Provide input on the Draft Historic Preservation Plan

The City of Erie has prepared the first draft of its Citywide Historic Preservation Plan. This Plan will help the City of Erie identify and preserve significant historic buildings and places as they play a critical part in enhancing Erie’s visual character, economic development, and quality of life.

Historic preservation can mean different things to different people. To most people, historic preservation is the preservation and rehabilitation of historic buildings for new uses such as Erie Union Station and Lovell Manufacturing, now Lovell Place. Historic preservation is also the simple act of property maintenance, such as repairing your wood windows, front porch, or wood siding. It also involves rehabilitating older working-class and middle-class houses, which reduces the number of blighted properties and improves a neighborhood’s livability and character. Other historic preservation efforts include commemorating a person important to Erie’s history with a marker or preserving places with special historic or cultural meaning, such as a historic baseball field, a park, a corner store, or an ethnic social club. They all embody Erie’s rich and diverse history and heritage.

Erie currently has four National Register Historic Districts located within the Erie city limits. In addition to the National Register Historic Districts, there are 24 buildings individually listed in the National Register. The National Register of Historic Places is this nation’s official list of buildings, structures, sites, and objects worthy of preservation – serving to promote public and private efforts to preserve historic and cultural resources across the country. National Register designation is honorary only. In addition to the National Register, the City of Erie and other partners maintain and administer various incentive programs to spur reinvestment in historic buildings and places.

A key objective is to conduct a thorough community engagement process that garners participation and input from Erie residents.

We want your input! Participate in this survey to provide feedback on Erie’s preservation vision, key preservation goals, and strategies. The survey will take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete.

Please visit the project website to learn more about the Erie Historic Preservation Plan and more importantly, to share your feedback!