Historic preservation is making headlines in Florida. Here’s a roundup of news items to watch, and updates on stories we’ve been following:
Florida Trust for Historic Preservation
- The 2024 Florida Preservation Award nominations are now open! Learn more about our three new categories and fee waiver.
- St. Cloud Community Development Director Melissa Dunklin appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation. Welcome, Melissa!
- Our February Lunch & Learn: Get Involved with the Florida Trust will take place on Wednesday, February 28, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. EST.
- Our March Lunch & Learn: 2024 Florida Preservation Awards will take place on Thursday, March 14, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. EST.
Advocacy
- Florida’s Legislative Session 2024 is in its eighth week. Keep up with updates by reading our blog or sign up for our weekly advocacy newsletter.
- The National Trust for Historic Preservation joins the Florida Trust in supporting the Main Street Historical Tourism and Revitalization Act.
- The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation voiced their concerns towards the Resiliency and Safe Structures Act.
- Advocacy Week 2024, hosted by Preservation Action and the National Conference of Historic Preservation Officers, will take place in Washington D.C., March 4-7. Florida Trust is the Statewide Coordinator for Florida. Join us in advocating for preservation at the federal level!
Ongoing Education
- 2024 Preservation on Main Street will take place in Tallahassee, July 10-13, 2024.
- The National Alliance of Preservation Commissions Forum 2024 will take place in West Palm Beach, FL, July 31-August 4.
- The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s PastForward 2024 conference will take place in New Orleans, October 28-30.
Grants
- Deadline: applications for National Fund for Sacred Places grants close on February 29, 2024.
- Deadline: applications for the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Fund for Historic Interiors and the Johanna Favrot Fund for Historic Preservation grants will close on March 1, 2024.
- National Park Service awards $1.25 million to recognize historic communities that are underrepresented in the National Register of Historic Places. Among them, a historic context study on migrant farmworkers in Miami-Dade County receives $75,000.
- The National Trust for Historic Preservation announces its Telling the Full History Preservation Fund grantees, including three projects in Florida.
Regional Updates
- Palatka residents embrace historic preservation to protect their local history and encourage their community’s revitalization.
- The 1841 Union Bank Museum in Tallahassee reopens after renovations.
- Lincolnville Museum in St. Augustine joins the Old Town Trolley Tour route.
- Hundreds of historic artifacts are recovered from illegal excavators near Tampa.
Events
- Underground History, a documentary screening exploring the stories of erased communities in St. Petersburg, revealing layers of history under the city, will take place on February 28.
- The webinar Housing Policy Chat, organized by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, will take place on February 28.
- Architectural Historian Tara Dudley will present Building the Nation: Enslaved and Free Architects, Builders, and Artisans on March 7, 2024 at Florida State University and online.
- The Menorcan Heritage Celebration will take place at the Llambias House in St. Augustine, on March 2, 2024.
- The Venice Museum modern architecture exhibition Florida Modern: The Sarasota School of Architecture in Venice is open until January 15, 2025.
Survey
- The Florida Museum of Black History Task Force launches a survey to to gather stakeholder input on the proposed Florida Museum of Black History.
Do you have preservation news to share? Let us know! Send your story to Dafni Kirkpatrick at dkirkpatrick@floridatrust.org.