Seth A. Bergstein | Paige J. Swartley, Esq.

Seth A. Bergstein
An architectural historian, photographer, conservator and preservation planner, Seth A. Bergstein specializes in the identification, analysis, documentation and preservation of historic buildings, sites and structures.

Drawing upon more than fifteen years of experience in historic preservation, architectural photography and civil engineering, Seth assembles and leads the finest design teams to assess and document historic buildings for preparation of Historic Structure Reports (HSRs), Conditions Assessment Reports, and Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) photographic documentation projects.  Seth has managed Historic Structure Report projects for a broad range of building function types, from the vernacular Thomas Hansford Williams House in Coloma, California to Bernard Maybeck’s famed masterpiece, the First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Berkeley, California.  Seth has led historical engineering specialists in the assessment, analysis and documentation of historic bridges, lighthouses and industrial buildings. 

Throughout this body of work, such experience has taught him that each historic resource must be approached differently, with respect to its unique historic character-defining features and existing conditions.  Seth prides himself on building a design team that can produce the highest quality report that addresses the specific historic and material needs of the resource.  Seth meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualification Standards in Architectural History and has over ten years of experience in analyzing and preparing conservation treatment plans for numerous building function types, material systems and historic finishes.

Seth possesses a keen eye for assessing and dating a resource’s historic character-defining features. Often, clients contact Seth to view a particular project they are considering to give them a fair and honest assessment of what a property owner has, in terms of historic and cultural value, what should be prioritized, and what should be protected in proposed adaptive reuse or rehabilitation projects.  Seth is fluent in the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties (the Standards) and is called upon frequently to analyze a specific historic rehabilitation project for compliance with the Standards.

Seth photographs historic buildings, structures, and sites according to established standards set by the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) and the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER).  He has photo-documented historic trestle bridges, museums, vernacular houses, architect-designed masterpieces, and even historic construction equipment.

Seth is active in the statewide preservation movement and serves on the publications committee of the California Preservation Foundation. He is a peer reviewer for the Association for Preservation Technology publication, the APT Bulletin: The Journal of Preservation Technology. Seth has presented talks at national historic preservation conferences and has led architectural tours.

An award-winning preservation student, Seth earned his M.A. in historic preservation planning from Cornell University. His thesis, Cascadilla Park, Ithaca, New York: Arts & Crafts Patronage as an Expression of Urban Reform, linked the Arts & Crafts Movement with the larger urban reform movements of the early twentieth century, namely the Garden City and City Beautiful Movements. Seth earned his B.S. in civil engineering cum laude from New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Résumé available upon request.
Contact Seth Bergstein

Recent Lectures and Presentations:

• Guest Lecturer, San Jose State University: Building Materials Conservation.
• “Primer on Historic Structure Reports, with a Guided Tour of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Berkeley.” California Preservation Foundation Workshop: Incentives for Historic Preservation Projects.
• Rehabilitation of the Wawona Covered Bridge: A Balance of Engineering Requirements and Historic Preservation Ethics, a presentation given at the First National Covered Bridge Conference, National Park Service, Historic Preservation Training Center.

Paige J. Swartley, Esq.
An attorney, planner and architectural historian, Paige Swartley has more than fifteen years of historic preservation experience in the nonprofit, private, and government sectors. Paige uses her historic preservation legal experience to draft ordinances, elements, Mills Act programs, and other planning documents. She also meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualifications Standards in Architectural History and enjoys conducting historic resource surveys and other documentation projects.

Before joining PAST, Paige practiced historic preservation and environmental law with the Brandt-Hawley Law Group and Bingham McCutchen, LLP. Her litigation practice focused on citizen enforcement of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to protect historic resources, as well as enforcement and interpretation of municipal codes and preservation ordinances, compliance with general plans, and interpretation and application of design guidelines. In her legal compliance work, she represented California agencies, Fortune 500 companies, and a world-class university on historic preservation and environmental issues.

Paige has testified at city council and planning commission hearings throughout California regarding CEQA and historic resources. She has taught historic preservation planning and law at workshops, conferences and universities, and has published articles ranging from military base reuse to American Indian cultural resource protection.

Since 1995, Paige has been very active with the California Preservation Foundation (CPF), the statewide nonprofit preservation organization. Paige has served on the Board of Trustees since 2003, and is now the President of the Board and chairs the preservation easement committee. As CPF staff in the 1990s, she drafted the “Model Ordinance: Post-Disaster Alteration, Repair, Restoration, Reconstruction and Demolition of Historic and Cultural Resources,” with grant support from the California Office of Historic Preservation.

Paige earned both her M.A. in historic preservation planning and her law degree, cum laude with a Public Law Concentration, from Cornell University. She wrote her Cornell historic preservation planning master’s thesis on Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council: The United States Supreme Court, The Fifth Amendment Takings Clause, and Legal Implications for Historic Preservation Demolition Ordinances. Paige earned her B.A. in urban studies from Vassar College, Phi Beta Kappa, and wrote her thesis on preservation and planning challenges in her hometown of Perkasie, Pennsylvania.

Résumé available upon request. 
Contact Paige Swartley

Recent Lectures and Presentations:

• “CEQA and Historic Resources” Workshop, California Preservation Foundation, Petaluma, California
• “CEQA Basics,” California Department of Parks and Recreation, Resource Management Training
• “The Doctor Is In! — Preservation Assistance,” 31st Annual California Preservation Conference, Sacramento, California
• “CEQA World – What is It, Who Does It, When, Where and Why?,” CEQA 101 Workshop, 30th Annual California Preservation Conference, Riverside, California
• “Advocacy Update: The Writ is Mightier Than the Wrecking Ball,” 30th Annual California Preservation Conference, Riverside, California
• “The Doctor Is In! — Assistance For Those Preservation Aches and Panes,” 30th Annual California Preservation Conference, Riverside, California
• “Preservation Basics: Understanding What Preservation Really Means — What’s True and What Works” Workshop, California Preservation Foundation, Mountain View, California
• “Historic Preservation: Incentives, Responsibilities, Rewards,” Mendocino Heritage Days, Mendocino, California

Seth A. Bergstein | Paige J. Swartley, Esq.