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Spruce Hill District

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Spruce Hill Historic District
Sources for Support and Technical Information

Caring for an older property can often seem to be a daunting task, but it need not be. There are a wide variety of resources available to homeowners and to property owners within historical districts.

Philadelphia Historical Commission
The staff of the Historical Commission is available for consultation on technical matters and historical research. They can offer information on a wide variety of areas, ranging from appropriate architectural detail to preservation methods for deteriorating materials, as well as provide information about local, state, and federal historic preservation laws and federal tax incentives.

PRIMER
The University City Historical Society and The University City District sponsor a continuing series of PRIMER (Preservation, Restoration, Improvement, Maintenance and Educational Resources) workshops that bring together knowledgeable professionals with those interested in maintaining and rehabilitating older homes. Past sessions have included roofing, window repair and maintenance, plumbing, painting, and insurance. Click here to get a schedule of upcoming PRIMER workshops and to see useful notes from past sessions.

Financial Subsidies and Incentives for Historic Preservation
Students in Penn's Graduate Program in Historic Preservation prepared this resource guide in a studio project focusing on Powelton Village—it should be helpful for Spruce Hill residents as well. It is available in Adobe Acrobat format here. The Adobe Acrobat Reader is available here.

University City Historical Society
This group, a sponsor of the Spruce Hill Historic District nomination, is dedicated to preserving and teaching the history of the neighborhoods of University City. The UCHS web site has a wide variety of information on the area's past.

Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia
The preservation advocacy group for the Philadelphia region. Visit their web site.

Preservation Pennsylvania
The statewide preservation advocacy group. Their website is here.

National Trust for Historic Preservation
The national preservation advocacy group has a web site here.

National Park Service
The National Park Service administers the National Register of Historic Places and offers a wide range of technical information for historic preservation. Their web sites are currently unavailable because of an unrelated legal case.

OldHouse.com, The Interactive Old House Network
The OldHouse.com website includes a forum where old house owners can trade ideas and experiences, and a resources section with links to a wide variety of information.

Old House Journal
This magazine has provide useful information for owners of older homes for decades. Selected articles are available on their web site.

Pending Legislation
There is currently legislation at both the state and federal levels that would provide tax rebates to homeowners that complete historic preservation projects. Check back here for updates.