Historic Preservation

The following framework is not currently in use for historic preservation, but provides a mechanism for partnership and collaboration for preserving legacy businesses based on shared objectives. If you are familiar with other types of preservation frameworks that could be included, please leave a note in the comment form below. 

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Cultural Districts

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Cultural districts are geographically bound areas where arts, heritage, music, and culture are preserved, supported, and promoted. While cultural districts are not traditionally a historic preservation framework, you will recognize recurring themes that make these districts obvious partners for historic preservation and legacy business programs. The shared goals of the programs can lead to partnerships that include cultural districts with historic overlay zones, local zoning tools geared toward preserving community character. One example of this can be found in Taos, New Mexico, where the Historic Overlay Zone’s goal to preserve the town’s historically significant character aligns with the Arts and Cultural District’s goal to promote the area’s art and culture within the overlay.

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There are no national standards or guidelines for creating and managing cultural districts, so their effectiveness in connection to preservation efforts varies widely. To exemplify the disparity of programs, let’s look at California and Virginia. California’s Cultural Districts program was created by the California Arts Council mainly as a promotional tool for the fifteen recognized cultural districts in the state. The program does promote legacy businesses in these districts, but, unfortunately, does not back it up with policies or processes that support their preservation or retention. As I looked at the list of contributing elements for the Barrio Logan Cultural District in my hometown of San Diego, I noticed two of the legacy businesses listed are no longer in business, mainly due to gentrification. On the other hand, Virginia’s Arts and Cultural Districtprogram also offers promotional services to its districts, but it is supported by policies that include tax abatement and local ordinance flexibility, which could directly impact the preservation of legacy businesses. 

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Given the inconsistency in state programs, merging historic preservation and cultural district policy and process may again be best done at the local level. Cultural districts can provide the catalyst to implement historic preservation policy, or at least the geographical boundary. Despite the lack of policy behind the California Cultural District program, San Francisco’s Legacy Business Program used one of its districts to help create policy that helps preserve the businesses and landmarks defining the traditionally Latino region of San Francisco.​