Community Renaissance: Towns and Cities Look to Historic Assets

Interest in cultural planning is on the rise. Even though preservationists have long known that historic buildings are good for more than museums, it’s still easy to fall into that mindset with confronted with structures in need. However, looking at the community as a whole and the role that historic places play in it can suggest other strategies.

Connecticut towns typically mention ‘culture’ and ‘historic preservation’ in their plans of conservation and development, but resulting development rarely centers on these activities, focusing instead on infrastructure rather than cultural assets.

Now, several Connecticut towns and cities are rediscovering that preserving historic buildings and sites can be the path to renewal. They recognize that truly vibrant communities mix historic buildings with a variety of other cultural, commercial, and natural resources.

Beyond Connecticut, cultural investment has achieved notable success in Bellows Falls, Vermont, where Robert McBride, director of the Rockingham Arts and Museum Project, has been a key instigator for the “creative economy” movement. McBride and his group have used the arts as a catalyst to reposition Bellows Falls as a vibrant community and attract high-tech industries looking for a great place to relocate. Renovated historic downtown buildings have played a crucial role in the town’s renaissance.

In addition, a recent study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia (cited in the Boston Globe) found that in a field of 150 metropolitan areas, those that were “…rich in ‘consumption amenities’—the things that make a city delightful like parks, historic sites, museums beaches—disproportionately attracted highly educated individuals and experienced faster house appreciation.”

            Around Connecticut, a number of towns and cities are looking at under-used or under-valued cultural and historic assets that could become catalysts for broader community revitalization and redevelopment.

This year, the Connecticut Trust has the opportunity to work with three of these municipalities. In September, the Trust awarded Community Cultural Planning and Action Plan Grants to help Danbury, New Britain, and New London create action plans for underutilized or unrecognized cultural and historic assets. The money for the grants comes from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, the only state agency whose mission is to develop and promote our culture and encourage visitors to enjoy it.

One innovative feature of the grants is the ongoing involvement of Connecticut Circuit Rider Brad Schide, beginning in a two-part application process where Schide and other Trust staff and board members worked with applicants to refine their proposals. Once the grants were awarded, the Trust has continued to advise on process, help with selection of consultants, attend local meetings and presentations, and review preliminary results. The Trust will also work with the applicants who did not receive grants, and is encouraging them to apply for Historic Preservation Technical Assistance Grants.

The city of Danbury is counting on the long-vacant Palace Theater to be a cornerstone for downtown revitalization—a goal identified in the city plan of conservation and development in 2002 and repeatedly urged by the Main Street Renaissance Task Force. The Colonial Revival theater, built in 1926 for vaudeville and later used for movies, is a contributing structure in the Danbury’s Main Street National Register district and its interior boasts well-preserved architectural theatrics.

The Palace’s owner has begun repairing the building and has commitments from several performing groups to use the revitalized space, greatly improving its chances of success. But he and the city recognize that a theater by itself can have only a limited impact. The grant, supplemented with $10,000 from the owner, will support a study to determine how the city can stimulate other development to complement the theater and create a larger body of downtown attractions, and how best to restore, operate and market the building to achieve that result.

In New Britain, as in Danbury, a performance space has provided a beginning for revitalization. The successful conversion of Trinity Methodist Church to Trinity-on-Main has raised hopes that the city’s noteworthy collection of historic downtown buildings could be the raw material for a renewed and exciting downtown. The city sees its greatest need to be for protections and design guidelines to encourage the preservation and reuse of historic buildings.

The grant will allow New Britain to develop a design manual for use by developers and city staff; revise zoning regulations; explore alternatives to demolition, including potential preservation incentives; and draft a framework for the formation of a city historical commission. This plan will also lay groundwork for seeking grants through the federal Preserve America program, for which New Britain has already qualified.

            Downtown New London is seeing a rising tide of investment and activity despite the economic downturn. Bank Street has a number of active businesses, as well as the Custom House museum and the Hygienic Building with its artists’ studios and gallery. Nearby downtown living opportunities include Starr Street, one of Connecticut’s iconic restorations, and the Monte Cristo Garage, an award-winning adaptive use project. But other nearby historic residential areas remain unrestored, and the connections between them and Bank Street are weak, in large part due to a wide no-man’s-land of urban renewal era parking lots.

Knitting these historic resources together into a successful live-work downtown is the city’s goal. According to Harry Smith, the city planner, “While the study area contains several specific historic and cultural assets, the area as a whole—the mix of buildings and streetscapes as well as the legacy of previous generations—is the historic resource we believe in which it is crucial to invest.”

The first step is a plan that will promote investment in existing historical and cultural resources, foster community connections, increase awareness of resources, and identify infrastructure improvements that would contribute to revitalization.

The good news is that these three projects are just the beginning. Every town in Connecticut has cultural and historic assets like the ones cited here—underappreciated buildings, districts, parks, and other places that, with a little creative thinking and strategic investment, have the potential to make valuable contributions to the life of the larger community. They provide a richness of association and a diversity of design that no new construction can hope to achieve.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Danbury palace

caption: Danbury is counting on the Palace Theater to be a cornerstone of downtown revitalization.

 Danbury

credit: G. Farmer

New Britain downtown

caption: Downtown New Britain

credit: B. Schide

New London parking lots

caption: In New London, parking lots cut commercial Bank Street off from nearby residential areas.

credit: C. Wigren