Lessons from the Preservation & Sustainability Conference
Casey Woods, Emporia Main Street Director
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Last Thursday, Emporia had the opportunity to host the first Preservation and Sustainability Conference of 2011 with the help of the Kansas State Office for Historic Preservation, the Granada Theatre, Green Door Recycling, Flint Hills Technical College, Kansas Main Street, the Emporia Area Local Food Network and Emporia Main Street. As you look through that list, some of you may wonder about the eclectic mix of participants. And the attendees were just as diverse as the sponsors. City Planners, city officials, developers, contractors, environmental groups, community advocates, preservation consultants, Main Street managers, state officials, home owners, commercial property owners and interested citizens all attended the conference -- over 130 people present. Why so many different types of people? Well, it's because preservation and sustainability are important to all of us. The conference helped show many people the different facets of preservation and the importance of historic districts to facilitate sustainable local economies.
1 Preservation is an economic activity.
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noel_stanton (anonymous) says...
Evidently the idea of preserving the downtown district is driven by hopes of economic gain. The cultural aspect should be just as important. It is truly saddening that the concept of preservation was not current when the courthouse monstrosity was approved.
Emporia should also establish an historical district covering the Squires homes in the 600 block of Exchange street and perhaps extending to Red Rocks.
Steve Handschu and the Historical Society have already done a lot of the necessary work for such a district.
Another Emporian, David Delong, an architectural historian and author at Pennsylvania and Columbia University might also be helpful.
Noel Stanton
Moerlenbach, Germany
January 21, 2011 at 9:14 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )