Now, nearly ten years later, more than 5,000 people have benefited from our programs. YPA pioneered the first list of preservation “opportunities,” called “The Top Ten Best Preservation Opportunities in the Pittsburgh Area.” Since that time, more than $80 million has been invested in sites listed on our Top Ten List.

We held the first preservation video contest for young people, which resulted in the historic designation of the Paramount Pictures Film Exchange in Pittsburgh’s Uptown neighborhood, which has been preserved.

YPA’s Youth Main Street Advisors Program provided students at Propel Andrew Street High School and Peabody High School with an amazing sense of accomplishment and opened their eyes to great possibilities. More than 600 books have been produced, and many have been sold to generate revenue for students.

YPA’s dedication to African American history resulted in two new protected City landmarks, the first home of the National Negro Opera Company in Homewood, and the New Granada Theatre in the Hill District. YPA also pioneered the region’s first African American History tour guide, called “Discover the Legacy.” More than 5,000 tour guides have been distributed to young people in southwestern Pennsylvania.

YPA held the first conference for young preservationists, the first bike tour of historic sites–”Wheeling Through History”–the region’s first study of the economic impact of historic preservation, and the first Preserve Pittsburgh Summit, which attracted more than 300 students this year.

There are numerous individual success stories, which you can read about here: http://www.youngpreservationists.org/about-2

Even our logo is the result of young people. Developed by students at LaRoche College, it was adopted by YPA in 2007.

Our new video highlights several of our accomplishments, which you can view here: http://www.youngpreservationists.org/about-2

YPA encourages you to support the work of this unique organization. You can donate online at:
https://www.networkforgood.org/donation/ExpressDonation.aspx?ORGID2=30-0214451

OR:

http://pittsburghgives.org/

OR, send a donation to our office:
Young Preservationists Association of Pittsburgh
110 East Eighth Avenue
Homestead, PA 15120

Thank you for helping YPA Give Life to History!

More than 150 media articles have been generated, and now young preservationist groups have emerged across the country, as well as in Canada: http://histpres.com/list-of-young-preservationist-groups

Behind the numbers, the young people who have participated in YPA’s programs have become preservation leaders across the United States, and beyond.

Preservation Generation 3.0 has arrived!

Let’s meet some of them:

Colleen Schmidt
Colleen Schmidt Profile

J’mal Christmas
J’mal Christmas Profile

Tansy Michaud
Tansy Michaud Profile

Sean Capperis
Sean Capperis Profile

Noel Jenkins
Noel Jenkins Profile

Dawn Webb Turner
Dawn Webb Turner

Drew Levinson
Drew Levinson

Events and activities will be featured on our Facebook page, so plug into the realtime energy of YPA on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Young-Preservationists-Association/19525613577

Held at the Heinz History Center on Friday, September 30, 2011, the Summit featured seven different tours of the Strip, Lawrenceville, and Downtown. The tours included two food tours, a Main Street Lawrenceville tour, waterfront tour, loft living tour, a bridge tour, and a Downtown walking tour. The tours illustrated how buildings get renovated, the technology behind it, the skills required, and the economic and environmental benefits to communities.

The objective of the Preserve Pittsburgh Summit is to develop a model framework for how young people can shape the future of historic sites in their community by using real-life examples in Pittsburgh. The Summit is designed for young people to learn what goes on behind the scenes to bring old buildings back to life. After the tours, young people formed into small groups and reported back to the larger group about what they learned and the potential of historic preservation to transform communities. Themes such as History, Economics, Technology, and Green Building Design were emphasized.

The keynote speakers included PA State Senator Jim Ferlo, Pittsburgh City Council member Natalia Rudiak, and special guest, Felicia Mayro, Director of the Neighborhood Preservation Center of New York City.

Additional images from the event are featured below:

YPA's Preserve Pittsburgh Summit 2011

Registration Packet download: Summit Pre-Registration

YPA is grateful to its partners and sponsors, listed below:

Partners
Burgh Bits & Bites Food Tour
Buncher Corporation
Cochran & Associates Architects

Coro Center for Civic Leadership

Senator John Heinz History Center

Neighbors in the Strip

Partner Schools
Allderdice High School
Allegheny Traditional Academy
Carrick High School
Duquesne University
The Ellis School
Martin Luther King Middle School
Pittsburgh Board of Education
Schiller Classical Academy
South Hills Middle School
University of Pittsburgh

Sponsors

Katherine Mabis McKenna Foundation

See article in the Tribune-Review: Peabody students publish book about Pittsburgh’s East End Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 1, 2011

The book, entitled, “Pittsburgh’s East End: Then, Now and Later,” documents the history, current conditions, and future potential for East End neighborhoods, such as East Liberty, Larimer, and Homewood.

The Young Preservationists Association has been working with students at Peabody High School, in Pittsburgh’s East End, to document the past, present, and future of the school and surrounding neighborhoods through YPA’s Youth Main Street Advisors Program.

The program is a service learning project that connects students with communities through the creation of a student-produced book about the community’s history, present, and future. The program is a journey of discovery that introduces the students to the community and historic preservation concepts, trains them on how to engage with the community, and provides them with tools to take action.

Through YPA’s Youth Main Street Advisors Program, Peabody students studied the history, present, and future potential of East Liberty and surrounding neighborhoods.

The process involves learning about the history of the community from various sources, including school archives, the Historic Pittsburgh website, field visits, photography, and talks with community leaders, such as historian and author (and Peabody alum) John Brewer. In February, YPA conducted an interview workshop with SLB Radio, which afforded the students an opportunity to record their conversations with community leaders.

In May, the students were awarded the Michael Eversmeyer Promise Award for their work on this book at YPA’s Preservation Month Celebration, held on May 6, 2011.

The Promise Award Winners for 2011

Students at Peabody High School

Seniors
Dennis Glover
Ponderee Jones
J’Mal Christmas

Freshman
Teauthay Littleton
Justin Bonner
Malik Barber
Dai’Ron Drake
Eric Walker

Teachers
Cynthia Albrecht, Teacher
Kristen Pancio, AmeriCorps
Priscilla Kelly
Melissa Friez, Principal

This books was a team effort. Special thanks goes to:
Larry Berger and Liz Adams at SLB Radio
John Brewer, author, historian, and photographer
Nate Cunningham of East Liberty Development, Inc.
Carolyn Dorsey of East Liberty’s State Farm Insurance Agency
Melody Farrin, Photographer
Joyce Faulkner at Red Engine Press
Al Mann, president of the East Liberty Historical Society
Carol Spencer-Royall of the Union Project
Justin Strong, owner of East Liberty’s Shadow Lounge and AVA
Tom Sturgill of East Liberty’s Vintage Sr. Center

Stay tuned to YPA’s Facebook page for more details and updates!

At the event, YPA announced its annual list of the Top Ten Best Preservation Opportunities in the Pittsburgh Area. At the top of the list was Waynesburg, featured below.

The final report is online: Celebrate Historic Treasures in Southwestern Pennsylvania: Top Ten Best Historic Preservation Opportunities in the Pittsburgh Area 2011

YPA presented its annual Michael Eversmeyer Promise Award to an inspiring group of students and teachers at Peabody High School, who are writing a book about their community (more on the book http://www.youngpreservationists.org/peabody-high-school-students-publish-book). YPA is proud to present the 2011 Promise Award to these promising future preservationists!

The event also included a walking tour of the former Fifth Avenue High School, which is being rehabilitated into apartments!

Music by Jazz Incorporated, led by the legendary George Gist.

More photos here:

YPA Preservation Month Celebration, May 6, 2011

The food was presented by Merante Gifts and Catering of Bloomfield.

Thank you to our sponsors!

YPA will release a printed copy of its 2011 Top Ten report at its annual Preservation Month Celebration on Friday, May 6th, at the Paramount Pictures Film Exchange, from 6 to 8 p.m. Event details are on YPA’s website, http://www.youngpreservationists.org/preservation-month-celebration-may-6

Since 2003, YPA has celebrated historic preservation with its annual list of the Top Ten Best Preservation Opportunities in the Pittsburgh Area. The list, compiled from nominations received from various individuals and organizations, is designed to encourage investment in historic sites throughout the nine-county southwestern Pennsylvania region. The list has been used by property owners to draw positive attention to their properties, raise investment funds, secure grants, and generate political goodwill for their historic sites.

In fact, since YPA released its first Top Ten List in 2003, more than $80 million has been invested into properties placed on YPA’s Top 10 List, including the creation of an estimated 1,245 construction and trade-related jobs, 230 housing units, and $750,000 in additional annual wage tax revenue is yielded to state and local municipalities, as documented in YPA’s 2010 report, “The Economic Impact of Historic Preservation in Southwestern Pennsylvania: Jobs that cannot be outsourced.” Download the Economic Impact Report here: Economic Impact in SW PA

The criteria used to select the Top Ten List include the following:
1. 50-year Threshold (is it 50 years old or older);
2. Historic & Architectural Significance;
3. Threats to the Site;
4. Community Input; and
5. Feasibility of the Solution.

Below are the Top Ten Best Preservation Opportunities in the Pittsburgh Area for 2011.

10. Connellsville Armory, Connellsville, Fayette County
9. Saints Peter and Paul Church, East Liberty (Pittsburgh)
8. Wigman House, Carrick (Pittsburgh)
7. Stables Building, Allegheny West (Pittsburgh)
6. Westinghouse Atom Smasher, Forest Hills, Allegheny County
5. Hipwell Building, Alleghney West (Pittsburgh)
4. Old Masons Building, Uniontown, Fayette County
3. Highland Building, East Liberty (Pittsburgh)
2. Grand Theatre, Elizabeth (Pittsburgh)
1. Main Street Waynesburg, Waynesburg, Greene County (featured below)

A low-res. copy of the final report can be found here: Celebrate Historic Treasures in Southwestern Pennsylvania: Top Ten Best Historic Preservation Opportunities in the Pittsburgh Area 2011

Past sites have included the Armstrong Cork Factory, Union Project, and the New Granada Theatre, all of which have been restored or stabilized.

Stay tuned to YPA’s Facebook Page for more details.

YPA coordinated the cleanup with the property owner, Jonnet Solomon-Nowlin and her board of directors, along with Operation Better Block, Renew Pittsburgh, and others to prepare the grounds of this historic house for winter. YPA is grateful for Anthony Phillips, Jr. Hauling Co., Inc., for donating the Dumpster, and to the city for their efforts to remove the debris-filled bags.

Students came from Pitt, Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper School and the Heinz College), Chatham, Duquesne, and California University of Pennsylvania, and were joined with a group from Westinghouse High School. A teacher with the city schools’ Gifted Center also joined in. Several YPA members also participated. YPA A group photo was taken of the students holding the sign, “This Place Matters,” a campaign by the National Trust for Historic Preservation to recognize important historic sites across the country.

See photos from the cleanup here:

National Opera House Cleanup, Oct. 16, 2010

The National Opera House is located at 7101 Apple Street, in Homewood.  Built in 1894, this City-designated Historic Landmark was home to Woogie Harris (brother of famed photographer Teenie Harris), who rented the house to a number of notables, including Roberto Clemente, Lena Horne, and several Steelers.  Among the most famous occupants of the house was Mary Cardwell Dawson, who started the nation’s first black opera company, the National Negro Opera Company, in 1941.  She ran her music school out of the house, as well.  

Today, “Mystery Manor,” as it was sometimes called, is vacant and in need of repair.  The students’ help was essential in sprucing up the grounds around the house, which were meticulously kept in the 1940s and ’50s.  Their efforts directly support long-term plans to care for the house and work toward its eventual restoration (http://www.nationaloperahouse.org/).  

The Pittsburgh Foundation’s Day of Giving is Wednesday, October 13, 2010. Help support the programs of the Young Preservationists Association of Pittsburgh by donating online on October 13th and your donation will be matched by the Pittsburgh Foundation!

This year the matching period will run for 24 hours and each nonprofit will receive a portion of the $500,000 pool of matching dollars! DONORS: The Day of Giving DONATE NOW Link will appear on OCTOBER 13, 2010 at Midnight.

YPA’s programs and publications have resonated with young people. Since 2003, more than 2,000 people have participated in our public programs.

For instance, this year, YPA published the region’s first tourguide of African American History, “Discover the Legacy: The African American Experience in Southwestern Pennsylvania.” Within two months of publication, more than 4,500 guides have been distributed.

YPA also inspired students at Propel Andrew Street High School to publish a book about the past, present, and future of Homestead.

YPA collaborates, networks, conducts tours, trains, and inspires a new generation to appreciate and preserve our past.

Donate on October 13th and help us continue our work to encourage young people to give life to history.

Here’s how it works:

1. Go to http://dayofgiving.pittsburghgives.org/nonprofits/

2. In the Organization Name box, type in Young Preservationists Association.

3. Click the Donate Now button.

4. Enter your name, email and phone number in appropriate boxes. Enter in donation amount. Minimum donation is 25.00.

5. Enter your credit card information on our secure server and click “submit.” You will receive confirmation that your donation has been received and an email will be sent to you for tax purposes.

Thank you for helping YPA Give Life to History!

They were participants in YPA’s Youth Main Street Advisors Program that encourages young people to explore and document their community and make recommendations for changes. The book was the product of a year-long process of discovery and creativity.

YPA is grateful to the Grable Foundation, which supported the project, and Red Engine Press, which published the book. Additional support was provided by SLB Radio, which conducted an interview workshop for the students, and Rivers of Steel, which provided research assistance. Louise Sturgess from Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, and Eric Milliron, from Main Street Mt. Lebanon, spoke to the students at an orientation session held in October.

The 100-page book is available from either YPA or Propel Andrew Street High School (http://www.propelandrewstreet.org/) and are $12.00. Book sales benefit the school.

The Post-Gazette covered the story:
Students pen a historical look at Homestead Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 10, 2010

See photos from the training sessions and the book signing:

Propel Student Book Signing 6-3-10

Andrew Street HS Youth Main Street Advisors Interview Workshop, 12-10-09

Youth Main Street Advisors Program, Oct. 22, 2009