Architects and the Library of Congress. The HABS program has continued nearly unabated to the present. During his life, Peterson constantly advocated for HABS, and was instrumental in restarting the program in 1957 and later saved it from oblivion when the Reagan administration threatened to pull funding. The end result was a stronger program with greatly increased funding. Early Philadelphia era Peterson and NPS historian Roy E. Appelman were assigned to Philadelphia in early 1947 to advise the Philadelphia National Shrines Park Commission on the national park being proposed for the area surrounding Independence Hall. Peterson was the uncredited primary author and editor of the Shrines Commission's 7-volume final report to Congress (December 1947), which was incorporated into the enabling legislation under which Independence National Historical Park was created. Peterson returned to Philadelphia in the early 1950s to work at INHP. While there, he helped restore Carpenters' Hall and re-create Library Hall, and directed much of the preservation-related activity of the National Park Service in the region. It was in this era that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania demolished all the 19th- and early 20th-century buildings on the 3 blocks north of Independence Hall, to create an open European-style mall. (Independence Mall remained a state park until 1974.) Peterson oversaw the moving of the Free Quaker Meetinghouse, the only building spared in the creation of the Mall, to accommodate the widening of 5th Street. He opposed the demolition of important 19th-century buildings within INHP, but did not prevail. He retired from the National Park Service in 1962, but continued to live and work from his row house located on Spruce Street. During Peterson's tenure at the National Park Service, he educated numerous students about historic preservation. In the 1950s, Philadelphia was in decline and the oldest neighborhoods, dating to the 18th century, were being abandoned and left to decay. It was in such a place that Peterson decided to purchase two row homes in 1954, one of which became his home. The area, which is now known as "Society Hill," is today one of the most desirable areas to live in Philadelphia. Peterson not only helped name the area, but his tireless preservation advocacy secured the revitalization of Society Hill by motivating his friends and acquaintances to buy property there. Career highlights The 1960s were an extremely productive time for Peterson. He contributed to many scholarly conferences, including the Second International