National Trust for Historic Preservation
  • Crafting the Message about Why Old Places Matter

Everyone has a place that matters to them, but sometimes it is difficult to articulate why that place is so important. Just saying that it is “old” or “historic” doesn’t begin to encapsulate what that old place means.

To make it easier for preservation advocates to clearly express why old places matter, the National Trust has developed a toolkit to help preservation organizations and community activists explain why old places matter in their communities. Key messages in the toolkit grew out of the “Why Do Old Places Matter?” blog post series, written by Tom Mayes and based on his recent research exploring why old places are beneficial for people. Preservation advocates can adapt the key messages from the toolkit to promote the reuse of a neighborhood school, encourage the revitalization of a downtown block, protest the proposed demolition of an old courthouse, or enlist support for a new historic district. In short, this toolkit is to help people who like old places put into words why these places are so important and why they should be preserved.

TAKEAWAY
To access the toolkit on “Why Do Old Places Matter?” click here.

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