PRESERVATION MONTH 2018

June 2018 Main Street Matters

 

In the June 2018 issue of Main Street Matters, there were several examples of what your Main Street Texas peers were doing for National Preservation Month in May 2018- #ThisPlaceMatters. Here, we are sharing other examples. Many of these below, and others, held Imagine the Possibilities Tours during the month as well. They were highlighted in the June issue of Main Street Matters, and through considerable publicity from the Texas Historical Commission and local programs. The list of hosting cities for the May tours can be found here: http://www.thc.texas.gov/preserve/projects-and-programs/town-square-initiative/downtowntxorg.

Beaumont

First, we had the Mayor sign a Proclamation deeming May as Preservation Month for Beaumont.  Then, we implemented a new program, "Beautiful Downtown Building of the Month".  We awarded one of our owners for the care he takes to preserve his building.  We presented him with the planter (below), designed and built by our Executive Director, Tom Bell, to be displayed for the month at his building entrance.  The planter uses our local Beaumont Brick design as well as the This Place Matters teardrop.  Following this, we hosted a Historical Downtown Walking Tour.  We were able to showcase six of our large historical downtown buildings.  Our event was successful.  We plan to repeat the "Imagine the Possibilities Tour" in the fall.

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Canyon

This year for Preservation Month, we did a social media scavenger hunt with 10 different historical locations. We also did posts throughout the month with photos and the marker language.  We didn’t have as many people participate in the scavenger hunt as we hoped, but people definitely enjoyed the posts on social media.  It’s funny how we go to lots of the places often and don’t read the historical markers!  So if anything, we were able to share some history on places that people visit often in our town. 

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Cuero

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Rosenberg

Local Observances of Preservation Month in Rosenberg and Fort Bend County. Our Main Street Program and its downtown stake holder partners staged two contests this year as part of our community observance of Preservation Month. Our County Historical Commission agreed to be a co-sponsor of these activities:

  • The Rosenberg Architectural Appreciation Photography Contest In which contest participants submitted photos of historic buildings
  • The ‘Fort Bend County Preserved’ Fine Art Contest In which contest participants submitted fine art images of historic buildings
  • The Fort Bend County Historic Building Inventory/Survey Project In which members of the County Historical Commission are doing a survey of historic buildings
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Kilgore

Kilgore Main Street worked with the Kilgore Historical Preservation Foundation and the Reel East Texas Film Festival to hold a "Double Feature in the Texan Theater" which was a free screening of "Strike it Rich" a movie about the oil boom and scenes were filmed in Kilgore and Rio Bravo a classic John Wayne western film. At the intermission between the two movies, we had an update from the Gregg County Historical Commission followed by two guest speakers who spoke about their first times in the historic Texan Theater.

We had over 50 people in attendance which was great considering we still don't have air conditioning in the Texan Theater and it was very hot. The Kilgore Historical Preservation Foundation was selling popcorn to raise money for the restoration of the Dean-Keener Crim House (the oldest house in Kilgore), Reel East Texas Film Festival provided free drinks and J de Graffenried Dentistry supplied free cookies and brownies. Donations were accepted during the event towards the restoration of the Texan Theater.

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San Angelo

Downtown San Angelo, Inc. began the month with a proclamation by Mayor Brenda Gunter, (photo below).  Mayor Gunter, elected last May, was previously the Main Street board chair.

During the monthly Downtown Stroll, all participants provided the history of their property to visitors and ASU Honor’s student Jenna Placzek served as a tour guide on the trolley and emphasized historic sights along the tour.  New “Then and Now” historic banners were placed throughout the downtown area in May (below).

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Seguin

Kyle Kramm, Seguin Main Street manager, wrote three articles for the newspaper during the month featuring local preservation efforts such as Design Review; Seguin’s local landmark program called Mark It Seguin; and its grant-funded Historic Resources Survey. Mayor Don Keil  signed a Preservation Month proclamation.

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