Tuesday February 19, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Reading Your House, Researching Your Home

Many people entering the doors of our Research Library & Archives are searching for information about their home. When was it built? What did it look like originally? Why does it look the way it does now? What can I do to preserve it? Who built it and who lived in it? Our new workshop series this spring will offer an introduction to some resources and tools that will help anyone discover a little more about their home.

The workshop will take place on two evenings in April. Reading Your House, on February 19, 2019 will introduce attendees to the fundamental tools you’ll need to start seeing your house in a new light. We’ll cover introductory topics on historic architecture including: formal and vernacular architecture, regional differences in house types (pre-1850), basic styles and construction techniques from 1700 to 1920, how to measure and draw a house, and how to look around at the landscape of houses in Montgomery County.

Part 2 of the course, on Feburary 26, Researching Your Home, will examine various documents related to house construction and occupancy that will give researchers more information about how houses and architecture function. We’ll look at deeds and probate records, mechanics’ liens, maps, census and tax records, and other sources of documentary evidence relating to houses. We’ll also spend part of this session looking at various local and regional resources that relate to the restoration and preservation of historic architecture.

Where:
Classes will be held at 1654 DeKalb Street, Norristown, PA in the Meeting Room of the Historical Society of Montgomery County

When:
February 19, 2019  6:00pm to 8:00pm – Reading Your House
February 26, 2019  6:00pm to 8:00pm – Researching Your Home

Cost:
Cost to attend each individual class is $25.00 per class for members of the Historical Society of Montgomery County and $30.00 for non-members. Cost to attend both sessions is $40.00 for members of the Historical Society of Montgomery County and $50.00 for non-members.  Call 610-272-0297 to register.

Tuesday February 26, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Reading Your House, Researching Your Home

Many people entering the doors of our Research Library & Archives are searching for information about their home. When was it built? What did it look like originally? Why does it look the way it does now? What can I do to preserve it? Who built it and who lived in it? Our new workshop series this spring will offer an introduction to some resources and tools that will help anyone discover a little more about their home.

The workshop will take place on two evenings in April. Reading Your House, on February 19, 2019 will introduce attendees to the fundamental tools you’ll need to start seeing your house in a new light. We’ll cover introductory topics on historic architecture including: formal and vernacular architecture, regional differences in house types (pre-1850), basic styles and construction techniques from 1700 to 1920, how to measure and draw a house, and how to look around at the landscape of houses in Montgomery County.

Part 2 of the course, on Feburary 26, Researching Your Home, will examine various documents related to house construction and occupancy that will give researchers more information about how houses and architecture function. We’ll look at deeds and probate records, mechanics’ liens, maps, census and tax records, and other sources of documentary evidence relating to houses. We’ll also spend part of this session looking at various local and regional resources that relate to the restoration and preservation of historic architecture.

Where:
Classes will be held at 1654 DeKalb Street, Norristown, PA in the Meeting Room of the Historical Society of Montgomery County

When:
February 19, 2019  6:00pm to 8:00pm – Reading Your House
February 26, 2019  6:00pm to 8:00pm – Researching Your Home

Cost:
Cost to attend each individual class is $25.00 per class for members of the Historical Society of Montgomery County and $30.00 for non-members. Cost to attend both sessions is $40.00 for members of the Historical Society of Montgomery County and $50.00 for non-members.  Call 610-272-0297 to register.

Thursday March 21, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Synagogues of Greater Philadelphia

Join us for our next presentation in our Making History Greater Series when Ira Poliakoff presents Synagogues of Greater Philadelphia.

Synagogues of Greater Philadelphia traces the history of the Jewish people in the greater Philadelphia region through the eyes of the more than five hundred synagogues that exist or have existed in the five-county Philadelphia area. Included are many illustrations and picture of synagogues no longer in use and reproductions of several historic documents. Ira Poliakoff, the author of the forthcoming book, Synagogues of Philadelphia, explored many libraries and archives to assemble this history.

Ira Poliakoff was born in New York City just as World War II was ending. His father, a physician, returned from five years of naval service when Ira was five months old. His family lived in Manhattan and attended Congregation Shaare Zedek and later moved to Rockville Centre where they were members of Temple Bnai Sholom. As a young man, Ira served as youth director at several shuls in metropolitan New York and worked for the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism as a Field Worker. In 1973, he married Judith Braude of Philadelphia and they moved to Wynnewood shortly thereafter. He later enjoyed a long and successful career in business.

The Making History Greater series features scholars, authors, and historians who are currently working on telling new stories about the complexity of our region’s history. Synagogues of Greater Philadelphia will take place on Thursday, March 21, 2019. The evening will begin at 6:30 with a social gathering and light refreshments. The presentation will begin at 7:00 pm and last for about an hour with time for questions at the end. This program is free and open to the public.