Taking a walk down State Street, it\u2019s easy to see the history that lies within the buildings that line the heart of downtown Erie.<\/p>\n
A collaboration between the City of Erie and the Erie Downtown Partnership (EDP) is looking to preserve that history, facilitating a project to get the area a national historic places designation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe goal of the national historic places designation is to really create a network of historic assets in our downtown improvement district, that district is about 70 blocks,\u201d said Emily Fetcko, Erie Downtown Partnership CEO. \u201cPeople want to be in a beautiful building, and they want to be in beautiful spaces. This is just one tool to help us do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Erie Downtown Partnership is currently conducting research with a consultant to form a recommendation for a historic places application, and Fetcko said they expect to have that recommendation in April.<\/p>\n
City of Erie launches phase one of its historic resources survey <\/a><\/p>\n The Erie Downtown Partnership is currently conducting research with a consultant to form a recommendation for a historic places application, and Fetcko said they expect to have that recommendation in April.<\/p>\n Additionally, she said designation would not restrict development or require property owners to conduct maintenance preserve their building in a certain way.<\/p>\n \u201cPreservation plays such an important role in elevating the standard of care and making sure we can attract quality tenants, quality being the key word. When buildings look better, the downtown feels better,\u201d said Fetcko.<\/p>\n On Thursday, the EDP and City of Erie hosted a public information session to discuss their plans with city residents and how designation could benefit them.<\/p>\n One attendee is the owner of a building more than a century old on State Street, which is currently home to McCoy\u2019s Barrelhouse and Grille. He said he came to the event to learn more about historical designation opportunities.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was built in 1888, and there\u2019s a lot of good historical features with it, the bones are really good with the building, and I think it deserves to be noted as such,\u201d said Matthew Orton, owner of 1013 and 1015 State Street.<\/p>\n Orton said the Winter Piano Company, State Street Market and Westinghouse have all called the building home throughout its life, and on a smaller scale, he\u2019s working with the city to get his building on Erie\u2019s register of historic places.<\/p>\n EDP gives annual \u2018State of Downtown\u2019 presentation: What does the future hold? <\/a><\/p>\n The city\u2019s historic preservation planner said they\u2019re also looking into putting the Maennerchor Club and Erie Labor Temple into the city\u2019s register.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re looking back at history, there\u2019s threads that get forgotten, and this is a way that especially going through these processes, we learn about ourselves,\u201d said Matthew Falcone, City of Erie Historic Preservation Planner. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to be able to have, I think, yourself reflected in the places around you.\u201d<\/p>\n Falcone said anyone interested in getting a place on the city\u2019s register should reach out to him at city hall to start the conversation, and his information can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n As for the national designation, the EDP said the application recommendation will be presented to the public in April, and more information about the project can be found on their website<\/a>.<\/p>\n Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n