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The Ebensburg Main Street Partnership will be printing new member directories this year which will include our new map of Ebensburg! If you’re interested in having your business listed on the back side of the map, join the Partnership today! It’s FREE for new members and just $50.00 a year for returning members. The deadline to be included on the map is Friday, February 14th.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Danea Koss (814-472-8414)
October 15, 2019

EBENSBURG HISTORIC DISTRICT RECEIVES LISTING ON NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES

Ebensburg – Ebensburg officials are pleased to announce that their historic district nomination has been approved by the National Park Service for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

The National Register of Historic Places is the nation’s official list of properties that are recognized for their significance in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering and/or culture. National Register properties can include districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects and they can be significant to a local community, a state, a Native American tribe, or the nation as a whole.

Ebensburg’s period of significance spans 162 years, ranging from 1799 to 1961. Its areas of significance fall into commerce and architecture. There are three distinct eras in Ebensburg’s history:

• 1799-1850 saw Ebensburg’s early settlement and its importance was established as a turnpike route, securing its position as a center of commerce and service for travelers along this major east-west route;

• 1850-1915 brought the completion of the railroad, railroad era tourism and the rise and impact of the automobile;

• 1915-1961 started with the devastating fire of 1915 and then the rebuild as an automobile oriented commerce, which changed travel and spending habits until the opening of the US 22 downtown bypass in 1961.

The district is bounded roughly by Highland Avenue, West Street, Sugar Street and Triumph Street. It includes 422 contributing buildings and sites and 161 noncontributing. Buildings that contribute to the historic district retain integrity; their form and/or architectural details reflect their construction during the 1799-1961 period of significance. Buildings whose materials have changed, but without altering the overall design, still contribute to the historic district. The noncontributing properties were either constructed after 1961, or have been altered to an extent that they no longer reflect their historic appearance.

“The historic nature of Ebensburg Borough is one of the many positive aspects of the community that helped our family decide to move here in 2002. Thanks to the hard work of Borough staff and many dedicated volunteers, we can all be proud that Ebensburg has now been nationally recognized for its historic significance. This designation should prove to be a useful tool with regard to further economic development and increased local tourism,” said Doug Tusing, Borough Council President.

Efforts to establish a national register historic district began in the late 1990’s under the direction of local resident, Dr. John “Jack” Coleman. Dr. Coleman served as Professor Emeritus at St. Francis University where he taught history for 40 years and was past president of the PA Historical Association and Cambria County Historical Society. When Dr. Coleman fell ill, the nomination process was put on hold. Borough staff and officials revived the process a few years back, with the help of interested local residents. Mr. Dave Huber, vice president of the Cambria County Historical Society, and Ms. Gina Tusing were staunch supporters who volunteered their time for months to help put together a needed inventory of properties. “We could not have achieved this distinction without the help and support from many volunteers who championed our cause and saw this process through to the end,” said Danea Koss, Community Development Director.

The National Register of Historic Places program is administered by the National Park Service. In Pennsylvania, the program is managed by the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office (PA SHPO), which is a bureau within the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC). Under Federal Law, the listing of a property in the National Register places no restrictions on what an owner may do with their property up to and including destruction, unless the property is involved in a project that receives Federal assistance, usually funding or licensing/permitting.

The complete nomination can be viewed at the following link, along with a property inventory, and select photographs: https://gis.penndot.gov/CRGIS/Application/ASPNET/Report/Report.aspx?R=108&T=KEYNO&I=103074

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Ebensburg’s Community Development Director Danea Koss accepts Ebensburg Main Street Partnership’s 2019 National Main Street Center accreditation certificate alongside representatives from DCED and other accredited communities. From left: Christie Yerger, DCED; Danea Koss, Ebensburg Main Street Partnership; Gordon Manker, Wilkinsburg CDC; Josh Rolon, Wilkinsburg CDC; Jeanine Henry, Waynesburg Prosperous & Beautiful, Larry Marshall, Waynesburg Prosperous & Beautiful; Mandy Book, DCED. Ebensburg was also recognized as the fifth “Best Performing Main Street Programs” behind Easton, Boyertown, Hamburg and Quakertown.

Ebensburg Main Street Partnership Receives 2021 National Main Street Accreditation

Ebensburg, PA (July 27, 2021) – The Ebensburg Main Street Partnership has once again been designated as an accredited Main Street America™ program for meeting rigorous performance standards set by the National Main Street Center. Each year, the National Main Street Center and its Coordinating Program partners announce the list of accredited Main Street America programs in recognition of their exemplary commitment to preservation-based economic development and community revitalization through the Main Street Approach®.

“Once again, we are thrilled to recognize this year’s nationally accredited Main Street America communities for their outstanding work,” says Patrice Frey, President & CEO of the National Main Street Center. “We are experiencing an exciting era for America’s cities and towns, with a growing recognition of the importance of strong local enterprise, distinctive character, engaged residents, and sense of place. These are things that Main Street America programs have been working to protect and advance for years, strengthening the economic, social, and cultural fabric of communities across the country.”

The organization’s performance is annually evaluated by the Pennsylvania Downtown Center which works in partnership with the National Main Street Center to identify the local programs that meet ten performance standards. Evaluation criteria determines the communities that are building comprehensive and sustainable revitalization efforts and include standards such as fostering strong public-private partnerships, securing an operating budget, tracking programmatic progress and actively preserving historic buildings.

“We are proud to be one of only 40 accredited main street programs in Pennsylvania” said John Paul Houser, president of the Ebensburg Main Street Partnership. “It sets us apart and affirms that we are following the national standard for all main street programs.”

The Ebensburg Main Street Program represents an important and unique partnership between municipal government (the Borough of Ebensburg) and private enterprise (the Ebensburg Main Street Partnership).  Combined with interested residents from the community, the Ebensburg Main Street Partnership is committed to increasing the economic vitality of the Ebensburg Central Business District.  This is accomplished through a coordinated program of promotional activities, façade and streetscape improvements and economic restructuring efforts.

Main Street America has been helping revitalize older and historic commercial districts for more than 35 years. Today, it is a network of more than 1,000 neighborhoods and communities, rural and urban, who share both a commitment to place and to building stronger communities through preservation-based economic development. Since 1980, communities participating in the program have leveraged more than $65.6 billion in new public and private investment, generated 556,960 net new jobs and 126,476 net new businesses, and rehabilitated more than 260,000 buildings. Main Street America is a program of the nonprofit National Main Street Center, a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

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Pro Disposal Info 2018

Pro Disposal Holiday Pick-Up & Spring Clean-Up Dates

Retire Your Old Glory is a community-based program to collect and properly retire American flags when they are no longer usable. Because borough staff are often asked how and where to properly dispose of old flags, Borough Council voted to participate in this program.

The American Legion Post 363 and Ebensburg VFW Post 4963 have generously agreed to sponsor the program by covering the initial set up fees, and Boy Scout Troop 98 has agreed to mange the program on an ongoing basis. They will periodically collect the flags, report the number of flags collected and ceremonially dispose of the flags.

Thanks to all the organizations involved in making this program possible.