Preservation Awards Gallery

The Project: High Hollow Restoration

Owner: Melissa Epperly

Collaborators: Halstead Roofing, Inc. and Curran Painting, Inc.

George Howe’s spectacular High Hollow was built in 1914-17 as the architect’s personal residence. It is often regarded as Howe’s most significant residential work and viewed by many as setting the standard for house design in the region through the early 20th Century.

After years of passing through private owners, the house was neglected and in desperate need of restoration when taken over by the current owner in 2016.

Beginning with the internal systems, brass and copper pipes were carefully replaced and electrical, heat, cooling, gas, and water works were upgraded. Thanks to teams of master plumbers and electricians, the boiler room is a sight to behold! Halstead Roofing sourced and restored the more than 100-year-old original “ribbon” slate roof and replaced all copper gutters.

Curran Painting historically analyzed layers of paint, researching and testing to match George Howe’s 1917 paint colors. With additional detailed research in the archives of the Chestnut Hill Conservancy and the Philadelphia Athenaeum, multiple skilled masons have restored the retaining walls and hardscaping by Howe.

The owner, Melissa Epperly, found inspiration for upgrading the infrastructure and restoring interiors of the house by asking, “would George Howe like this?” Given the evolution across his career, Melissa hopes that Howe would approve of the care taken in selecting both new stainless steel appliances and restoring the Samual Yellin iron work.

The Project: Krisheim – Charles & Anna Woodward Stewardship

Owner: Charles & Anna Woodward

Collaborators: Dennis F. Meyer, Inc., and Meyer Woodworks

The stone and half-timbered residence known as “Krisheim” was designed by the noted Boston architectural firm of Peabody and Stearns in 1910, within a landscape designed by the Olmsted Brothers. From 2015 to 2020, an extensive restoration was undertaken to return the home to its original use as a single family residence following decades of institutional use, and most recently, as nine separate apartment units.

Dennis F. Meyer Inc. and John Milner Architects were retained for all work. Masonry restoration included cleaning and repointing the limestone and Wissahickon schist facade and installing hand-carved replacement units where necessary to match existing. Exterior oak, stucco, and half-timber features were restored or replaced in-kind. All institutional and apartment subdivisions and modifications from the 1960s–1980s were removed to restore the building’s floor plan to the original 1910 configuration. A substantial, nonoriginal masonry egress stair tower was removed and the three-story masonry facade was reconstructed to its original design. Dozens of historic English metal casement windows with leaded glass panels were restored. Salvaged original window units found in the basement were reinstalled in the original locations. Fireplaces that had been buried within the walls were reconstructed and faced with new Moravian tiles to coordinate with original Moravian tile found throughout the house. New energy-efficient mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems were discreetly integrated with the historic building fabric to eliminate any visual impact. New bathrooms and kitchen were added to their original locations, while using updated fixtures and layouts for contemporary living. Conservation of original decorative elements included tilework, carved wood, masonry, Violet Oakley-painted murals, and Samuel Yellin-designed metalwork.

Through the stewardship of Charles and Anna Woodward, the Krisheim project should serve as a template and inspiration for historic preservation. The determination and patience to execute such a project was many years in the planning phases and several under construction. Chuck and Anna always used the original blueprints as a compass in their decision making. Opportunities presented themselves to completely change living spaces, but were always met with a determination to maintain the original intent. The word compromise was removed from the job site very early on. Instead, an ethos of perfection was cultivated, which was fueled by Chuck and Anna’s vision of authenticity. They feel that preservation is at its best when it can be shared with the community, and more importantly future generations.

The Project: Porch restoration at Fairelawn Manor Carriage House

Address: Westview Street, West Mt. Airy

Developer/Owner: Dennis F. Meyer & Meyer Woodworks and A. Resolution LLC.

The project consisted of the restoration of five carriage doors and two large arched window panels at the Fairelawn Manor Carriage House.

Fairelawn Manor and its carriage house were commissioned by a wealthy industrialist as a wedding present for his daughter in 1903 and designed by George and William Hewitt in the Tudor revival style.

After their original use as stable doors, the doors were relocated to enclose the porch in front of the carriage house. During this time, they were pinned in place by 4 inches of concrete on the outside and finished floors on the inside. The bottom thirds of all the panels were starting to rot from the bottom up. If it were not for the old growth wood from which the doors were constructed, there would not have been any chance at saving them.

Dennis F. Meyer Inc. and Meyer Woodworks’ approach to the project was to strip all the paint off the doors and windows and assess everything thereafter. After assessment, they determined all the panels had to come back to the workshop to be restored. Due to the increased height in the outside elevation, and the rotting wood, they shortened up all the raised panels and bottom rails of each door to accomodate the new height. This enabled them to keep all the original detailing and and rail to stile proportions, while also adding the protective measure of keeping the panels off the ground.

The center operable door was beyond repair and needed to be rebuilt. They refurbished all the existing hardware and kept all the door details exact. Each carriage door has a set of operable casement windows that were all refitted and adorned with new hardware to resemble the originals.

The Project: Creation of Preservation Ordinance

Address: Springfield Township

Developer/Owner: Springfield Township Board of Commissioners and Preservation Ordinance Subcommittee

1415 Bethlehem Pike, likely to be listed

After the recent loss of several notable historic buildings, and years of work, on December 11, 2019 Springfield Township took a bold step towards preserving its history and architectural heritage with innovative tools to discourage demolition of historic resources and attractive preservation incentives.

Established in 1743, Springfield Township has an abundance of historic resources, but enjoyed no municipal historic preservation protections or incentives until now. The idea of implementing a local historic preservation ordinance in Springfield Township began in earnest with the 1980 demolition of the 59 year-old, 150-room Whitemarsh Hall, and has been a goal of the Springfield Township Historical Society since its inception in 1985. However, it was the surprise demolition of the 63 year-old Medinger House in 2017 that provided the impetus to finally enact preservation protections here.

Following public outcry over the loss of Medinger House, and the realization of the potential to lose much more, the Township Planning Commission created an Historic Preservation Subcommittee in 2018. Chaired by Planning Commission member Amanda Helwig, the Subcommittee also included members of the Chestnut Hill Conservancy, the Springfield Township Historical Society, and the Montgomery County Planning Commission, and was aided by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

Springfield Mills, likely to be listed

The ordinance amends the Township’s Zoning Code to establish a Historic Resource Overlay District in order to “promote, protect and facilitate the preservation of resources of historic significance and to preserve the historic values in the Township environment.” The ordinance seeks to encourage a valuable balance between development and preservation, creating an “opt-in” historic overlay district and a historic resource commission to oversee ordinance implementation. Owners of historically significant structures who “opt-in” to the special historic overlay district receive broader flexibility regarding what they can do in the historic structure, but any proposed changes to the exterior of the building (including teardowns) have to be approved by an Historical Commission.

The ordinance also adds a new Chapter (No. 46) to the Zoning Code entitled “Historic Resources”, which which establishes the Historical Commission, the criteria for Historical Resource designation, an Historic Resource Inventory, procedure prior to demolition, and procedures applicable to violations, penalties and enforcement.

Board President Jeff Harbison described that this ordinance “allows owners of historically significant buildings to access more flexible use and zoning restrictions in exchange for a higher obligation to maintain the exterior, and agreeing not to tear it down. It’s an opt-in program, although once listed that recognition remains through subsequent ownership. We hope this will be something that increases the value of these historic resources.”

The Township will now create its Historical Commission and draft an initial list of properties that are likely to meet criteria for historic designation.

The Project: Restoration of Trolley Canopy

Address: 8606 Germantown Avenue

Developer/Owner: Septa, Chestnut Hill Business District, Chestnut Hill Conservancy

Erected by the old Pennsylvania Railroad Company more than a century ago, the simple wooden trolley canopy atop the Chestnut Hill West train station provided shelter to travelers along Germantown Avenue’s recently initiated horse-drawn carriage route. Over generations of service standing sentry at the crossroads of germantown Avenue and Bethlehem Pike, the structure became a bustling transit hub, the bold red lettering “Chestnut Hill Station” blazoned across its roofline announcing one’s arrival in our community and a point of departure for destinations across Philadelphia.

By the time scheduled trolley service formally ended in 1992, the canopy had become an iconic landmark and Chestnut Hill’s most prominent gateway. But decades of exposure to the elements gradually took their toll. Rotting and warped wood surfaces, cracked and and chipping paint, a sagging roof, and antiquated lighting fixtures untended for decades dimmed the canopy’s luster and threatened to compromise its structural integrity. Aiming to halt the decline, Philip Dawson, the Executive Director of the Chestnut Hill Business District, met with Jeffrey Knueppel, the General Manager of SEPTA, the agency that has owned the canopy since 1972, in December of 2018. Knueppel prioritized work to begin on the restoration project the following March.

A crew ultimately comprised of four carpenters, four painters, three masons and two electricians labored over the summer to tackle the canopy’s long list of deferred maintenance needs. Going far beyond the task of simply shoring up the structure, the team took pains to replicate the period details and character-defining features that make the canopy distinctive. They repaired and and braced the vertical columns that hold up the roof and removed the badly decayed curve support arms, substituting new replacements custom-milled in SEPTA’s shop. Weather- and insect-damaged wooden lettering on the canopy’s roofline was removed and more durable composite-wood letters were installed. Rotting roof decking and back wall paneling were torn out and replaced. The painters computer-matched paint samples to ensure that the restored woodwork would be faithful to its original heritage colors.

Finally, the SEPTA electricians completed the project by replacing old, frayed wiring and rusted light sockets with new code-compliant lighting that restore the canopy’s luster. Appropriately, those new lights were proudly illuminated days later on October 4, 2019 at a formal dedication ceremony during the Chestnut Hill Conservancy’s “Night of Lights”