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JAHA changes name to Heritage Johnstown

Visit Johnstown PA Partner Johnstown Heritage Discovery Center

After a year-long process, the Johnstown Area Heritage Association (JAHA) is announcing a name change – Heritage Johnstown – as we kick off our annual fund drive.

“The new brand is based on an extensive strategic planning process that included months of deliberation, in-person sessions with board and staff, and public input in the form of a survey,” said Patty Carnevali, president and CEO of Heritage Johnstown. “We are thrilled to be entering a new year and new era as Heritage Johnstown.”

The new name puts emphasis on our organization’s mission, heritage, while removing the less meaningful words “area” and “association” – while also eliminating the acronym “JAHA,” which has often been confused with similar acronyms of other agencies.

Our new logo depicts an I-beam, a nod to this region’s steel history. Our new tagline, “History. Culture. Community.” conveys what Heritage Johnstown seeks to create, celebrate, and foster:

  • History – collect, preserve, and interpret our community memory of Johnstown;
  • Culture – attract, educate, and inspire visitors of all ages and backgrounds;
  • Community – transform and develop our community by nurturing and celebrating a sense of place and shared identity.

We announced this change in our Annual Fund drive letter, which was sent earlier this month, and are delighted to be making the public announcement of the change. As you can see, changes have been made to our website, and we’re working on social media in the coming days. A “stakeholders’ report” is now being printed to showcase Heritage Johnstown’s mission, properties, recent accomplishments, and goals for 2025.

“We have depended on community support since this organization’s 1971 founding, and we have evolved with our community’s needs,” said Dan Solomon, chair of Heritage Johnstown’s board of directors. “Our new brand does a great job conveying who we are and what we do. We are asking the community’s continued support as we move forward into a bright future.”

“Last fiscal year, we accomplished an impressive list of goals, and we have exciting plans for 2025,” Solomon continued. “We are so excited to be unveiling our new brand now, as our Annual Fund drive gets rolling.”

Heritage Johnstown owns and operates the Johnstown Flood Museum (more than 8,000 visitors in 2024) and the Heritage Discovery Center/Johnstown Children’s Museum (more than 12,000 visitors in 2024) as well as Peoples Natural Gas Park (more than 20,000 visitors in 2024) and the Wagner-Ritter House & Garden. It maintains an extensive archive and object collection of photography, objects, and documents relevant to Johnstown history; programs the Stone Bridge lights; and presents a wide range of programming for all ages.

Heritage Johntown’s accomplishments for fiscal year 2024 are:

  • $900,000 renovation of the Johnstown Flood Museum exterior, including the roof, brickwork, copper gutters, door refinishing and more
  • 28 public and private events held at Peoples Natural Gas Park, the most since the park opened in 2012 – in fact, more than 20,000 people attended an event at the park in the 2024 season
  • Opened Forging a Nation: Johnstown Iron & Steel, a monumental new permanent exhibition at the Heritage Discovery Center with more than a decade of research behind it
  • Secured 3-year naming sponsorship for Peoples Natural Gas Park
  • Developed 5-year strategic plan

Heritage Johnstown goals for the upcoming year include:

  • Complete a $1 million renovation of the Johnstown Flood Museum’s interior, which will include new HVAC, elevator, lighting and more
  • Create a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) program for the Johnstown Children’s Museum
  • Commence renovations on the Johnstown Train Station using Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability & Equity (RAISE) grant funding

Heritage Johnstown was founded in 1971 as the Johnstown Flood Museum Association and has evolved considerably since then. Key turning points include:

  • 1989: Reopening of Johnstown Flood Museum with a new permanent exhibition and film, which won an Academy Award for Best Documentary – Short Subject.
  • 1990: Scope of programs and collections is expanded from 1889 flood to include themes of iron and steel making as well as immigration and ethnicity. The organization changes its name to Johnstown Area Heritage Association. JAHA successfully recruits the National Folk Festival to Johnstown in cooperation with state and city officials, and raises the money necessary to bring the festival here for a three-year run.
  • 1991: The Johnstown Heritage Development Plan is completed, which focuses the organization’s efforts on preserving and interpreting Cambria City and Downtown Johnstown, calling for the development of a “Heritage Discovery Center” and “festival park.”
  • 1993: JAHA begins to produce the AmeriServ Johnstown FolkFest in the wake of the National Folk Festival’s departure.
  • 2001: JAHA opens the first phase of the Frank & Sylvia Pasquerilla Heritage Discovery Center with “America: Through Immigrant Eyes.”
  • 2006: JAHA leads efforts to conserve the 1864 Blacksmith Shop, one of the most important remaining buildings in the Cambria Iron & Steel National Historic Landmark. JAHA restores and opens the Wagner-Ritter House & Garden.
  • 2009: The Sidney & Rae Goldblatt Johnstown Children’s Museum opens on the third floor of the Heritage Discovery Center, and the “Mystery of Steel” film premieres. The FolkFest is renamed AmeriServ Flood City Music Festival to better reflect the type of music offered.
  • 2011: With the help of a community committee, the Stone Bridge Lighting Project premieres.
  • 2012: Peoples Natural Gas Park, a permanent special events facility adjacent to downtown Johnstown, is dedicated.
  • 2015: The first Johnstown Slavic Festival is held in cooperation with a volunteer committee.
  • 2021: Sen. Bob Casey’s office announces that Johnstown will receive a major federal grant from the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program. Of the nearly $25 million allocated to Johnstown, $11.2 million will be used to restore the Johnstown Train Station, which JAHA has been working to conserve since the early 1990s.

We invite you to stay involved with us as we move forward as Heritage Johnstown.

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