About this toolkit.
This toolkit was created for anyone interested in preserving the cultural heritage of their communities by retaining the longstanding businesses that help define them. Whether you are a community activist just getting started with legacy businesses or a public employee seeking ways to expand your own programs so that the legacy businesses in your area can continue, this toolkit provides practical steps and working examples gathered from legacy business programs nationwide.
In cities and towns across the US, longstanding businesses help define the sense of place and character of our neighborhoods. Many of these businesses face challenges that lead to their displacement and a deterioration of the identity, character, and cultural heritage of the communities they serve. Recognizing the importance of retaining these businesses, local municipalities have established legacy business programs to support their continued operation.
Toolkit Sections.
Getting started.
This toolkit was designed as a practical, straightforward online resource for civic associations, community partners, nonprofits, and public agencies, regardless of their level of familiarity with legacy businesses. If you are new to legacy business programs, the toolkit guides you through the steps to start a program, or you can jump to specific topics based on your needs or expertise.
Recommendations on where to start.
Looking to better understand legacy businesses?
Start with What is a Legacy Business.
Unfamiliar with legacy business programs and how they are used?
Start with What are Legacy Business Programs.
Looking to better define legacy businesses in your area?
Start with Defining Legacy Businesses.
Coming from a historic preservation background?
Visit Historic Preservation and Legacy Business Programs.
Coming from an economic development or small business focus?
Go to Economic Support or Business Support & Training.
Coming from a public policy background?
Visit Policy & Legislation.
Photos courtesy of Cindy Kane Photography. All rights reserved.
Toolkit project background.
This toolkit was created by Bennett King, principal consultant at Culture+Place Preservation. It was the outcome of his Master of Arts thesis project in Historic Preservation at Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland. Legacy businesses hold a special significance for Bennett. His family owned a Centennial Farm in the Central Valley of California since the early 1920s, but lost it just a few years ago due to competition, market pressure, and lack of succession planning. Bennett was also a small-business owner in San Diego for over six years before closing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of this, Bennett is keenly aware of the challenges and pressures small business owners face, and he celebrates the success of mom-and-pop shops that have endured long enough to become legacy businesses.
This project also coincided with Bennett's ongoing historic preservation consulting work with the Langston Boulevard Alliance (LBA) in Arlington, Virginia, where the team continues to identify and promote legacy businesses along the Langston Boulevard corridor to support more equitable and culturally aware community planning. That initiative, called the People & Places project, was funded by a grant from the Arlington County Historic Preservation Program and aims to set the groundwork for a future legacy business program in Arlington. Lessons learned from that project experience have been incorporated into this toolkit, along with input from interviews with historic preservation professionals working in legacy business programs across the US.
