Welcome Tabitha!

I am delighted to welcome Tabitha to the Zeller Preservation team. Tabitha will be conducting historic research, drafting National Register nominations, and preparing Part 1’s for Historic Tax Credit applications. Read below to get to know her!

Hi! I’m Tabitha, and I started working with Becky last year. I’ve been in the field of historic preservation since 2019, taking a bit of a roundabout route to get here. I grew up in rural central Pennsylvania and got a degree in creative writing from Houghton College (now Houghton University) in rural New York. Upon graduating, I got a job as a legal assistant at an immigration law firm near Buffalo, NY. When my partner was accepted to a postgraduate program in Victoria, BC, we made the cross-country move out there, and I continued working for the law firm remotely.

Living somewhere completely new, and absolutely gorgeous, I was eager to learn all I could about the city. I spent the two years we were there exploring it from one end to the other, on my bike and on foot, and it was there that I learned about the concept of historic preservation and discovered my love of local history and old buildings. On one of my walks, I saw a sign mentioning the Victoria Heritage Foundation, which I looked up when I got home. I discovered that they were an organization dedicated to preserving Victoria’s historic built environment, and that their website included information about all the locally landmarked buildings in the city.

Now, instead of just admiring the buildings around me, I was able to learn about their history and who had lived there, and I started picking up architectural terminology too. When I moved back to the Buffalo area again, I looked at the buildings I’d seen a hundred times before with new eyes, and began doing research on them as a hobby. Eventually, I discovered that the University at Buffalo offered a master’s degree in historic preservation.

I jumped at the chance to make my hobby into a career and enrolled in the program in 2018. The following year, I got a job with the local historic preservation nonprofit organization, Preservation Buffalo Niagara. In that position, I got to research a former brothel for a National Register nomination; present local landmark applications at meetings of the local preservation board; write self-guided tour booklets and give in-person tours; and visit and research historic churches throughout the area.

In my next position, with the New York State Historic Preservation Office, I learned a lot about the regulatory side of preservation. I got to make determinations of eligibility; review National Register nominations; and review projects submitted for Section 106 review. A highlight was helping to update a National Register nomination for a historic oil tanker currently moored in New York City, which played a central role in a 1970s legal case that would set a new precedent in maritime law.

I’m now back to doing my own research and writing as an architectural historian. Last year I worked on a survey of a still-operating historic railroad running halfway across the state of New Jersey, which was an intense and rewarding project. I feel like a railroad infrastructure expert now! But my first love is still old buildings, because they’re so deeply tied to the people who lived, worked, or worshiped in them. I always appreciate getting a glimpse into the past through every place that I research. As far as my non-preservation-related interests, I’m a big reader and a lover of animals. I’m excited to be working with Becky and returning to my Pennsylvania roots!