Memorandum

City of Lawrence

 

TO:

Mayor and City Commission

FROM:

City Manager David L. Corliss

CC:

Susan Tate, Lawrence Arts Center

DATE:

March 6, 2014

RE:

Grant Application to Douglas County Heritage Fund for Lawrence Cultural District Items

 

The attached grant application seeks $110,000 in funding from the Douglas County Heritage Fund to support efforts to enhance the Lawrence Cultural District through designation of the area’s historic, natural, and cultural sites.   The deadline for the grant application is March 14 and the grant application has been prepared by the Lawrence Arts Center in collaboration with Commissioner Schumm and stakeholders in the proposed Hobbs Parks to Constant Park multi-use path.

 

This project will identify, interpret, and connect the historical, cultural and natural nodes throughout the Lawrence Cultural District, integrating pre-Civil War, Civil War, and ongoing themes of Lawrence’s iconoclastic heritage. Capitalizing on the current momentum of public and private investment in this district, the project will encourage public access to and engagement with the legacy of Douglas County.  The project will result in a coherent and professionally developed urban plan and design through stakeholder collaboration.  Other outcomes will include educational and marketing materials, and a lasting network of artistic, permanent and potentially interactive markers that identify and interpret elements of our history in the core of Douglas County.  The project will encourage tourism and economic development, and compliment the Douglas County vision for community wellness, engagement, and connectivity. This DCHF funded project is one aspect of a comprehensive project that will include:1) extending the Burroughs Creek Trail; 2) a complete renovation of 9th Street from Delaware to Massachusetts; 3) a Lawrence Cultural District Public Art Project; 4) the ongoing private and municipal development.

 

This request supports the goals of the Lawrence Cultural district Task Force accepted by the city commission in December 2013 and complements other current outstanding grant requests.