2012: Philadelphia, PA
September 26-29, 2012
The Pioneer America Society: Association for the Preservation of Artifacts and Landscapes (PAS: APAL) will hold its 44th annual conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 26-29, 2012. The meeting will be held in downtown Philadelphia at Loews Hotel, housed in the historic 1932 Philadelphia Saving Fund Society skyscraper. Rooms, all with spectacular views of the city, are available to conference attendees at the very special rate of $119.00 per night. Please book your room early because this special rate is not offered anywhere else in the city, and there are only a limited number of rooms.
The 2012 Conference theme is: Philadelphia: the Vernacular to the Spectacular. Philadelphia has a unique history among major U.S. cities and has garnered many descriptions – City of Brotherly Love, Athens of America, Greene Country Town, the Holy Experiment, City of Firsts, Cradle of Liberty, City of Neighborhoods, and Workshop of the World. You can explore these themes and many more on this website:
http://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org
The meeting will begin on Wednesday with registration and an evening welcoming reception. On Thursday, participants may choose between walking tours of Center City Philadelphia, or a day-long field trip. The Thursday bus trip will focus on historic houses (including log structures), barns, cemeteries, and past rural landscapes of Montgomery County outside of Philadelphia. Friday will be devoted to paper presentations and the annual Awards Reception and Banquet. Saturday will offer a second field trip that will spotlight urban landscapes within Philadelphia and will include vernacular to spectacular structures, neighborhoods, and post-industrial and gentrified landscapes.
The conference committee is currently soliciting proposals for papers, special sessions, and panel discussions relating to the conference theme. However, papers on all material culture and landscape topics of interest to the Society will be welcome. Abstracts are due by 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 31, 2012. Note: Only papers submitted by registered participants will be accepted for the Friday program. You can submit your abstract for approval before you register for the conference. You must be a member (or register as a non-member) to present your paper.
For additional conference information, please contact Wayne Brew, Montgomery County Community College (PH 201), 322 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell, PA 19422; phone: 215/641-6326.