Historic Georgetown Gateway: The future is now – time to preserve and restore Royal Spring Bridge, improve the waterway, and get the lead out of the 1892 Scott County Jail, Phase 2 of the Arts & Cultural Center !

In June 2011, the National Trust for Historic Preservation chose the Historic Georgetown Gateway project along with 99 other historic sites from around the country to compete in the 2011 THIS PLACE MATTERS Community Challenge grant competition.

The Historic Georgetown gateway project achieved three successes! Recognition by the National Trust for Historic Preservation of two organizations: 1) Historic Georgetown, Inc. /Georgetown Main Street, and 2) the Old Scott County Jail Complex / Scott County Arts & Cultural Welcome Center managed by the Scott County Arts Consortium, Inc.. Both ranked in the top 100 in the country for their respective competitive entries seeking assistance in the preservation of cultural and architectural assets in Georgetown. Both organizations’ projects were chosen by the NTHP.  We combined our entries to partner in this national competition.

 Acknowledgement by the National Trust for Historic Preservation that the west gateway into Georgetown adds economic growth value to our community is a significant stimulus to local constituents encouraging preservation efforts of our architectural past to benefit our community’s future.

3) The third success is recognition by our own community of the values forgotten, or taken for granted everyday, as we meet the challenges of the present. The key to success in our future may well come from learning lessons from the past! Let’s preserve, restore and renovate the best samples of what was from the past so we can create a better future !

The Scott County Arts Consortium, Inc. continues the development of the Arts & Cultural Center with initiation of Phase 2: renovation of the 1892 Scott County Jail Complex to open it’s doors for a giving people a positive reason to come inside – for opportunity.

The Old Jail block- a reminder we choose to close doors or open them to potential and the ArtZone, space for classrooms and studios for community arts and cultural activities.   New funding sources are being developed; the next opportunity is “Funding for Redevelopment, EPA Brown Field Grants and Other Resources” which restores un-usable property into viable economic development status.

The future is today, time to build a new foundation for tomorrow!