Wise Happenings

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 Wise Preservation Planning LLC is a full-service historic preservation planning firm. We research, document, analyze and ultimately help protect historic resources and our cultural landscape. Our firm serves a variety of clients, including municipalities, engineers, architects, historical societies, and owners of historic resources. The firm was founded in 1997 by Robert J. Wise Jr., who has 20 years of experience in the historic preservation field. He is assisted by Seth Hinshaw, Senior Planner, who has been with the firm since 2001. Both planners have M.S. degrees in historic preservation from the University of Pennsylvania and exceed the 36 CFR 61 Professional Qualification Standards established by the National Park Service for architectural historians.

WISE NEWS Wise Preservation Planning LLC is a sponsor of the 7th Annual Historic House Tour, planned for September 24, 2011. Both Bob and Seth are volunteering as tour guides.   The Tour is organized by the Tredyffrin Historic Preservation Trust, which was organized to save the historic Jones Log Barn. Come see some wonderful historic houses! Click the logo here to go to their website - prepaid tickets are required.   Kuerner Farm National Historic Landmark   The Kuerner Farm in Chadds Ford Township, Delaware County, Pa., was listed as a National Historic Landmark on June 23, 2011. This is the second successful National Historic Landmark nomination written by Wise Preservation. Andrew Wyeth, a world-renowned artist who was raised one half mile to the west, completed many famous works at the Kuerner Farm, including "The Kuerners," "Spring Fed," and the Helga series. The Kuerner Farm is owned by the Brandywine Conservancy, Inc. The property includes a farmhouse, barn, pond, springhouse, farm fields, and agricultural outbuildings.   Note: In 1997, Wise wrote the National Historic Landmark nomination for the N.C. Wyeth House and Studio, where Andrew Wyeth's father completed well-known illustrations in the early 20th century.   Glenmoore Historic District   Wise Preservation Planning LLC is pleased to announce that the Glenmoore Historic District was listed on the National Register on March 18, 2011. The village is significant under Criterion C for architecture. The original village was located on Fairview Road on the east side of the Brandywine. After the arrival of State Road (1851), soon followed by the laying out of the railroad (1860), a second-growth Victorian village emerged on the west side of the Brandywine. Glenmoore soon became the economic center of Wallace Township, and most commerce in the Township relocated there. The village has a blend of Victorian architectural styles, with a higher concentration of Gothic Revival and Folk Victorian. The district includes the only surviving train station along the original railroad leading north from Downingtown to Honey Brook.   Wise Sponsorships   Wise Preservation Planning LLC continues to support local preservation efforts. In May, Wise was an exhibitor at the Pennsylvania Statewide Conference on Heritage, a three-day event held in the Commonwealth Keystone Building in Harrisburg. Wise had also been an exhibitor at the first annual Chester County Preservation Fair, held at Yellow Springs in April, where we gave our PowerPoint presentation on Chester County Barns. Wise has also supported other organizations and events, including the Tredyffrin Historic Preservation Trust and the Kimberton Waldorf School at various fundraising events.   Fetters Mill Bridge   Wise Preservation Planning LLC has been working with residents of the Fetters Mill Village Historic District to plan for the future of the bridge in the center of the district. Montgomery County is looking into options including replacing the bridge and building a larger, two-lane bridge. Wise and village residents are concerned that such a bridge could negatively impact Fetters Mill Village as well as the Borough of Bryn Athyn. The iron deck truss bridge was built in 1917 and is a contributing resource in the district. Wise has been assisting village residents in the consultation process.   New Offices!   To serve you better, Wise Preservation Planning LLC recently moved into new offices. Located at the same address since 2006, our new office is approximately 50% larger. Ever the preservationists, we have retained a portion of the 15 foot oak work table from our original office in Paoli - it is currently used as a workspace for the collation of reports. We have additional space for our architecture books and the reports that we have produced since the business began in 1997.   Donating Our Time and Expertise in West Vincent Township   Wise is assisting West Vincent Township, Chester County, with completing the first phase of its comprehensive historic resource survey as part of the Chester County Historic Atlas Project. The Atlas Project will eventually survey, inventory, map and classify all historic resources in Chester County 50 years and older. The Atlas project uses the 1982 Chester County Historic Site Survey as its baseline and adds historic resources not identified in 1982. Wise has professionally assisted several other townships in this project and, as a "resident" of West Vincent, is assisting the township pro bono. Our work involves the inventory and mapping component of the 200+ property project.   Historic American Building Survey documentation training   In the fall of 2010, Bob Wise and Seth Hinshaw completed training for undertaking the type of documentation expected by the Historic American Building Survey (HABS) program. The training enabled us to participate in the HABS documentation of the historic Headquarters Road Bridge near Orrville, Bucks County. The stone abutments and piers were built c. 1810, and the bridge was "modernized" by local architect Oscar Martin in 1919. Currently, PennDOT is considering plans to repair and/or replace the bridge, perhaps retaining portions of the original stone bridge elements. The HABS documentation is part of the mitigation to prevent its demolition. HABS, administered by the National Park Service, documents an extremely detailed set of measured elevations and floor plans of a resource with a concise history. Original drawings are deposited in the Library of Congress.   Celebrating Recent National Register listings in Lower Saucon Township, Northampton Co.   Wise is proud of our recent accomplishments in Lower Saucon Township. On June 28, 2010, the National Park Service listed the Heller Homestead on the National Register. The house has two major sections - one dating to c. 1750 and one built c. 1820. It was the second successful National Register nomination in Lower Saucon Township drafted by Wise. Wise also prepared the Lutz Franklin Schoolhouse, listed on December 30, 2008. Wise prepared these nominations in cooperation with Lower Saucon Township and the Saucon Valley Conservancy. Check out the Conservancy's website for more information about public activities at the Heller House.   Re-building the Jones Log Barn   Bob Wise help found the Tredyffrin Historic Preservation Trust in 2001 with one major purpose: to rebuild the 18th century Jones Log Barn. In the 1700s, most barns in Chester County were log, but very few of these early log barns survive. Mr. Wise has been involved in the construction planning and fund raising to rebuild this very rare architectural gem. In late 2010 the Trust announced that the massive foundation walls have now been rebuilt. With a little more fundraising, the Trust will be able to rebuild the logs! If you are interesting in helping out, please check out the Trust's website or call Bob Wise. PowerPoint Presentations Help Promote Historic Preservation / HARB & Historical Commission Training Workshops   Messrs. Wise and Hinshaw have made several presentations to educate and/or train members of the preservation community and others about cultural resource protection issues. Our newest training presentation, Chester County Barns, provides an overview of how barns in Chester County changed over time. The presentation was originally given as one of three architectural presentations prior to the 2010 Chester County Town Tours and Village Walks. It was then expanded and presented in its current form to the Tredyffrin Historic Preservation Trust. Our most popular PowerPoint presentation is Chester County Residential Architecure, which we last presented to members of the West Vincent Township Historic Committee. The Chester County Historic Preservation Network recently held a workshop on the topic of Historic Resource Impact Studies at the Brandywine Conservancy, Chadds Ford, Pa. A panel of professionals, including Bob Wise, demonstrated the importance and use of impact studies at the municipal level. New Castle (Pa.) Airport Study   In January 2011 Wise was selected by the Lawrence County Airport Authority to prepare a Comprehensive Historical Plan for the New Castle Airport. The project will identify and evaluate historic resources in the vicinity of the airport, including a collection of former military buildings adjacent to Runway-31. The airport is a major economic component of the city and vicinity. As such, the plan is being funded in part by the Pa. Department of Community and Economic Development, the Pa. Historical and Museum Commission, and the Pa. Department of Transportation Bureau of Aviation. Waetzman Planning Group, Bryn Mawr, will assist Wise. The project is the second major airport history project undertaken by Wise, the first being the National Register Determination of Eligibility for Wings Field, Whitpain Township, Pa., as part of a Section 106 Transportation project. National Register and Historic Resource Survey Project Map   The map to the right identifies the locations of major National Register/National Historic Landmark and historic resource survey projects completed by Wise Preservation Planning LLC in southeastern Pennsylvania. The map does not show our projects in Pennsylvania outside of the greater Philadelphia area or our New Jersey projects. Black dots identify National Register nominations; red dots indicate our historic resource surveys.   A comprehensive listing of Wise's National Register projects is found on the National Register page, including associated projects completed by Wise that are not mapped here (proposed new districts, recommendations for boundary adjustments, determination of eligibility projects). The complete list of survey projects is found on the Historic Resource Survey page. New Website   Wise Preservation Planning LLC's new website is now up and running. It provides more information on our services and past projects. Click around on the left to learn about how we may help you plan for historic resources!