Building a Place for History – 2022 Conference Program
Friday, June 3, 2022, at the Trenton War Memorial
Click here to view the full conference Program Book!
| Key | Audience | Key | Audience |
| AIA | Architects | H | Historians |
| AICP | Planners (continuing education credits approved) | HPC | Historic Preservation Commission Members |
| ASLA | Landscape Architects | NP | Non-profit Heritage Sites and Museums |
| AR | Archaeologists | M/C | Municipal and County Officials |
| CRM | Cultural Resource Management Professionals |
SESSIONS:
8:00 am to 9:00 am:
Registration, Breakfast, and Marketplace
9:00 am to 9:15 am:
Welcoming Remarks
by Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver
invited guest Mayor Reed Gusciora
9:15 am to 10:30 am:
Keynote Speaker
Reckoning and Reimagining: Justice Imperatives in Preservation Policy
Audience: All
Credits: AICP (CM)
PRESENTER
Dr. Erica Avrami, preservationist, planner, and the James Marston Fitch Assistant Professor of Historic Preservation at Columbia GSAPP
10:30 am to 10:45 am:
Break
10:45 am to 12:00 pm:
S-1 | Finding Hidden Truths: Researching Underrepresented Histories
Audience: H, NP, AR, CRM
This session will present examples and techniques to uncover underrepresented histories. Attendees will learn how to incorporate various research approaches and interpretive methodologies to form a more complete historical narrative. The presenters will use a series of quick vignettes and case studies to highlight sources and research techniques to tell a fuller story of sites and the people associated with those sites. Additionally, this session will highlight one institution’s initiative to document all African American related objects and documents within its archives to help future researchers discover previously hidden truths.
MODERATOR:
Linda Caldwell Epps, PhD, 1804 Consultants
PRESENTERS:
Patrick Harshbarger, Vice President, Hunter Research, Inc.
Joe Zemla, Associate Curator, Monmouth County Historical Association
Bernadette Rogoff, Director of Collections, Monmouth County Historical Association
Rachel Craft, Architectural Historian, Hunter Research, Inc.
Linda Caldwell Epps, PhD, 1804 Consultants
S-2 | Mother of Invention: How Museums Created New Opportunities and Renewed Vitality in Response to the Pandemic
Audience: H, NP
This is a panel session featuring the journeys of three New Jersey Museums that endeavored to identify and meet the changing needs of a struggling public during the pandemic. Missions were reexamined, and hard decisions were made, as each organization sought new ways to be a resource to their communities.
MODERATOR:
Michelle Doherty, Education Coordinator, Old Barracks Museum
PRESENTERS:
Rachael Goldberg, Executive Director, Liberty Hall
Angelica Diggs, Assistant Director of Operations, Museum of Early Trades and Crafts
Gary Garrido Schneider, Executive Director, Grounds for Sculpture
RESOURCES:
S-3 | Tools and Techniques – Preservation by Other Means
Audience: AIA, HPC, M/C, CRM
Credits: AICP (CM)
Looking for ways to preserve your historic character? This session will highlight planning tools and business techniques that can protect resources and advance the viability of your community.
MODERATOR:
Dorothy P. Guzzo, Executive Director, New Jersey Historic Trust
PRESENTERS:
Edward E. Fox III, AICP, PP, Senior Planner, Environmental Resources, Inc.
Isaac D. Kremer, Executive Director, Metuchen Downtown Alliance
RESOURCES:
Downtown Metuchen (PDF)
T-1 | State House Tour
Audience: AIA
The New Jersey Executive State House is the assembly work of fifteen (15) major building campaigns with varying structural systems from 1792 through the 1950’s, followed by many renovations, retrofits and adaptations to meet growing needs for space. In 2017, the State of New Jersey committed to a comprehensive renovation of the Executive State House including, but not limited to, exterior envelope restoration and repairs, addressing water infiltration issues, selective demolition work, life safety issues, HVAC improvements, hazardous materials removal, etc., with an anticipated completion in 2023. Representatives of Preservation Design Partnership, the project’s preservation architects, will provide an overview and exterior tour of the ongoing work and describe challenges and lessons learned in the comprehensive renovation of this iconic State building.
PRESENTERS:
Dominique M. Hawkins, FAIA, LEED AP, Preservation Design Partnership, LLC
Amanda Gold, Project Architect, Preservation Design Partnership, LLC
Lisa Soderberg, Preservation Design Partnership, LLC
T-2A | Archaeology at the State House
Audience: AR, NP, CRM, ASLA
It took nearly three decades to fully uncover, document, preserve, and present the Petty’s Run Archaeological Site, located in downtown Trenton in the heart of the Capitol Complex. Excavation uncovered physical evidence of six different phases of land use on the site. Most historically significant were the foundations of the 1740’s steel furnace: the only archaeologically excavated example from Colonial North America, and a site of international significance. Ian Burrow served as one of the principals in the investigation and documentation project and James Lee was heavily involved in the site’s stabilization and partial rehabilitation. Tour will include walking on grass and unpaved surfaces.
TOUR LEADERS:
Ian Burrow, PhD, FSA, BurrowIntoHistory, LLC
James Lee, Vice President, Hunter Research, Inc.
12:00 pm to 2:00 pm:
Lunch and Marketplace
1:00 pm to 2:00 pm:
T-3 | War Memorial Behind the Scenes Tour
Audience: H, AIA
The War Memorial opened in 1932 as “a great community center” dedicated to the memory of Mercer County soldiers and sailors who died fighting in World War I. The aim of the founding War Memorial Committee was to combine “beauty, dignity, and civic utility.” The architect who proposed the City Beautiful exterior died, and his assistant carried on with a decorative vocabulary that veered more toward Art Deco. Sally Lane, who first visited as a star-struck child, will lead the tour of decorative flourishes and unexpected sights, public, and behind the scenes.
TOUR LEADER:
Sally Lane, Board Member/Treasurer, Friends of New Jersey Heritage
1:15 pm to 3:15 pm:
T-4 | Downtown Trenton Walking Tour
Audience: H, AIA, NP
TOUR LEADER:
Ralph Siegel, Battlefield Guide, Gettysburg National Military Park
2:00 pm to 3:15 pm:
S-4 | Engaging Communities in Meaningful Preservation
Audience: H, CRM, HPC, C/M
Protecting and interpreting historic sites requires engagement with a wide variety of stakeholders to ensure equity, inclusion, and long-term sustainability, particularly in historically marginalized communities. A prime example in Trenton is the ongoing effort to preserve and adaptively reuse the historic Higbee School and Carver Center, two immensely important Black history sites in the heart of the city’s vibrant Spring Street neighborhood. In this panel discussion, we will hear from local preservation professionals, public servants, and community leaders about their unique perspectives on the site’s history and their motivations to stay actively involved in this exciting preservation endeavor.
MODERATOR:
Jennifer B. Leynes, Member, Trenton Landmarks Commission
PRESENTERS:
Jean Shaddow, Senior Project Manager, Isles, Inc.
Ronnie Cameron, Senior Designer, Historic Building Architects
Atalaya Armstrong, Chair, Trenton Historic Development Collaborative
Ned White, Program Specialist, City of Trenton
S-5 | Stand Out: 10 Effective and Easy Ways to Promote Your History Attraction
Audience: NP, C/M
This session will cover ten cost effective and easy ways to promote your history attraction. This session will emphasize specific tools available online that can support organizations to promote their attractions and specific examples drawn from Harris and Manz’s work with history attractions around the region. All attendees will leave with new ideas from other organizations, and practical and simple steps to take to promote their attractions.
MODERATOR:
Ashley Parker, Historic Preservation Specialist for Heritage Tourism, New Jersey Historic Trust
PRESENTERS:
Emily Manz, President, EMI Strategy
Donna Ann Harris, Principal, Heritage Consulting Inc.
RESOURCES:
Stand Out: 10 Effective and Easy Ways to Promote Your History Attraction (PDF)
S-6 | Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits – Working Together to Maximize Benefits
Audience: AIA, HPC, M/C
Credits: AICP (CM)
Historic Tax Credit (HTC) Programs encourage private sector investment in rehabilitation and re-use of historic buildings. NJ’s new Historic Property Reinvestment Program (HPRP) is a competitive historic tax credit (HTC) program with an annual cap of $50 million that can be used to leverage the federal HTC. The session will cover the similarities and differences between the two programs and how you can maximize the benefits of HTCs by combining the state and federal programs. Additionally, attendees will learn how to determine if a project may be eligible for HTCs and get step-by-step guidance on the application processes.
MODERATOR:
Michael Wierzbicki, Senior Project Officer for Historic Preservation, New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA)
PRESENTERS:
Meghan M. Baratta, Supervising Historic Preservation Specialist, NJ Historic Preservation Office
C. Aidita Milsted, Director of Historic Preservation, New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA)
2:00 pm to 3:15 pm:
T-2B | Archaeology at the State House
Audience: AR, CRM, NP, ASLA
It took nearly three decades to fully uncover, document, preserve, and present the Petty’s Run Archaeological Site, located in downtown Trenton in the heart of the Capitol Complex. Excavation uncovered physical evidence of six different phases of land use on the site. Most historically significant were the foundations of the 1740’s steel furnace: the only archaeologically excavated example from Colonial North America, and a site of international significance. Ian Burrow served as one of the principals in the investigation and documentation project and James Lee was heavily involved in the site’s stabilization and partial rehabilitation. Tour will include walking on grass and unpaved surfaces.
TOUR LEADERS:
Ian Burrow, PhD, FSA, BurrowIntoHistory, LLC
James Lee, Vice President, Hunter Research, Inc.
T-5 | Tour of the Old Barracks Museum
Audience: H, NP, AIA
Visit one of the most important Revolutionary War sites in the country, only steps away from the conference. In the heart of Trenton for three centuries, the Old Barracks has served military, civic, and commercial purposes. Tour the site to learn about the building’s history, its ongoing restoration work, and the stories it tells about America.
3:15 pm to 3:30 pm:
Break
3:30 pm to 4:45 pm:
S-7 | Identification Leads to Action
Credits/Audience: AR, CRM, HPC, C/M, H
This session showcases how careful local research, broad documentation, and lively community engagement can bring forward the histories and sites related to African-Americans in a community to allow a more comprehensive historical picture of the past.
MODERATOR:
Janet W. Foster, Board of Trustee, New Jersey Historic Trust
PRESENTERS:
Elizabeth Rairigh, Preservation Services Division Chief, PA State Historic Preservation Office
R. Isabel Morales, Editor and Project Manager, The Princeton & Slavery Project
Gilda Rogers, Executive Director, T. Thomas Fortune Foundation & Cultural Center
RESOURCES:
S-8 | Legal Framework for Preservation
Audience: CRM, C/M, HPC
Credits: AICP (CM, L)
Protections for historic preservation has been in place in some form for more than a century, however many only learn of them when there’s a threat. Legal experts will explore the concepts and legal framework in place to help protect sites worthy of preservation. Learn how our system of laws have evolved and been interpreted covering international, national and state laws. There will be opportunity for discussion. (Note: this session will not be exploring New Jersey’s Municipal Land Use laws in depth.)
MODERATOR:
Dorothy P. Guzzo, Executive Director, New Jersey Historic Trust
PRESENTERS:
Dr. Patty Gerstenblith, Director, Center for Art Museum & Cultural Heritage Law DePaul University
Janine Bauer, Partner, Szaferman Lakind
RESOURCES:
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act: Promise and Experience (PDF)
S-9 | Superstorm Sandy’s Lasting Impact, 2012 – 2022
Audience: AIA, C/M
Credits: AICP (CM, SR)
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the landing of Superstorm Sandy on the Jersey Shore. “The Jersey Shore of my youth is gone,” said one prominent New Jerseyan at the time. The impact of Sandy on the coastline and the numerous extreme weather events since have inundated rivers and waterways, such as Ida last September, continues to unfold in numerous ways. This session will investigate the roles that real estate market forces, short-term memory and (even) the pandemic play on historic resources as we face the certain impact of climate change and the increasing frequency of flooding and how public policy, and awareness can be employed to mitigate damage and transform public awareness. The session will present this topic by taking stock of the situation, understanding what public actions have been undertaken and a case study of a community that has addressed the challenges through exemplary planning
MODERATOR:
Michael Calafati, AIA, LEED AP, Principal, Michael Calafati Architect, LLC
PRESENTERS:
Kinney Clark, Geographic Information Systems Specialist, New Jersey Historic Preservation Office
Samantha Kuntz, AICP, Preservation Planner, AECOM
Timothy Hart, Division Director, Ocean County Parks and Recreation Department
RESOURCES:
Superstorm Sandy’s Lasting Impact, 2012-2022 (PDF)
4:45 pm to 5:00 pm
Break
5:00 pm to 7:00 pm:
Closing Reception
