The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) on June 9 awarded the Chestnut Hill Conservancy (CHC) $25,000 through its Keystone Historic Preservation Grant. CHC competed in a field of 114 applicants. 

After applying in March, CHC Executive Director David Gest said he was excited to receive the news. “The support from PHMC allows us to plan thoughtfully for the future use of this historic building while advancing our mission to preserve and celebrate the character of this unique region,” he said.

Founded as the Chestnut Hill Historical Society in 1967, CHC has served Chestnut Hill for nearly 60 years, evolving as an organization that advocates for historic preservation and provides community archival information and land conservation resources.

In order to receive a Keystone Historic Preservation Grant, groups must “undergo a rigorous and competitive review process, with each application reviewed and scored by a panel based on specified evaluation criteria,” said Jay Losiewicz, PHMC communications director. To PHMC’s panel, composed of “architects, preservation professionals, museum and historical society representatives,” CHC scored high in part due to its “strong narrative and comprehensive plan,” Losiewicz said. 

Dedicated to protecting the region's historic architecture and charm, CHC has safeguarded more than 105 acres of land through its easement program. According to a CHC press release, the organization holds the distinction of being the nation’s “first urban-accredited land trust since 1990.” 

The Keystone funds will be used to support planning for improvements scheduled for CHC’s headquarters at 8708 Germantown Ave. Gest said these improvements “will enhance the building’s role as a center for exhibits, research, meetings, and lectures, supporting the Conservancy’s mission to preserve, conserve, and celebrate the region’s history, architecture, and open space through public engagement and stewardship.” 

The plans is an expand of CHC’s in-house holdings, which Gest said contain a “professionally curated archive [of] over 66,000 items,” including “maps, drawings, photographs, and some three dimensional objects.” 

CHC’s building has seen extensive use, and Gest said it now requires substantial upkeep. This grant will not only help CHC preserve its headquarters, but will also allow them to offer increased accessibility, making it a “space where members of the community feel very comfortable and excited to come in, check out our archival material … get some assistance.”

Geographic scope and inclusivity are two future topics CHC plans to address. Gest said, “We also want to be more inclusive geographically than we have in the past … to see if we can be a resource for neighborhoods a bit farther afield and encouraging people from other neighborhoods nearby to come in and learn about Chestnut Hill, but also about other areas.” 

Christine Clawson, CHC programs and communications manager, said she believes the grant helps “reflect how important it is to this organization to safeguard [our] collective memory and all of those ephemeral photos, and also make sure they’re accessible.” 

CHC has its eyes on a five-year plan for this “future phase.” Consideration of the costs will be discussed in “multiple publicly open sessions for people in the community to give us their feedback … on how they might want to use the space,” Gest said. “We welcome members of the public to come in [as] we evolve [this space] into a lot of different publicly oriented uses,” he added. 

The Conservancy held a public engagement session on April 22 and plans to announce a “formal public rollout right around Labor Day.”