Moravian Preservation Master Plan.indb - Society for College and ...

Moravian College • Preservation Master Plan
Chapter Five
Cultural Landscapes at Moravian College
5.0 Introduction
This chapter presents an inventory of existing
cultural landscape features at Moravian College,
and an assessment of their physical condition.
The purpose of this inventory and assessment is
two-fold: to compare existing and historic physical
conditions to determine how the landscape has
evolved over time, and to create a baseline of
data for preparation of treatment guidelines and
recommendations. Ultimately, the information
presented in this chapter will help Moravian College
administrators understand the opportunities and
constraints related to preserving the campus’
historic cultural landscape. Photographs and maps
that illustrate feature conditions and their integrity
are found throughout the text and referenced
accordingly.
5.1 Methodology
This chapter’s findings are based upon field
surveys undertaken by JMA in the summer of 2008.
While the entire campus was examined at a broad
scale to understand how the cultural landscapes
of Moravian College physically and functionally
interact, the focus of these investigations was on
historic landscape resources that are at least 50 years
old (pre-1959). Areas of campus that are not historic
were subject to an overview visual inspection, but
not surveyed in detail.
Features of historic significance found in the
landscape were identified through research of
primary and secondary sources. Historic features
that contribute to the significance of the campus
landscape are identified as “contributing resources”
in the table summary that concludes this chapter.
Management issues and condition assessments that
pose a threat to the integrity of these contributing
resources were also identified. Features that may
be historic but whose date of origin could not be
identified have been denoted as not determined
(ND).
To assist in evaluating the integrity of a historic
property, JMA used the guidelines set forth by the
Secretary of the Interior in National Register Bulletin
15: How to Apply the National Register Criteria for
Evaluation, which states that:
[i]ntegrity is the ability of a property
to convey its significance….Historic
properties either retain integrity (convey
their significance) or they do not. Within
the concept of integrity, the National
Register criteria recognize seven qualities,
or aspects, that in various combinations,
define integrity. The seven aspects of
integrity are: location, design, setting,
materials, workmanship, feeling, and
association. To retain historic integrity a
property will always posses several, and
usually most, of these aspects. (Department
of the Interior 1990:44)
If a character area retains integrity to a specific
historic period or periods, the resources that remain
from this period have been noted.
5.2 Context and Setting
Located in southeastern Pennsylvania, the
Moravian College landscape is part of the Great
Valley physiographic province, a large limestone
formation measuring eight to twelve miles in width
that curves from Virginia northward through
Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey (figure
5-1). The Great Valley is the eastern edge of the larger
Ridge and Valley province of the Appalachians and
lies adjacent to the Piedmont Province which leads
eventually to the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The Lehigh
River flows across the northern end of the Great
Valley; the site of Moravian College is part of the
Lehigh River drainage area. As part of the Great
Valley formation, the bedrock beneath the college
consists of medium-gray thick-bedded dolomite
and limestone siltstone at its base. Subsoil in the
area is yellow to reddish-yellow clay (Gerhardt et
al. 2008:4; National Heritage Corporation 1977:20).
Moravian College is located in the center of
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The site chosen for the
original settlement of Bethlehem had a number
of features attractive to the first European settlers.
Foremost was an abundant spring that would
John Milner Associates • October 2009 • Chapter 5 • Cultural Landscapes • 69