Preserving Local History | Historical Perspectives

Building Histories & Historic Preservation

Do you live in a historic home or farmhouse? Ever thought, "If only these walls could talk?" Well, they can, and we'd be thrilled to help you learn their stories! Or perhaps you're considering the puchase of a historic building for your office or business. Whether you're interested in simply knowing more about your residence, want to find out about protecting your building, or learn about qualifying for investment tax credits by restoring or repurposing a historic structure, Historical Perspectives can help.

A Note to Small Businesses . . .

As the owner of a small business, you might wonder if history has a commercial application. Absolutely! As more people take an interest in shopping locally, history

tourism, and downtown revitalization projects, your company has opportunities to have history help it shine. The obviousplace to start is with your location. Does your business operate in a historic structure? Is it near a residential neighborhood, or in a traditional downtown setting? Knowing the history of your buildings and its relationship to nearby structures can give you a point of interest to feature inside your business, provide information helpful to doing structural renovations, and contribute to larger residential or commercial revitalization projects. It can also help you help you qualify for tax credits should you decide to renovate or restore your structure. Finally, the results from research undertaken on your behalf by Historical Perspectives can inspire other business owners to pursue similar activites that, ultimately, benefit the communities in which they are located.

Historic Preservation

Preservation

Everyday, hundreds of important historic structures are lost to neglect or demolition. Short sighted development plans and a lack of understanding about the financial feasibility of restoration, reuse, and repurposing are contributing to their disappearance. Many of these buildings often can be saved simply by thinking creatively about how we choose to reuse them. Fortunately an increasing number of cities and towns around the country are beginning to realize there are ways to revitalize neighborhoods and traditional commercial districts without the loss of these buildings, and by choosing to invest in their heritage they find a renewed sense of pride in their community as well as give it new life.

Are you ready to protect your valuable history? Historical Perspectives can start you on the path to historic preservation and community revitalization. We'll help you protect your historic structures, and if not one already, work with local leaders to become a Certified Local Government (CLG) so that they become eligible for grants to help defray some of the costs associated with your project such as historic background research, training for commission staff members, preparation of preservations plans, identification of properties already listed on the National Register of Historic Places or those contributing to a historic district. And since successful historic preservation projects take community support and participation, we can also work with you to inform business and home owners about how the proposed projects will affect them, as well as educate those directly involved about placing protective easements on their historic properties and federal or state tax credits for which they may be eligible.

Ultimately, it is possible to protect your historic properties and celebrate your heritage while promoting neighborhood or downtown revitalization. Contact Historical Perspectives to learn how we can help.

Above: Memorial Hall in Marion, Iowa before restoration, and after (below). A great example of what can be accomplished even in a small town!