Partnerships and Special Programs

The 2012 Kentucky Historic Preservation Conference is now one for the books and we can't say thank you enough to the community of Princeton for your wonderful hospitality, and to all the many community leaders, elected officials, volunteers and others who helped make it happen.

Kentucky Heritage Council and Preservation Kentucky staff were pleased to also work with volunteers from the communities of Dawson Springs and Eddyville/Kuttawa in hosting nearly 200 participants from across the state for tours, workshops and educational sessions during the event, Sept. 20-22.

Presenting sponsors included the city of Princeton, Princeton Main Street/Renaissance on Main, Princeton Tourism Commission, Lyon County Tourism, and the Dawson Springs Main Street and Preservation Program, and assistance from many other local organizations.

Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Bill Cunningham gave a rousing and heartfelt welcome during the opening plenary, speaking from the circuit courtroom in the Caldwell County Courthouse, which he helped rehabilitate and return to its original glory after some unsympathetic "energy saving" adaptations in the 1970s.  "A community uninterested in preservation is a community that is not proud of its past," he told those assembled.

Justice Cunningham cited the importance of having vision to be able to imagine the possibilities of what preserving unique historic buildings in downtowns and neighborhoods could really mean to the economy and livability of communities, and how vision is the most important quality that local leaders can bring to their roles.

Jane Turville presented her award-winning film, "The Greenest Building," at the beautiful Capitol Theatre in downtown Princeton, after which she and economist Donovan Rypkema shared the stage to answer questions about sustainability.  Rypkema was the featured speaker during the closing plenary, in which he presented some thought-provoking findings from his most current research, "Historic Preservation and Rightsizing," a report prepared for the Right Sizing and Historic Preservation Task Force of the federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, released earlier this year.

Rypkema challenged those present to consider new approaches to how cities reshape their historic fabric and reuse urban resources to meet the needs of current and future populations.  "For preservationists to be at the table, we can’t bring our usual game plan," he said.  "Flexibility, compromises, and hard choices are necessary."

This was the first time the conference took place in a small town away from a major metropolitan area.  Princeton was a perfect place to host the conference in terms of the quality of its local preservation efforts - due largely to its participation in the Kentucky Main Street Program, for its beautiful downtown buildings, and by being a walkable community with interesting stores that help keep people downtown and money in the local economy. - Photos by Becky Gorman