23rd Annual RI Statewide Historic Preservation Conference, April 12

The Rhode Island Statewide Historic Preservation Conference takes place April 12th on the West Side of Providence:

The 23rd Annual RI Statewide Historic Preservation Conference
Saturday, April 12
on Providence’s West Side
Preservation Past, Present, and Future

The year 2008 marks the 40th anniversary of the Rhode Island Historic Preservation Act and the Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission. The 23rd Annual Rhode Island Statewide Historic Preservation Conference will use the anniversary as a starting point to explore the past, present, and future of historic preservation in Rhode Island.

In 1968, the Rhode Island General Assembly enacted legislation that expanded on the 1966 National Historic Preservation Act. The RI Historical Preservation Commission was established to direct a staewide preservation program that identifies historic properties, reviews state and federal projects, and administers funds. Heritage Programs were added in 1994.

Join the Annual Conference in Providence to recall past preservation achievements, or focus on current critical issues, from environmental sustainability to economic development, affordable housing to heritage tourism. Choose a historic resource–schools and mills, neighborhoods and villages, farms and waterfronts, even Modern architecture–and pick up the latest strategies to guide future practice.

Tour historic neighborhoods around the Armory, Atwells, Broadway, Elmwood, and West Elmwood, where homeowners, non-profits, and developers have completed waves of revitalization and restoration projects. Visit mill rehabs along the Woonasquatucket River, and sample the city’s most exciting artspaces. Travel through time to sites of “preservation’s greatest hits”–the Arcade, Masonic Temple, Benefit Street–and of its lost battles–Eagle Square, the Gorham Plant, Wriston Quad.

On the West Side and throughout Rhode Island, historic preservation is a dynamic process. Join us on April 12 to explore the past, present, and future of historic preservation in Rhode Island.

Click here for a 2008 Historic Preservation Awards nomination form, and visit our website in early March to check out the conference program. Questions? Contact Sarah Zurier.