Grappling with preservation in Overbrook Farms
![1896 Plan of Overbrook Farms with rough outline of proposed historic district boundaries overlaid. 1896 Plan of Overbrook Farms with rough outline of proposed historic district boundaries overlaid.](/wp-content/uploads/planphilly/assets_1/http-planphilly-com-sites-planphilly-com-files-obh_obfarms1896-boundary-jpeg.original.jpg)
What the heck is going on with the Overbrook Farms Historic District? Everything and nothing, apparently.
The Historical Commission has been working on creating a local historic district for Overbrook Farms for years at the behest of the Overbrook Farms Club. But when notice finally came that the district was coming up for designation, some residents felt blindsided. The Commission has twice honored requests – from Fourth District Councilman Curtis Jones, Jr. [pdf] and most recently from Deputy Mayor Alan Greenberger [pdf] – to hold off on voting on the Overbrook Farms Historic District. Greenberger asked for the proposal to be tabled so that his office could get up to speed on the debate surrounding the proposed district. So, as JoAnn Greco reported for PlanPhilly, the Historical Commission suspended the designation of Overbrook Farms indefinitely, promising to take the matter up “in the near future.”
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