By Becky Pallack and Darren DaRonco | Arizona Daily Star
Tucson will join nearly 900 other communities across the nation in the United States’ Preserve America Program, first lady Michelle Obama recently announced.
The federal program supports local efforts to preserve America’s natural heritage by promoting historic sights and landmarks.
“It recognizes our city as having a lot of historic assets,” said Jonathan Mabry, the city’s historic preservation officer. “This gives us some national visibility and puts us on the historic preservation map.”
Mabry said Tucson is replete with significant architecture and pointed to our neon signs and the barrio as prime examples of why Tucson landed on this list.
“The historic neon signs make us stand out from other cities,” Mabry said. “The historic barrio really makes us distinctive. No other city in Arizona has that type of architecture … from the pre-American period.”
The designation is mostly symbolic. In the past, Mabry said, communities on the list received substantial grant money. But not anymore. Congress hasn’t funded the program for years.
If Congress changes its mind in the future, Tucson would be eligible for the grants.
