About
The
Spruce Hill District
Spruce
Hill Historic District
About the Spruce Hill
Historic District
Dear
Neighbor,
As
you may have heard, the University
City Historical Society, with the Spruce
Hill Community Association, is supporting a nomination for historic
district status by the Philadelphia
Historical Commission. This covers a distinctive area within the Spruce
Hill neighborhood, and if approved, would provide property owners with
an effective tool for maintaining our neighborhood's beauty and historic
integrity.
Conversations with residents have raised many very important questions about what a historic district designation means to property owners. They deserve responsible answers in settings and situations that promote respectful civil discourse. We are listening, and to the best of our abilities, will provide those answers in such an atmosphere. We will also work to counter misrepresentations, ranging from assertions that the neighborhood is architecturally undistinguished to the claim that historic district status will promote abandonment!
Over the next few months, we will provide you with information on Spruce Hill's historically significant assets, along with successes and failures at protecting our historic treasures. You will have many opportunities to ask your questions about what historic district designation means to you, and to express your opinions about the proposed designation. We will be in touch.
What
You Can Do:
- Get to
know the boundary of the Spruce Hill Historic District
set by the Philadelphia Historical Commission. It does NOT follow the
boundary of the Spruce Hill neighborhood.
- Read the
fact sheet about Philadelphia historic districts.
- Read the
discussion of why the proposed Spruce
Hill Historic District possesses historical significance and deserves
this status.
- Monitor
this web site for an in-depth exploration of Spruce Hill's history,
answers to questions, and important announcements about the nomination
process.
- Participate
in the public question and answer conversations to be held in the neighborhood.
Send your
questions to the University City Historical Society via e-mail: info@uchs.net,
or write us at P.O. Box 31927, Philadelphia, PA 19104.
We promise to work with you, now and in the future, to protect and maintain our historic treasures within the Spruce Hill Historic District and all of University City.
Sincerely,
Pat Gillespie
President
University City Historical Society