant lists.
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