WI State Historic Preservation Conference – Oct 15 & 16

The fine folks at the Wisconsin State Historic Preservation Offices hosted an information gathering session yesterday at the amazing, historic Mitchell Mansion on Grand Avenue (now Wisconsin Ave.) and now operating as The Wisconsin Club. To be inside this… amazing building was a treat just by itself.  (Google for images)

The purpose was for information gathering in advance of this year’s Wisconsin Historic Preservation Conference. Invited were representatives from local historic preservation organizations throughout the state to get their input on an array of subjects to better plan the event.

In attendance were folks from:

• Various Milwaukee Neighborhood based Historic Preservation groups.
• Preservation Racine Inc.
• Madison Trust for Historic Preservation
• Historic Preservation Foundation of Eau Claire
• La Crosse Heritage Preservation
• The National Trust for Historic Preservation – Wisconsin Office
• Wright in Wisconsin
• And of course ourselves, The Beloit Neighborhood Preservation Assn.

(Pardon, I don’t recall all organizations represented, names or URLs – please comment below to correct.)

Among the topics discussed was, to paraphrase… what have you been doing locally that has been working well for your own local historic preservation efforts? It was a great opportunity to learn from others and share some great ideas.

Fan the Wisconsin State Historic Preservation Office

As in years past the conference travels to various locations throughout the state. This years conference will be held Friday/Saturday October 15th & 16th at the Grand Geneva Resort in Lake Geneva. A wonderful location for the event. The conference is growing in support and popularity each year to the extent that it is increasingly challenging to find communities/facilities large enough to accommodate the growing numbers. A good problem to have I suppose.

As the event is still in planning stages detail will be announced at a later date. Information will be provided on the Wisconsin SHPO website, www.WisconsinHistory.org as well as their Facebook fan page.

What to do…

1. Mark Your Calendar for October 15th & 16th.
2. Get on the email list for further information.
   

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It couldn’t be more convenient. We’ve been given a great rate at Grand Geneva and it’s close enough you could just commute back-n-forth if you really need to. Think about it. It would be great to have Beloit well represented including.

• Participation from city staff
• Participation from the city council
• Individuals (plural) from the Landmarks Commission
• Several resident households from in and around Beloit’s three historic districts
• Visit Beloit, Beloit 2020, Downtown Merchants

Investment in and the preservation of Beloit’s distinctive historic character is good for business, property values, tourism and the community as a whole. The more we diminish this, the more Beloit becomes generic and like anyplace else.

To get the email updates on this event when they become available contact Daina Penkiunas
National Register Coordinator
608-264-6501
daina(dot)penkiunas(at)wisconsinhistory(dot)org