GHHS invests in preservation, revitalization, and educational initiatives that enhance our role in the Hazleton community. In 2014, GHHS launched a “Preservation through Revitalization” campaign to highlight the importance of preserving Hazleton‘s architectural, industrial, and cultural heritage. In recent years, the city has confronted the challenge of blighted properties in residential neighborhoods. Among the properties at risk are homes and churches located within the Church Street residential neighborhood north of the downtown. In the 2000s, this neighborhood was determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places by the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission.
Beginning in 2015, GHHS began a discussion on developing a historic preservation and anti-blight strategy to preserve the architectural character of this storied neighborhood. After consultation with the City of Hazleton, the Downtown Hazleton Alliance for Progress (which administers the downtown‘s Main Street program), Preservation Pennsylvania, and the CAN DO Community Foundation, GHHS is requesting technical assistance from historic preservation and anti-blight consultants to establish and rehabilitate the proposed historic district.
The currently proposed district (eligible for boundary expansion) is comprised of approximately 50 blocks containing more than 400 structures. Among the structures in the neighborhood are nine churches, a synagogue, City Hall, and countless residential properties in the Victorian, Queen Anne, Spanish Revival, Bungalow, and Tudor style. The structures are products of popular architectural trends in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The project will result in a survey of historic resources within and surrounding the district (by PHMC standards), the City‘s passing of a preservation ordinance and creation of a Historic Architectural Review Board, and the development of a historic district stabilization and revitalization plan within the context of the City‘s community development program and other non-profit partner initiatives.
Resources
- Historic guides to the Historic Church Street Neighborhood and Donegal Hill can be purchased here.
- Read the history behind the neighborhood.
GHHS is also involved in downtown revitalization projects. Learn more about the Downtown Hazleton Alliance for Progress by visiting: http://www.downtownhazleton.org
Israel Platt Pardee Mansion on N. Laurel St. The home is the only residential property in Hazleton listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Residential property in proposed historic district.
Map of proposed Historic District.
