Get Involved

YPA has:

  • attracted more than 780 people to our public programs
  • raised over $34,000 in donations from 23 different donors
  • collaborated with 32 organizations, companies, and local government agencies
  • increased membership by 103% in just three years.

Join us as we take on the important task of preserving a sense of place for everyone in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Preservation activities are taking place all over the region and your
participation will only enhance our efforts. Check out “Highlights” to
read about some of our newest projects, or e-mail us at holland6@aol.com
for more information.

YPA Highlights:

click here to download full Highlights .pdf (10mb)

Youth Main Street Advisors

YPA’s newest project, “Youth Main Street Advisors,” supported by a grant from the Heinz Endowments, inspires high school students in the Mon Valley to create a video of recommendations on how they would revitalize their historic Main Street commercial districts. YPA worked with four high schools—Brownsville

Area High School, Monessen Senior High, Forbes Road Career and Technology Center, and Trinity High School (Washington, Pa.)—along with the Pittsburgh Filmmakers, Consortium for Public Education, Community Design Center of Pittsburgh, and the PA Downtown Center on the project.

Preservation Month Celebration & Top Ten Report

An annual Preservation Month Celebration held each May, which includes the release of our annual list of the “Top Ten Best Preservation Opportunities in the Pittsburgh Area.” This year’s Preservation Month Celebration was held at the McCook Mansion in Shadyside. More than 200 people attended to see the stately mansion before it is restored as a bed & breakfast inn.

Wheeling Through History

YPA hosted a National Networking Reception and “Wheeling Through History” Bike Tour, conducted with Bike Pittsburgh, for the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s National Conference in Pittsburgh, November 2006.

National Negro Opera Company Dedication

YPA sponsored historical marker dedication ceremony at the first home of the National Negro Opera Company in Homewood on May 3, 2007, which was attended by 75 elected officials, local and state dignitaries, and community residents. YPA is pursuing the designation of the property as a local historical landmark, as well as listing on the National Register of Historic Places. YPA continues to work with the owners of the house to secure grant funds and state approvals that will help toward the property’s restoration.

Additional Highlights

  • YPA released a report, “Unprotected Pittsburgh” in October 2006 with 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania, PennFuture, PA State Senator Jim Ferlo, PA State Rep. Don Walko, and City Council President Doug Shields.
  • YPA hosted a statewide conference held in September 2005, called “Places & Spaces: The Regeneration of Preservation,” presented in partnership with Preservation Pennsylvania, Sustainable Pittsburgh, and 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania. Guest speakers included Mindy Thompson Fullilove and Donovan Rypkema.
  • “New Frontiers in Preservation” workshops in the nine-county region, sponsored by a Seed Award from the Sprout Fund in 2004. The report continues to be used as a proactive preservation planning tool.
  • In 2004, YPA successfully sponsored the historic designation of the New Granada Theatre to be a City of Pittsburgh historic site, which appeared on YPA’s first list of the “Top Ten Best Preservation Opportunities in the Pittsburgh Area.” YPA continues to work with the Hill CDC to facilitate the preservation of this important building.
  • YPA’s first public event, “The Economics of Preservation,” was held in July 2003, in the Old Economy National Historic District in Ambridge, in partnership with Sustainable Pittsburgh and the Local Government Academy. As a result of that conference, Shelly Todd of Mooncrest in Moon Township, pursued historic designation of her community and is using preservation as a strategy to revitalize the neighborhood.
  • YPA’s logo was developed by Design students at La Roche College in November 2007. YPA’s new logo conveys our youthful energy and motion, as well as our core values of innovation, quality, and diversity.

Donate to YPA

Financial support enables us to continue providing resources and networking opportunities for our members. Please consider making a donation to YPA on-line or by mail today.

For online donations:

For mailed in donations:
Young Preservationists Association of Pittsburgh
PO Box 2669
Pittsburgh, PA 15230-2669