History puts Glenwood in the books

Glenwood Springs' historical preservation efforts have made a little history of their own.

The city has received a Preserve America designation from the White House, making it one of 10 Colorado communities so far to receive the distinction.

The designation not only is good publicity, but makes the city eligible to apply for special Preserve America grants.

Kim Doose, chair of the city's Historical Preservation Commission and perhaps better known as the photographer and writer for the Post Independent's Our Towns community page, said the honor recognizes the work of many people who have sought to preserve and promote Glenwood's history over the years.

"I think I'm most proud because this was definitely a team effort. It was not just our commission," she said.

Cindy Cochran, director of the Frontier Historical Museum in Glenwood Springs, said the designation is significant, and she hopes it will lead to other benefits for the town.

"It points to the fact that we have a lot of history here and we really have made an effort to try to preserve it," she said.

The existence of two museums - the other being the Glenwood Railroad Museum - helped the city earn the designation. Other key factors include the existence of the Frontier Historical Society and the Historical Preservation Commission, City Council's passage of a historical preservation ordinance, and the completion of an architectural survey involving more than 100 historic structures downtown.

Doose said hundreds of volunteers participate every year in events that honor the city's history. And the city's history receives attention in other ways, such as in the weekly column that Willa Soncarty, Frontier Historical Museum registrar, writes for the Post Independent, Doose said.

She said she became aware of how much already has been done on behalf of historical preservation in town when she became chair of the HPC last March and was given a big notebook documenting all of the work to date.

"I really didn't feel like it was being recognized," she said.

Then she heard of the Preserve America program, and decided to pursue the designation as a way of bringing some attention to all that has been done and using the city's history to further boost its tourism industry.

"It just kind of all came together and I thought it would be a good way to attain some of our goals and also get some press for Glenwood and really get ... people into our downtown area, because at the time I think we were struggling with that, and we're still dealing with that," she said.

Promoting so-called heritage tourism is the goal of the Preserve America grant program, said Bruce Milhans, a spokesman for the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, a federal agency that oversees the program. The grants aren't for "brick and mortar" projects, he said. They're for communities trying to use historical resources as part of their economic development programs. The money might be used for marketing, or for linking with other communities focusing on promoting their histories.

Heritage tourism is the fastest-growing segment of the tourism industry, Milhans said. People interested in local history "tend to be folks who stay longer and spend more money than other classes of tourists," he said.

Glenwood may be particularly well-positioned to take advantage of this trend. Its tourism and history are intricately intertwined. Some of its biggest tourist attractions - the Hot Springs Pool, the Hotel Colorado and the cemetery where Doc Holliday is thought to be buried - date back to before 1900. And tourism remains a chief industry for the town today.

Doose said the Historic Preservation Commission's next project is putting up more signs about the town's history and historical sites. She's hoping the Preserve America grant program might provide funding for this effort.

Preserve America's honorary chairperson is first lady Laura Bush. The program is making $5 million in grants available this year, and President Bush is seeking $10 million from Congress for next year, Milhans said.

Laura Bush is scheduled to formally announce Glenwood's designation this spring. Doose is scheduled to accept the award today at Colorado Preservation Inc.'s, Saving Places Conference in Denver.



Contact Dennis Webb: 945-9515, ext. 516

dwebb@postindependent.com