Heritage

In our 37th year as an organization helping to empower communities with the tools to put them on the map as leaders in livability, Partners for Livable Communities is pleased to present this updated publication on cultural heritage tourism. As the tourism industry has boomed in the decades since Partners for Livable Communities began its cultural heritage tourism initiatives, communities have become increasingly eager to find ways attract tourists and capture the dollars they bring with them. However, when hard times come, it can be a challenge to persuade those among us of the benefits of preserving culture, heritage, and their artifacts from the past.

This guide represents the culmination of our experience and knowledge on an issue that has such a great potential for community development. Our hope is to demonstrate how cultural heritage is not just something to preserve for future generations, but is in fact an asset that can be leveraged to bring real economic benefits to the community.

Robert McNulty, president of Partners, can come to your community to speak about the necessity of developing a cultural heritage tourism strategy as well as share best practices and resources learned from Partners' decades of experience in this arena.

Download Cultural Heritage Tourism

During the 1960s, Washington, DC and its surrounding communities experienced an urban renewal that saw a rebuilding of infrastructure and consequently required the destruction of a number of older buildings in the area. In Alexandria, an independent city a short distance from DC, the destruction of the old buildings uncovered an abundance of historical artifacts that shed light on the history of the area. Realizing that there was a plethora of previously undiscovered, culturally-important artifacts right beneath their feet, the city’s leadership created the Office of Historic Alexandria to try to cultivate and make sense of this new information.

New York City is widely considered to be one of the most diverse places on the planet, with residents from hundreds of different countries living within close proximity of each other. Queens in particular has a broad mix of ethnic populations, which have lead some to consider it the most culturally diverse area in the world. Yet, when Susan Lacerte became the Executive Director of the Queens Botanical Garden, she noticed that the diversity of the borough was not reflected in the Botanical Garden’s attendance. To challenge that, Lacerte started The Ambassador Program to reach out to ethnic communities and find out what they wanted in their public garden.

Founders Award for Civic Leadership

The Founders Award for Civic Leadership acknowledges groups and individuals of national stature for his or her contributions to the stewardship of communities.

Bonnie Burnham is being honored for dedicating her career to preserving historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world. Burnham is President of the World Monuments Fund, which has worked at more than 500 sites in 91 countries.

Bonnie Burnham began her career as a supporter of cultural heritage with the International Foundation for Arts Research in New York. Appointed as the executive director in 1975, Burnham took on the seemingly insurmountable task of manually compiling the Art Theft Archives temporarily housed in the New York Explorer’s Club, her desk down the hall from the life-sized, stuffed Polar Bear.

Burnham was appointed the executive director of the World Monuments Fund in 1985. From that point forward, the World Monuments Fund became an invaluable asset in the fight to protect cultural heritage sites worldwide. With the support of major corporations such as American Express, the WMF produces the World Monuments Watch List every two years, identifying cultural heritage sites in danger of being eroded or destroyed. Today, the World Monuments Fund is the leading international voice defending cultural heritage and historic buildings throughout the world, leading hundreds of communities to embrace their heritage and imparting a greater sense of pride amongst residents.

photo credit Northwood Park Historical Society

The vision of the Norwood Park Historical Society (NPHS) is to be “recognized as a leader, educator, advocate, and resource” in the community of Norwood Park that “values and preserves its historic character and is acknowledged as an area of historical importance to the city of Chicago and the region.” To reach out to older adults, the NPHS launched Voices of Norwood Park, a personal-history project designed to educate older adults about methods for recording their histories and for collecting written and oral histories of their lives and times in Norwood Park. 

Norwood Park is one of the oldest, most distinctive, and historically important neighborhoods in the Chicago metropolitan area. NPHS was formed in 1973 to preserve Norwood Park’s history and promote community awareness. The Society has transformed the oldest house in Chicago, which serves as its offices, into a multipurpose community center with a museum and a café. Its museum focuses on Chicago’s far-northwest side and has a growing collection of historical artifacts and research materials.

photo credit Project SHINE

“When I first came to America, I only knew a couple letters.  I couldn't communicate with anybody.  And I learned about this program and I started (to learn English).  I have been here for three years and now I have built a basic vocabulary that I can carry my daily life.  It basically helped me to live in America." -Project SHINE participant

In the early 1980s, Nancy Henkin, founder and director of the Intergenerational Center at Temple University, was shocked by the news that loneliness and social isolation led an elderly Asian woman to commit suicide, at a time when it was commonly assumed that older immigrants were part of tight-knit and supportive communities. Henkin realized that older immigrants often struggle with language barriers, changes in customs, and differences in social roles more than their younger counterparts, and began working to establish a program that could support them.  Project SHINE was launched in 1985, to reach out and provide aging immigrants with language and cultural resources to help them adapt in their new community. 

Entrepreneurial American Leadership Award

For her extensive career in the preservation and promotion of local arts, culture, and heritage for our diverse American population.

The American Society of Landscape Architect’s weekly blog, “The Dirt: Connecting the Built and Natural Environments,” posts detailed highlights from “Building Livable Communities: Creating a Common Agenda,” Partner’s recent Forum in collaboration with the Hirshhorn Museum.  Recapping the panel of Federal officials including HUD, DOT, and their overlapping agendas to create an “infrastructure for livability” through “interdependencies,” the blog also includes highlights from the speakers representing local government, non for profit agencies, and corporate entities. The Dirt showcases some of the newest ideas and agendas surrounding the national livability framework presented at the forum. Read about it here

Berkeley, CA

A cultural institution that embraces the arts as a means to examine deeper social issues.

An organization that works with the existing cultural and historical strengths of Rocky Mount to revitalize the community’s economic health.

Columbia, SC

A West African drum and dance ensemble that provides unique cultural exposure and an educational experience for community members of all ages.

Chicago, IL

A non-profit art and design center that encourages creativity as a means of economic empowerment for youth and adults.

Boston, MA

A cross-disciplinary coalition of institutions that have created an exciting series of educational programs to empower community residents.

Memphis, TN

A museum which educates the public on the Civil Rights Movement and preserves the historic location of Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination.

El Paso, TX

A central entertainment hub and source of pride for the El Paso community.

Houston, TX

A neighborhood-based cultural organization with programs that combine arts education, historic preservation and community development.

Chicago, IL

A bilingual, youth operated community radio station that connects the Latino community and empowers underserved kids.

Providence, RI

An initiative adopted by the Providence Public Library that breaks down social, economic, and educational barriers by providing language training to non-English speaking families.

Colquitt, GA

A volunteer-based theater organization that engages Colquitt County in an effort to share and preserve the cultural heritage of the community.

Queens, NY

A program that uses the rich cultural heritage of the community to engage and educate neighborhood youth