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Using emerging historic preservation frameworks for legacy businesses.
The following frameworks are used in historic preservation but have not been explicitly adapted to legacy business programs. They are recommendations because they are aligned to the goals of legacy business programs.
Traditional Cultural Property (TCP)
A Traditional Cultural Property (TCP) is a physical place that is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places based on its ongoing association with the cultural practices, beliefs, lifeways, or traditions of a community. Eligibility is not explicitly derived from the architectural, historical, or archeological value of the place. This framework was initially created to include Native American sites and places with deep spiritual or cultural significance that were often overlooked by traditional preservation methodologies. In recent years, the scope of TCPs has been expanded to include any community that has “beliefs, customs, and practices that have continued over time, been passed down through the generations, are shared, and help to define the traditions of the community.”
A legacy business (or even a commercial district) has the potential to qualify as a TCP. The Department of the Interior provides two specific examples of the types of property that can be considered as a TCP, which could directly relate to legacy businesses in your community, especially those in BIPOC and ethnic neighborhoods:
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An urban neighborhood that is the traditional home to a traditional cultural group and that reflects its continuing beliefs and practices.
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A location where a community has traditionally carried out economic, artistic, or other cultural practices important in maintaining its historic identity.
Using these examples, a legacy business could qualify as a TCP if it is tied to a community's culture and tradition, serves as a location for traditional practices or social structure, or provides economic or cultural continuity to a community. Keep in mind that you would need to work closely with the community that a legacy business serves so that they could help to define its cultural significance.
While no existing example of the TCP framework being used for a legacy business designation on the National Register exists, it does provide a plausible option. Let’s look at a legacy business on the Historic Registry in Australia that offers an outline for how it could be done here. The parameters used for this business’s inclusion on the Australian registry are very similar to the ones used as examples for TCPs in the US.
Case in Point: The Wing Hing Long & Co. Store is listed on the New South Wales State Historic Registry in Australia. It was listed based on its importance in demonstrating the course or pattern of cultural history in New South Wales, with a strong or special association to a particular community or cultural group. It is also noted for its potential to yield information that will contribute to understanding the area's culture. No mention is made of its inclusion based on architectural or design significance.
Commercial TCP Example
The Wing Hing Long & Co. Store is listed on the New South Wales State Historic Registry in Australia. It was listed based on its importance in demonstrating the course or pattern of cultural history in New South Wales, with a strong or special association to a particular community or cultural group. It is also noted for its potential to yield information that will contribute to understanding the area's culture. No mention is made of its inclusion based on architectural or design significance.
Case in point.
Ethnic Enclaves
In his book Latin Journey: Cuban and Mexican Immigrants in the United States, sociologist Alejandro Portes describes ethnic enclaves as “geographically defined areas in which a notable concentration of businesses, residents, and social institutions are controlled by members of the same ethnic group.” These enclaves traditionally evolved alongside immigration patterns in the US, as people from the same national, cultural, or ethnic backgrounds settled in the same neighborhoods, creating an infrastructure of cultural, social, and economic support.
These ethnic enclaves are home to BIPOC and ethnic communities throughout the US. You may recognize them by name: Chinatown, Japantown, Little Havana, Little Odessa, Little Saigon, or Barrio Logan; many of the names hint at the cultural background of the community. These communities often maintain cultural practices, like language, religion, arts, music, and cuisine. Many of these neighborhoods are visibly recognizable, and the legacy businesses in their commercial centers help to identify them while also serving the social and cultural needs of the community. The National Park Service, however, recognizes that these ethnic enclaves and other underrepresented communities, along with their role in the history of this country, are underrepresented in our National Historic Landmarks and in the National Register of Historic Places.
Guidelines and documentation that can help define and determine eligibility for ethnic enclaves are out there. Their significance and eligibility are often assessed through documentation initiated by the Secretary of the Interior, such as theme studies like American Latinos and Their Making of the United States, or cultural resource documentation, like Asian Reflections on the American Landscape, Identifying and Interpreting Asian Heritage. This documentation often does not fully represent these groups, and other groups were left out altogether until recently. State Historic Preservation Offices have followed suit with historic contexts for underrepresented communities; take for example, California’s Latinos in 20th Century California. Municipalities have also created their own localized contexts, such as Los Angeles’s Citywide Historic Context Statement for Jewish History.
Ethnic enclaves embody the lived experience of immigration and cultural evolution in this country, making them a discernible target for historic preservation. The legacy businesses in these ethnic enclaves undoubtedly contribute to their significance. While the concept of ethnic enclaves may not fit into the traditional historic preservation framework, the growing amount of supporting documentation supports their inclusion as either a TCP or Historic District.
Ethnic Enclave Example
The Isleton Chinese and Japanese Commercial District is located along California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta near the center of the state. It served as the commercial and social hub for Chinese and Japanese immigrants who worked in the nearby canneries and farms. While Asian-influenced architecture provided some significance for the district, its application lists ethnic heritage and commerce as the primary areas of significance. Additionally, many of its contributing elements were the legacy businesses in the commercial district. This model could be adapted to serve other ethnic enclaves through either the historic district or TCP approach.