Phoenixville Public Library Presents 'The Lincoln Highway in Pennsylvania' Talk

A free talk, “The Lincoln Highway in Pennsylvania”, will be presented at Phoenixville Public Library on Thursday, November 18 at 7:00 PM. Melinda Higgins Crawford, Commonwealth Speaker for the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and Executive Director of Preservation Pennsylvania, will be the speaker.

Opening in 1913, the Lincoln Highway was America’s first coast to coast highway, connecting Times Square to San Francisco. The Lincoln Highway was a marketing concept cooked up by automobile manufacturers who wanted to sell more cars and car parts. Some of the road’s most famous landmarks were located in Pennsylvania. The Lincoln Highway still is in use today and roughly follows Route 30 in Pennsylvania from east to west. Melinda Crawford’s interactive presentation includes old postcards and photographs and contemporary photography showing original alignments of the road, roadside markers, and attractions.

Melinda Higgins Crawford has worked in historic preservation for 25 years, the majority of that time as Executive Director of Historic York, Inc. and since May 2006 as Executive Director of Preservation Pennsylvania. Her areas of expertise include architectural history, rehabilitation and restoration practices. She has a special interest in the study of the recent past, specifically roadside architecture and the Lincoln Highway.

This Commonwealth Speakers presentation is a program of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, supported in part by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

This event is free and open to the public. Reservations are required. For more information or to reserve a seat, call 610-933-3013, Ext. 32 or e-mail mpinto@ccls.org.