A new program in Zelienople allows shoppers or the historically curious to view the decorative pressed tin ceiling panels that are original to many of the buildings on Main Street, most of which were constructed in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Randy Hart, a longtime member of the Zelienople Historical Society, said the society's historical preservation committee found that ceilings in 10 buildings on Main Street sport the panels.

They range in size from 19 by 18 inches to 35 by 35 inches with scalloping on the sides that stretches from 6 to 12 inches.

One building has three different panel designs.

“In the 13 samples, there's not one the same as the other,” Hart said.

He said building owners over the years have obscured the panels by installing drop ceilings to decrease the amount of space they needed to heat and cool.

Hart met with the business owners as part of the borough's Main Street revitalization and asked them to not only keep the panels, but also to restore them if possible.

He said many of the panels were covered in lead paint, so the building owners had to call in special crews to safely remove the paint.

The historical society created a brochure that is available in each Main Street shop on the Trail of Tin that details which businesses have occupied the building over the past 100-plus years and other information.

Hart also provided each building on the tour with a plastic replica of the tin panels to hang in the window of each building on the Trail of Tin, so those participating in the self-guided tour will know which buildings have the panels.

In nine of the buildings, the tin panels can be viewed on the ceiling.

Pictures of the buildings' panels are also available for viewing by those on the tour.

“They love it,” Hart said of the feedback from building owners. “Everyone is just going nuts.”

Hart said baby boomers who owned businesses on Main Street are retiring and selling their buildings and younger buyers are occupying them.

Hart, who grew up in Zelienople, wants to ensure the historical aspect of the borough does not fall by the wayside.

He said the borough council and manager, planning commission, zoning hearing board, business owners, building owners and historical society have partnered to maintain the historical look and feel of Zelienople.

Restoring the building fronts and dating each house in the downtown area are two projects being pursued by the historical society and its partners.

“It's really been a collaborative effort,” Hart said. “Everyone is on the same page and it's working really, really well.”

Hart and his wife, Cynthia, give Preservation Awards to new building owners who preserve their buildings and Legacy Awards to existing owners who restore their buildings.

The award winners are recognized at the historical society's annual dinner.

“People our age were kids in these buildings,” Hart said. “I worked at three businesses on Main Street, and Main Street and Grandview Avenue was my paper route.”

Eric Rice owns five buildings on Main Street with two partners.

Three of his buildings have the tiles, and two required professional paint stripping and repainting with black paint.

He believes the panels were meant to be painted when they were sold in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

“There is a lot of history in the Main Street buildings here in Zelienople and a lot of craftmanship, so we wanted to make sure we kept that as we updated them,” Rice said.

He looks forward to many interested people embarking on the Trail of Tin.

“I think it's a fantastic idea,” Rice said. “There have been so many great people working hard to make it happen.”

Hart also initiated the program in Bozeman, Mont., as Hart's grandmother was a member of the Bozeman family that founded the town.

Hart funds an educational program in Bozeman that allows children to visit the museum in the summer.

“I've already met with them in Bozeman about the Trail of Tin project,” Hart said.

Those looking to try out the self-guided Trail of Tin need not look very hard for a participating business on Zelienople's four-block Main Street.

“You can pretty much go in any business on Main Street,” he said.