| Focusing on the cultural, political, and economic changes brought to the West by World War II, I examine the historic preservation movements in Albuquerque, Denver, and Seattle. I argue that five commercial historic districts---Albuquerque's Old Town, Denver's Larimer Square and Lower Downtown, and Seattle's Pike Place Market and Pioneer Square---created civic identities for their cities. In reaction to post-war growth, architectural and economic homogenization, and increased western tourism potential, historic districts acted as a form of urban renewal by revitalizing economic and aesthetic conditions in blighted downtowns and giving western cities a unique identity that planners and boosters used as a market niche to compete for tourism dollars.; During the 1950s, municipal governments followed a policy of urban renewal to revitalize blighted central business districts. Inner city decay was a national phenomenon, exacerbated in the West by changes in the cultural, economic, and physical landscape that prompted western citizens to define a unique civic identity. Initially considered the antithesis of urban renewal, early preservationists fought opposition from property owners, city planners, city councils, and real estate developers to save the historic downtown centers and preserve a city's heritage. By designating and renovating historic districts, preservation advocates self-consciously created civic identities that resonated vi with visitors' and residents' expectations about the city. By 1990, historic districts succeeded not only in preserving heritage, but also revitalizing downtowns, attracting real estate developers, retail businesses, and federal funding, and transforming run-down central business districts into thriving entertainment and tourist centers. Visitors to the cities consumed the essence of each district's heritage, patronizing the historic areas to experience the true character of a city. In each city, the historic district became a symbol of that city, creating and constantly reinforcing a regional and civic identity.; Yet the very process of preserving each district transformed it, and the identity ultimately represented by the historic districts reflected neither a timeless heritage fixed in bricks and mortar nor the identity created by preservationists, but rather the negotiations between fluctuating political and economic realities. |
