The Texas Historical Commission (THC) has officially designated Linden as a 2017 Texas Main Street City.  The announcement came just one day after the Linden Heritage Foundation received notice that the 1939 Linden Firehouse will receive a prestigious Planning Grant from the THC’s Texas Preservation Trust Fund.  These two news items significantly elevate Linden’s visibility statewide as a City working to employ its past towards a brighter future for its citizens.

The Texas Main Street Program is a national award-winning revitalization program for historic downtown commercial districts.  Every year, the THC selects one to five Texas cities for official Main Street designation.  Two were selected to enter the program in 2017 – Linden and Buda.

Starting in January, Linden’s Main Street Program will receive a range of services and technical expertise from the THC – including building facade design work, marketing promotion training, and aids to heritage tourism development.  The program’s resources are designed to stimulate private-sector downtown reinvestment, new businesses, and related new job creation.  Overall, the Main Street Program places high value on a town’s unique qualities and history in ways that encourage a synergy of new investment, historic preservation, and economic growth.

The Texas Preservation Trust Fund Grant just awarded to the Linden Firehouse will provide funds toward professional architectural planning of a building restoration fully in keeping with national preservation guidelines.  Following this approach will enable the Foundation Board to apply in the future for major grant funding to support actual construction work on the Firehouse site.

Our community has work to do in 2017; and these special state resources will amplify the long-term success of local efforts.  The Linden Heritage Foundation hopes you will join in this work – either by becoming a member or by renewing your existing membership.  The Foundation was formed in September 2015 to encourage the preservation of Linden’s historic structures, archeological sites, objects and customs relating to the heritage and uniqueness of Linden.  We are therefore a natural local ally and local partner to the Texas Historical Commission.

As a town, Linden is daily gaining momentum towards true revitalization; and we hope many of you will offer your talents to help claim the future that Linden and its citizens deserve.  Please consider serving on a Foundation committee, such as the Firehouse Rescue Committee or the Main Street/Downtown Building Survey Committee that will launch in January 2017.  If you have a question or wish to volunteer, send an email to ContactUs@LindenHeritage.org or call 888.334.9284.

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