It’s Architecture Week in town so I’ve spent my past few lunch hours touring historic buildings along with 50 or 60 others. Some come because they are interested in the architecture, others want to know more about the history, and there are people like me who are just curious to see the inside of buildings that I frequently drive past.
The most popular stop on the tour was the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. The building has just undergone a $1.2 million renovation that included recreating a bell tower based on old photos, redoing the exterior with cedar shakes fish scale roofing, and hand-etching glass to replace broken pieces in a sequence. The docents were lavish in their praise not only of the finished product (which was obvious) but of the craftsmen who did the work.
It highlighted a virtuous cycle: our city has a robust historic preservation effort, which creates ongoing renovation work, which attracts artisans who can do the masonry, carpentry, and specialized trades such work requires. It’s not everywhere that you can find people with the skills to restore frescos uncovered on the church ceiling, but you can here.
Las Vegas has gaming, Silicon Valley has tech, and Dubuque has historic preservation. How can you promote a cluster of like-minded organizations to create synergies and an infrastructure to support your work? Having a niche in your organization or community can help you attract talent and set you apart from those who try to be everything to everybody.
