Phase IA Archaeological Sensitivity Study S.R. 0095, Sec. GIR Interstate 95/Girard Avenue Interchange
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March 2004 Prepared for: PENNDOT District 6-0 Phase IA Archaeological Sensitivity Study S.R. 0095, Sec. GIR Interstate 95/Girard Avenue Interchange Federal Project No. Q92-0066-101 State Project No. 1-0095-03-GIR-0650-316 MPMS No. 17821 & 57874 E.R. No. 01-8007-101 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Prepared by: Phase IA Archaeological Sensitivity Study S.R. 0095, Sec. GIR Interstate 95/Girard Avenue Interchange Federal Project No. Q92-0066-101 State Project No. 1-0095-03-GIR-0650-316 MPMS No. 17821 & 57874 E.R. No. 01-8007-101 Prepared for Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Engineering District 6-0 Prepared by Stephen W. Tull – Principal Investigator Philadelphia, Pennsylvania March 2004 Abstract Historic lots and streets are still buried and extant below the open spaces adjacent to Interstate 95 (I-95). Today, within the project area (the Northern Liberties, Fishtown, and Port Richmond sections of Philadelphia) there is a high density of standing structures that straddle the western side of I-95 in the form of early-to-mid-nineteenth-century brick row houses; two-part commercial structures and the former Port Richmond rail yard dominate the eastern side. The following I-95, Section GIR, Phase IA archaeological sensitivity study (ER 01-8007- 101) is a site-specific study to guide, locate, and identify archaeological resources within an urban environment throughout the project area. It was cost prohibitive and impractical to perform fieldwork at every location of anticipated ground disturbance, until a preferred alternative was selected in the design of this undertaking. URS engineers are developing a preliminary design for the recommended build option. Given the urban setting, the archaeological subsurface testing for the I-95/GIR project will be guided by a developed Programmatic Agreement (PA). The PA will be revised as needed and presented in consultation with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation District 6-0 (PENNDOT), the Federal Highways Administration (FHWA), the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the Pennsylvania Historical Museum Commission (PHMC), and interested parties after this Phase IA report is reviewed. Subsurface disturbance will occur at 161 locations: 29 locations have no potential to contain intact archaeological deposits; 67 locations have a low precontact or historic archaeological sensitivity; and 65 locations have a high archaeological sensitivity toward either precontact or historic deposits. It is recommended that the 29 locations with no potential remain untested. Conversely, it is recommended that all 65 high sensitivity locations be subjected to testing. However, a staged approach is recommended and discussed in the Summary. The remaining 67 low-sensitivity locations will be sampled after the high-sensitivity locations are tested. In this way, knowledge gained from the nearby areas of high sensitivity will direct the low-sensitivity sampling strategy. It is expected that at least one third of the low-sensitivity locations will be tested. Archaeological monitoring is recommended where retaining walls will be constructed. i Table of Contents Abstract................................................................................................................................ i Table of Contents................................................................................................................ ii List of Figures.................................................................................................................... iv List of Plates ...................................................................................................................... vi Introduction....................................................................................................................... I.1 Undertaking................................................................................................................. I.2 Archaeological Area of Potential Effects (APE) ........................................................ I.2 Report Organization.................................................................................................... I.2 Archaeological Sensitivity Within the APE ............................................................... I.4 Historic Research Design............................................................................................ I.8 Precontact Research Design...................................................................................... I.13 Section 1: Stations 249+00 to 273+00 Race Street to the South Side of Spring Garden Street.....................................................1.1 Undertaking.................................................................................................................1.1 Section-Specific Environmental Data.........................................................................1.1 Section-Specific History.............................................................................................1.1 Recommendations.......................................................................................................1.1 Section 2: Stations 273+00 to 289+00 South Side of Spring Garden Street to Ellen Street ..........................................................2.1 Undertaking.................................................................................................................2.1 Section-Specific Environmental Data.........................................................................2.1 Section-Specific History.............................................................................................2.2 Recommendations.......................................................................................................2.4 Section 3: Stations 289+00 to 304+00 Ellen Street to the South Side of Frankford Avenue.........................................................3.1 Undertaking.................................................................................................................3.1 Section-Specific Environmental Data.........................................................................3.1 Section-Specific History.............................................................................................3.1 Recommendations.......................................................................................................3.3 Section 4: Stations 304+00 to 324+00 Northeast Side of Frankford Avenue to the South Side of Palmer Street.........................4.1 Undertaking.................................................................................................................4.1 Section-Specific Environmental Data.........................................................................4.1 Section-Specific History.............................................................................................4.3 Recommendations.......................................................................................................4.4 Section 5: Stations 325+00 to 333+00 North Side of Palmer Street to Berks Street .....................................................................5.1 Undertaking.................................................................................................................5.1 Section-Specific Environmental Data.........................................................................5.1 Section-Specific History.............................................................................................5.2 Recommendations.......................................................................................................5.3 ii Table of Contents (Cont’d) Section 6: Stations 334+00 to 351+00 Berks Street to the South Side of Girard Avenue .............................................................6.1 Undertaking.................................................................................................................6.1 Section-Specific Environmental Data.........................................................................6.1 Section-Specific History.............................................................................................6.2 Recommendations.......................................................................................................6.3 Section 7: Stations 351+00 to 396+00 North Side of Girard Avenue to North Side of Ann Street...............................................7.1 Undertaking.................................................................................................................7.1 Section-Specific Environmental Data.........................................................................7.1 Section-Specific History.............................................................................................7.2 Recommendations.......................................................................................................7.4 Summary and Phase IB/II Work Plan.............................................................................. S.1 Phase IB/II Identification and Evaluation of Historic and Precontact Archaeological Resources.......................................................................................... S.4 References........................................................................................................................R.1 Appendix A: Archaeological APE Letter Appendix B: Resume iii List of Figures Figure Page I.1 I-95, Section GIR, Archaeological Project Location.............................. I.17 I.2 I-95, Section