Preservation Williamsport Dedicated to preserving and protecting Williamsport’s
architectural heritage
Preservation
Williamsport
Board of Directors
Edward
Lyon, Jr., Chairman
Oscar Knade, Vice Chairman
Kathryn Nassberg, Treasurer
Shirley Knade, Secretary Anthony H. Visco, Jr.
Robert Elion, Esq.
Allen E. Ertel, Esq. Robert Kane, Jr.
Barbara Lamade
Eiderson Dean Dr. John Piper
Marcia Miele
Gloria Miele Nan Young
In recent years the Millionaires
Row Historic District has seen a significant increase in the interest
to preserve and restore this historically sensitive area. Large
amounts of private money have been invested in returning "boarding
houses" to private residences and special emphasis has been
placed upon enhancing and improving student housing in the area.
With the expansion of Pennsylvania
College of Technology, the Maynard Street corridor, the Streetscape
Project and the new Transportation Museum as well as the Durrwachter
House Museum, the surrounding neighborhoods are benefiting as the
area transitions into a tourist destination.
The mission of Preservation
Williamsport is to restore and preserve Williamsport’s rich
architectural heritage, and to educate the public about the importance
of preservation. The acquisition of the Rowley House was a natural
adjunct.
Historic preservation provides
a community with a sense of place, connecting people to their neighbors
and their past. With the addition of the Rowley House Museum visitors
to the area will be able to discover not only names and street addresses
of the industrious generations who came before us but they will
now be able to experience first hand how these millionaires lived
and worked. They may view an authentic and vivid time slot of history,
with original amenities still intact nearly 120 years later.
Preservation of Williamsport
Foundation, Inc. was established in 1986 and incorporated in 1990
when a group of preservation-minded citizens saw the need for an
organization dedicated to protecting Williamsport's rich, but endangered,
historic heritage.
Victorian Christmas annually
provides the hanging baskets in the summer and lighted wreaths in
the winter that decorate the Victorian lamp posts in the Historic
District.
In 2004, a board of 10 members
formed to pursue the acquisition of the Rowley House. Officers were
elected and funding sources were sought. With the help of grant
money from the First Community Foundation, a large private donation
from Allen and Kay Ertel, and various smaller donations, Preservation
Williamsport was able to acquire the Rowley House. All avenues to
secure funds to pay for the building and to perform repairs and
restoration work are being targeted. A membership drive and various
fundraisers are planned.
Please feel free to contact
us if you would like additional information.
Preservation Williamsport
(Preservation of Williamsport Foundation, Inc.)
960 West Third Street
Williamsport, PA 17701
(570)323-8080 or 323-2144
E-mail: preservationwilliamsport@gmail.com
Interested in Park Place?
Learn more about this Williamsport asset's history, present and
future by clicking here
Rowley House
The purpose of The Preservation
of Williamsport Foundation, Inc. (Preservation Williamsport) is
to discover and preserve the historic resources throughout the entire
city of Williamsport. This includes, but is not limited to, the
documentation and preservation of ethnic neighborhoods, structures
of historical or architectural significance, and sites such as the
Freedom Road Cemetery or the caves used by the Underground Railroad
in the mid-1800s. A secondary purpose is to assist and promote the
preservation of historically/architecturally significant sites and
structures in adjacent communities.
To that end, Preservation Williamsport operates primarily to educate
the public. For example:
It publishes a newsletter
three times a year offering information on current preservation
efforts in the area, endangered structures, issues in preservation,
tips on restoration, information on resources.
It assists homeowners
in solving restoration problems through the expertise of its
members and board of directors.
It provides an annual
dinner meeting with guest speaker offering information relevant
to current issues.
It encourages preservation
and restoration by presenting an Annual Preservation Award recognizing
individual or group efforts in restoration.
It provides tours and
events to help to educate the public in general, such as past
tours of Millionaires Row and an upcoming tour of the Wildwood
Cemetery.
It organizes and sponsors
lecture series and other programs in cooperation with other
organizations in the area, such as a three-part series in 1991
held in cooperation with the Williamsport-Lycoming Arts Council
and the Lycoming County Historical Society. This series was
funded in part by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and included
a slide lecture on Victorian decorative arts by David A. Hanks,
a slide lecture on historic Williamsport by Samuel Dornsife,
and a panel discussion on current issues in preservation which
included such notables as Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas Hylton,
Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Officer Michel Lefevre,
Williamsport-Lycoming Chamber of Commerce President Peter Loedding
and Professor of History Dr. Richard Webster (University of
West Chester, Pennsylvania).
It organizes and presents
an annual house hour through Millionaires Row (National Register
Historic District).
It organizes and presents
a Promenade during the Boom Festival in Williamsport, which
allows people to not only view but participate in the customs
of Williamsport’s Victorian society. Members dress in
period costumes representative of all economic classes and join
in the festival's activities. Members also sponsor or provide
other cultural events such as “High Tea” or a performance
by the Repasz Band, the oldest continuously organized band in
the United States.
It organizes and presents
an annual Victorian Ball. Prior to the evening's events, lessons
in dances popular during the Victorian Age are given, and, during
the night's activities, special dance demonstrations are presented.
It provides access to
historical research materials. For example, the organization
is in the process of reproducing 19th century Williamsport atlases
and city directories for historical research access, which are
to be donated to the local history research facilities of the
J.V. Brown Library and the Lycoming County Historical Society.
Another goal of Preservation Williamsport
is to preserve and restore. To that end, the organization provides
supporting in the following ways:
Supplies funds to the
City of Williamsport for restoration projects, such as reproduction
and installation of period light fixtures along Millionaires
Row.
Houses outside the historic
district that are targeted for restoration, or in some cases
demolition, are documented. In the case of demolition, important
architectural ornamentation is removed for reuse in other restoration
projects in Williamsport.
Acquires and restores
historic structures. Proceeds from the sale or rent of restored
structures will be used to acquire additional structures and
continue the preservation process and to set up a revolving
loan program for the benefit of homeowners wishing to restore
a property.
Entrusts its board members
to serve as consultants to other organized groups renovating
older homes, such as Habitat for Humanity. PW promotes low cost
preservation and adaptive reuse as opposed to gutting a building
and complete renovation.
Interacts with other organizations.
Board members serve as standing members of the Historical Architectural
Committee of the City of Williamsport. To promote our purpose
further, members interact with Lycoming County Historical Society,
Williamsport-Lycoming Arts Council, Williamsport-Lycoming Chamber
of Commerce, Williamsport-Lycoming Tourist Promotion Agency,
Lycoming County Board of Realtors and the City of Williamsport
Historic Architectural Review Board.
Documents historic structures.
This project is underway, initially within the historic district,
but eventually will expand to include the entire city. This
survey includes inventory and photo documentation.
Preservation Williamsport
is operated exclusively by volunteers throughout the community.
All fundraising activities are organized by its volunteer board
of directors and implemented with the assistance of other volunteers
from its membership. PW has formed various committees to oversee
its activities, including a fundraising committee, which is chaired
by a member of the board. To date, PW has held an annual membership
campaign and has solicited financial support for specific programs
such as its Victorian Ball. This solicitation was mostly at the
corporate level through sponsorships.
"I feel fortunate to own one of these homes. I dreamed
of it when I was a little girl walking past on my way home
from school." Rose has lived at 726 West Third Street
for more than 30 years. It was built in 1888 by William Hart
and is Simplified Queen Anne style.
Rose Rizzo
Photo courtesy of Terry Wild
"The thing I like about the Historic District is that
the workmanship that was performed 130 years ago with hand
tools is still surviving. It's a challenge to duplicate it
even with today's modern tools. This is a heritage that needs
to be preserved. But who's going to do my copper work?"
Nina & Eric Cheetham
Photo courtesy of Terry Wild
"I think these are the most interesting houses in the
city. I'm glad to be a part of the neighborhood." This
home was designed by Eber Culver for Hiram Rhodes. It is a
Queen Anne style Victorian with porches, gables and a unique
red slate roof.
Marcia Miele & Bob Elion
Photo courtesy of Terry Wild
"Why would anybody want to tear down these buildings?
Where else would we find such a nice place to live? People
need to respect our past." The Porter house, built in
1877, is Italianate style designed by Amos Wagner.
Zachary Porter, age 13
Debi, Jeff and Zachary Porter
Photo courtesy of Terry Wild
"One of my life's goals was to fix up one of the neglected
houses in the Historic District. I can't afford to do a lot
of the needed repairs all at once so I work on it a little
at a time. The satisfaction of seeing the house become the
"Jewel I knew it could be makes all the time, sweat and
hard work worth it. I'm glad I live here!"
Diane Franklin
Photo courtesy of Terry Wild
"I just have one thing to say about the Historic District:
I wouldn't want to live anyplace else." Sara-Ann Briggs
ad Eric Tallman both lived in the renovated apartments at
918 West Fourth Street, built in the early 1870s for G. Bedell
Moore in the Victorian Italianate style. The house features
stunning stained glass and ornate wainscoting.
