Brigita's Blog: Bethlehem to Restore Historic Homes

As you drive through sections of Bethlehem's residential district, the sight of some of the homes brings you to the early 20th century life in Bethlehem.  Some of these districts are not protected from demolition and these are the areas that the city officials do not want to lose. 

Later this year, a consultant will be taking inventory of every building and structure to determine it's historic status.  Once a list is compiled, the city will consider laws that would "conserve, preserve and restore" these historic buildings.

The historic buildings could include everything from homes in residential neighborhoods to the former Bethlehem Steel blast furnaces.

In 1962, Bethlehem became the state's first municipality to create a local historic district.  The South side business district was created to conserve the downtown area around the Bethlehem Steel.  More recently, the Mount Airy district was created, featuring the large homes of Bethlehem Steel executives.

These local districts are also National Historic Districts, which the city has a total of 6.  The national districts do provide some protection from public demolition and tax incentives for owners to restore the buildings, but are ineffective to prevent a private owner from demolishing the structure. 

The historic preservation plan will allow the city to create local laws monitoring changes to historic buildings.  This plan would be covered by grants.  The preservation plan will cover more than just demolition to the buildings.