Historic Preservation

What is Historic Preservation and Why is it Important?

Historic Preservation is the process of identifying places, sites, and resources that have survived from our past; evaluating the meaning and value they have for us now; and keeping, using, and caring for those significant places, sites, and resources so they will survive into the future.

Fort Lauderdale’s history and sense of place is defined by the presence of these sites. The preservation of this irreplaceable heritage creates a community spirit that connects the past to present-day community life.

“There should be in every life, a place . . . where you can come and visit your past, and the past of your people, and know that whatever happened outside, here timelessness lived. All of us need a place like that -- a place where we can have history close at hand, where we can see it, touch it, learn from it. Preservation helps that timelessness live in every community in America.”

-- Ann Rivers Siddons, Novelist