Latest news with #WesternPennsylvaniaConservancy
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Volunteers prepare community garden for summer
A community garden on Erie's east side has a refreshed new look to go into the summer season. Volunteers woke up early Saturday morning to replant a plot located at the corner of East 6th and East Avenue, across the street from the ECAT building. The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC), along with some volunteers from the neighborhood, put new perennials in the ground to beautify the area. Giant Eagle acquiring Rite Aid prescriptions in new agreement Organizers said this project is all about community and making an impact wherever they can. 'It's really nice as you come down. This is actually the entrance to the city from the east side when you think about it, because the Bayfront road is right down there, so we have a lot of people that go by it in the day and beep their horns,' said Tom Chandley, garden steward for the WPC. County, metro all-stars gather at media night ahead of 87th Save-An-Eye game next month 'We're really close to a gym, a school. There's a lot of traffic that comes by here from points of the day, and people really slow down to take a look at the garden,' said Matt Jenkins, the Operations Coordinator for the WPC. The conservancy has 130 community gardens that spread across western Pennsylvania. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Frank Lloyd Wright's famed Fallingwater has a problem — with falling water
Leaks abound at Frank Lloyd Wright's most famous home, the Wall Street Journal reported, and repairs are costing 40 times what it cost to construct it. The gravity-defying Fallingwater is looking forlorn in recent months with a thick barrier of scaffolding. The efforts of its steward, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, to fix dozens of leaks at the Mill Run, Pennsylvania property is adding up to $7 million — a far cry from the $148,000 required to build it in the 1930s. The home-turned-museum is a seminal example of Wright's organic architecture, but its ambitious design and position over a waterfall have left it in a somewhat precarious state as it approaches the 100-year mark. Now, preservationists are hard at work shoring up the property for generations to come. The last time the conservancy took on a restoration of this scale was in the early 2000s, Justin Gunther, Fallingwater's director, told The Post. This current project is a part of the next 20-year preservation plan for Fallingwater, which received a UNESCO World Heritage site designation in 2019. It's one of just two Pennsylvania sites on the list — the other being Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The conservancy is now at the midway point of its three-year project, Gunther said, which includes pumping liquid grout into the home's leaky walls, replacing roofing assemblies on the home's flat roofs, addressing deteriorated reinforced concrete, and conserving the window and doorframe steel — the latter of which requires special care given the humidity from the waterfall. 'Water is always the main natural force that you're trying to combat with a house,' Gunther said. The project is due to finish up by the end of winter 2026. All of this time and work, of course, comes at a steep cost. 'Like with any construction project, they always cost more than you anticipate,' Gunther said. Original estimates for the project in 2019 have more than doubled, thanks in large part to pandemic-era supply shortages and subsequent inflation. A state grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is covering a large chunk of the big-dollar restoration, and the remaining funds are being raised through private foundations and individuals, Gunther said. Another $1 million will be required to complete the fundraising. The site received 143,000 visitors in 2024, according to the Journal. 'Frank Lloyd Wright said that Fallingwater was designed to the music of the stream,' Gunther said. 'He meant it to be this kind of sculptural expression of the stream itself, of rushing water. It's this sculptural expression of nature's forms and principles. Because of that direct inspiration from nature, no matter who you are, when you come to see Fallingwater, you find some connection to it.' The recent attention Fallingwater has received, however, is due to the scaffolding that has encased the 9,300-square-foot home since December. Gunther said the scaffolding should come down by the beginning of April for the regular tour season. That means that early bird visitors have a special opportunity. 'Preservation-in-Action' tours planned for the start of Fallingwater's tour season next month will take visitors on a deep dive into the complexities of the preservation projects, Gunther said.
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
How 3-year project will stabilize the bank of South Branch, French Creek, in Union City
UNION CITY — A state grant will pay most of the cost to protect the South Branch of French Creek in Union City Borough. The $375,453 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's Growing Greener Plus program plus $48,273 from the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and an $8,034 in-kind contribution from the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission will fund improvements along a half-mile stretch of the creek. Work will take place on properties owned by Union City's American Legion Post and Union City Little League on the south side of the creek, near the Little League fields on First Avenue. The three-year project will begin this summer with the removal of Japanese knotweed, an invasive weed that can grow to seven feet in height, blocking visibility and stream access and hindering the growth of native plants. The public will be invited to help knock the weed down before herbicide is applied to finish the job. Workshops will educate the public on spotting the weed and removing it from their own properties. Coming in 2026 are bank stabilization structures that will improve in-water habitats for fish, amphibians and insects. The structures will be built mainly of logs to help hold the stream bank in place and prevent erosion. Work will conclude in 2027 with the planting of trees and native vegetation to further stabilize the stream bank and improve wildlife habitats. A separate project by the American Legion, Fish and Boat Commission and Union City Borough will provide a kayak and canoe launch on American Legion property along the creek this year. Additionally, Union City Borough is considering building a French Creek Trail along the creek, from Devereaux Park along Bridge Street and through the borough to the western end of the ballfields. French Creek was key to the community's settlement in the late 1700s and powered much of the town's growth through the next century. Not much heeded through the 20th century, the creek is now an important part of the town's identify and planning, Union City Borough Manager Cindy Wells said. Making Union City more 'welcoming': The 'transformative' plan "It's not dissimilar to how Erie's bayfront was an industrial hub for decades, then was ignored for a long time until everyone realized what a recreational and quality-of-life asset it could be," Wells said. Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@ This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: 3-year project will stabilize the bank of French Creek in Union City
