Tulsa designated as "Preserve America Community"

[TheArtist]

FIRST LADY LAURA BUSH DESIGNATES TULSA A
PRESERVE AMERICA COMMUNITY

The City of Tulsa was recently honored when First Lady Laura Bush, Honorary Chair of the Preserve America initiative, designated it as one of the nations newest Preserve America Communities.

Preserve America Communities demonstrate that they are committed to preserving Americas heritage while ensuring a future filled with opportunities for learning and enjoyment, Mrs. Bush said. This community designation program, combined with the Preserve America Grant Program, Preserve America Presidential Awards, and other federal support, provides strong incentives for continued preservation of our cultural and natural heritage resources. I commend you for your commitment to preserving an important part of our nations historic past for visitors, neighbors, and, most importantly, for children.

Mayor Kathy Taylor will receive a certificate signed by Mrs. Bush announcing that Tulsa is now a Preserve America Community.

"Becoming a Preserve America Community confirms what Tulsans have known for many years - that our community has a rich collection of historic resources that are of interest to heritage tourists," Mayor Taylor said. "We are especially excited about achieving this designation with the National Trust for Historic Preservation Conference coming to Tulsa in October 2008."

Communities designated through the program receive national recognition for their efforts. Benefits include the right to use the Preserve America logo on signs and promotional materials; eligibility for Preserve America Grants; notification to state tourism offices; and listing in a Web-based directory that showcases Tulsas preservation efforts and heritage tourism destinations. Preserve America Communities also are featured in National Register Travel Itineraries and in Teaching With Historic Places curricular materials created by the National Park Service.

The Preserve America initiative is a White House Administration effort to encourage and support community efforts to preserve and enjoy Americas priceless cultural and natural heritage. Goals of the initiative include a greater shared knowledge about the nations past; strengthened regional identities and local pride; increased local participation in preserving the countrys cultural and natural heritage assets; and support for the economic vitality of our communities. For more information about the initiative and its programs, visit www.preserveamerica.gov .

The Tulsa Preservation Commission is a fifteen-member board of the City of Tulsa that identifies and nominates properties to the National Register of Historic Places, administers local Historic Preservation Zoning, and produces educational material describing Tulsa historic resources. For more information about the Tulsa Preservation Commission and Tulsas historic resources, visit www.tulsapreservation.org .

[FOTD]

Goodie gum drops...more signage!

Bout time Laura Bush did something besides sit back and smoke.

[PonderInc]

This is great news.  It's my understanding that Tulsa needs approximately $60,000 to do a "historic survey" of downtown buildings (within the IDL).  This is an important first step towards preserving our historic and architecturally significant buildings from becoming additional surface parking lots.

From looking at the Preserve America grants that have been awarded in previous years, several cities and towns have used grant money for this very thing.  Even if they offer a matching grant, it shouldn't be that hard for Tulsa to come up with $30,000 to fund half of the survey.

Here's an example of a recent grant that was awarded:
Town of Silverton Cultural Resources Survey - Silverton, Colorado - $35,530 - The Town of Silverton will survey and inventory several hundred historic architectural resources within the town.

This project will be an important first step in the preservation and protection of important historic resources that attract visitors into the downtown area.