Sonoma State Historic Park [CA]

Description

The historic town of Sonoma is located in the heart of the beautiful wine country between Napa and Santa Rosa off Highway 12. Situated around a central plaza (the largest of its kind in California) filled with shops and restaurants, the city is home to Sonoma State Historic Park—site of the northernmost Franciscan Mission in California and birthplace of the California State Bear Flag. Unlike most parks with a plot of land and geographical boundaries, Sonoma State Historic Park is a series of historic attractions in several locations within the community. The park is comprised of six sites: the Mission San Francisco Solano; the Blue Wing Inn; the Sonoma Barracks; and the Toscano Hotel, as well as La Casa Grande and Lachryma Montis, the homes of General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, Military Commander and Director of Colonization of the Northern Frontier.

The park offers exhibits and tours.

Old Cahawba [AL]

Description

From 1819 to 1826, Cahawba served as Alabama's first capital. It was once a thriving antebellum river town, a major distribution point for cotton shipped down the Alabama River to Mobile, a Confederate prison for captured Union soldiers, and a rural community of African-American families. By 1900, however, most of Cahawba's buildings had burned, collapsed, or had been dismantled. A place of picturesque ruins, Cahawba today is an important archaeological site with an extensive descendants' network.

The site offers tours, exhibits, and educational programs.

Lower East Side Tenement Museum

Description

The Museum tells the stories of 97 Orchard Street. Built on Manhattan's Lower East Side in 1863, this tenement apartment building was home to nearly 7,000 working class immigrants. They faced challenges people understand today: making a new life, working for a better future, starting a family with limited means. In recognizing the importance of this seemingly ordinary building, the Tenement Museum has reimagined the role that museums can play in modern lives.

The museum offers exhibits, tours, educational programs, and educational and recreational events.

Greater Houston Preservation Alliance [TX]

Description

The Greater Houston Preservation Alliance is dedicated to preserving the rich historical and architectural heritage of Houston, Texas. While mainly focused on advocacy and preservation efforts, the alliance also offers walking tours of architecturally significant areas of Houston. The tours are offered every second Sunday or by appointment.

The website offers information regarding the activities of the alliance, as well as information regarding the walking tours program.

Connecticut Landmarks [CT]

Description

Connecticut Landmarks was founded in 1936 as the Antiquarian & Landmarks Society. Today, Connecticut Landmarks owns and operates a statewide network of 12 historic house museums, which cover three centuries of New England history. Each museum takes visitors through a specific period in history and also provides exhibits on local history.

Connecticut Landmarks offers tours of its 12 historic properties, as well as educational programs and special events. The website offers visitor information, brief histories of all properties, information regarding educational programs for children and adults, as well as an events calendar.

Upper Moreland Historical Association [PA]

Description

The Upper Moreland Historical Association is dedicated to the preservation of the historical heritage of Upper Moreland and Willow Grove.

The association offers walking tours of Upper Moreland and Willow Grove, speakers, and occasional bus tours of local historic sites. The website offers information regarding association programs, as well as a history of the Upper Moreland and an events calendar.

San Juan Bautista State Historic Park [CA]

Description

This park is part of a nationally recognized historic landmark and can be found adjacent to the extant portion of one of California's 21 Spanish-era mission church sites. The park and its Plaza represent what was once the "town square" of the largest town in central California and a vital crossroad for travel between northern and southern California. In the park visitors can gain an appreciation of California peoples, from Native Americans, through the Spanish and Mexican cultural influences, right up to the American period in the late 19th century. The park site includes several structures built in the 1800s. These include the four main historic structures of the Plaza Hotel, the Zanetta House/Plaza Hall as well as Plaza Stables, and the newly reopened Castro-Breen Adobe with colorful and informative exhibits to help create a learning environment for people of all ages. Many of the interiors are arranged as furnished vignettes. The park also features a blacksmith shop, the historic jail, and an early American settler's cabin.

The park offers exhibits, tours, and occasional living history events.

Landmark West! [NY]

Description

Landmark West! is an advocacy and education organization striving for preservation of the historical architecture from 59th to 110th Streets between Central Park West and Riverside Drive in New York City's Upper West Side.

The organization offers an educational program titled "Keeping the Past for the Future," which was awarded the American Architectural Foundation's Award of Merit for K-12 Architectural Education in February 2008. The program includes a student workbook, lessons, walking tours, and workshops; and is free to New York City public schools.

The University of Akron Hower House [OH]

Description

The Hower House was completed in 1871. Designed in the Second Empire Italianate style, the floor plan of the home would become known as the Akron Sunday School Plan, as it would be featured in churches across the United States. Today, the Tower House serves as a historic house museum, and is one of the best preserved examples of its architectural style in the country.

The home offers guided tours and an annual Victorian Fair. The website offers a history of the home, visitor information, and information regarding upcoming events.

Contra Costa County Historical Society [CA]

Description

The Contra Costa County Historical Society is dedicated to preserving the history of Contra Costa County and Martinez, California, in particular. The society runs a local history museum, the Contra Costa County History Center. The center is open to the public by appointment, and offers exhibits on Contra Costa County. Prospective visitors should check the website to check what exhibits are currently up.

The website offers visitor information, a collection of articles on local history, an extensive collection of historic photographs, and an events calendar.