The National Iron & Steel Heritage Museum (NISHM) in Coatesville, PA, is pleased to announce its twelfth annual Rebecca Lukens Award to be presented to noted historic preservationist and museum management consultant, Janet S. Klein. Mrs. Klein proved vital in the seminal stages of the restoration of Terracina, the first historic home in the Lukens National Historic District. Established by the Graystone Society’s  National Iron & Steel Heritage Museum to honor individuals who exhibit the qualities of Rebecca Lukens, the annual award will be presented to Mrs. Klein at a May 31st reception, in the Lukens National Historic District.

Janet S. Klein

Mrs. Klein is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, mother of two, and wife of noted television management professional, Lew Klein. As a native of Philadelphia, Mrs. Klein is known in many historic arenas, but initially for her work inspiring and promoting Fairmount Park house tours for the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  She is also credited with the creation of such projects as The Liberty Trail, for which she designed and promoted a 165-mile automobile route of historical attractions, installed road signs, and produced and distributed a corresponding color map and brochure. Her work with historic house tours grew as she became affiliated with the National Trust for Historic Preservation which provided technical assistance to 18 historic house museum agencies “to solve their problems of administration, interpretation, restoration, volunteers, marketing, fund raising, grants, financial management, and collections,” according to Mrs. Klein. She credits the catalyst for her involvement with historic preservation as, “Multiple reasons, including appointments to positions by Philadelphia Mayors, Fairmount Park Commissioners, Pennsylvania Governors, National Trust for Historic Preservation, and as Consultant to Terracina funded by a William Penn Foundation Grant.”

Her list of accomplishments reads like a Who’s Who in the preservation world. She has served in various capacities with the following organizations or businesses: Woodlands Mansion and Cemetery, Philadelphia Historical Commission Historic Designation Committee, American Philosophical Society Friends Committee, Abraham Lincoln Foundation of the Union League of Philadelphia, Rosenbach Museum and Library, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Temple University Ambler College, Historic Delaware Canal Improvement Corporation, Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, Preservation Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Fairmount Park Historic Preservation Trust, Inc., Philadelphia Historic Preservation Corporation, Fairmount Park Historic Houses Project, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Century IV Inc., Philadelphia, PA, Museum Council of Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia Historical Commission, Fairmount Park Commission, United States Third Circuit Court,  and “The Liberty Trail” of the Tourist Bureaus of the Five Counties of Southeastern Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

She was an early supporter of Terracina (the home of Isabella Huston, daughter of America’s first female industrialist, Rebecca Lukens) through the William Penn Foundation Grant. “Terracina showed tremendous potential as an historic house museum with great heritage and a solid nucleus of supporters,” notes Mrs. Klein.

According to Eugene DiOrio, a Graystone founder and Historical Advisor for NISHM, “In the early days, the William Penn Foundation underwrote programs for historic house assistance in the Philadelphia region. It was a 3 yr. program, covering the entire area. We were struggling, as there weren’t any funds to even assess the renovations at Terracina. So, we applied for this grant and Janet came out and she was impressed with what she saw. We didn’t win the first year, but we won the second year we applied. Terracina was selected as one of six houses that year to receive operational and restorative advice from a team of experts. It was enormously instrumental when we were just starting our journey. Now, we have come full circle and I am so thrilled that Janet is the 2018 Rebecca Lukens Award Honoree.”

NISHM Lauds Honoree

Scott G. Huston, the National Iron & Steel Heritage Museum’s President, applauds this year’s choice for the Rebecca Lukens Award. “Janet has been instrumental to the Historic District since its inception. In fact, it was through her efforts and guidance that our first historic home, Terracina, began to take shape. So, in a way, you could say that Janet’s efforts were a catalyst to the beginning of this entire Historic District in Coatesville.”

NISHM

The National Iron & Steel Heritage Museum is located on the campus of the Lukens National Historic District, at 50 S. 1st Avenue in Coatesville, PA. Easily accessible in the heart of Coatesville and adjacent to the River Walk, NISHM is open six days a week for tours, lectures and educational programs. It draws international visitors to its facilities, which educates the public on the people, places, products, and processes of steel making, as well as the importance of educating children in the STEAM discipline (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math).

Time/Date/Where

The Rebecca Lukens Award will be presented to Janet S. Klein at a reception in the Lukens National Historic District, on May 31, 2018 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.  Tickets are $50. Reservations are required. The Lukens National Historic District, 50 South 1st Avenue, Coatesville, PA.

Contact Info

For event information and reservations, please contact The National Iron & Steel Heritage Museum at 610-384-9282 or visit http://www.steelmuseum.org

For more information on this release, contact Melinda Williams at The Williams Group, 610-518-4888 or visit www.thewilliamsgroup.info