Palmer seeks preservation input

August 21, 2005

JOEL DAVIDSON/Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - The history of Palmer isn't much longer than the average human life span, which means many of the city's old buildings are still being used as offices, restaurants and meeting places. Concern has risen recently, however, that the old structures may fade away if the buildings and the land they sit on are not protected by official historic district guidelines.

On Wednesday, the Mat-Su Borough Cultural Resources Division will host the third of three meetings this summer to receive community input on guidelines and approaches for preserving Palmer's physical history.

"Those who are interested need to speak out," said Vickie Cole, an assistant in the borough's Cultural Resources Division. "I feel this is important because people actually do come to Palmer to see the historic district. Cultural tourism is big, but if Palmer destroys the historic district, there will be a lot of people who won't be interested in stopping in Palmer."

Despite the existence of an official Palmer Historic District and several old buildings which are listed on the National Register, Palmer has no guidelines to direct future developers who might want to build in those areas.

The historic district contains more than a dozen buildings, including the Mat-Maid building, Colony Inn, Palmer water tower, Mat-Su Borough administration building, the Palmer Depot, United Protestant Church of Palmer and other houses and buildings from the days of the original Colony Project.

Palmer's historic significance as a Depression-era experiment has not gone unnoticed nationally. The National Parks District is now looking into establishing a national landmark in the area, a move which would grant greater cultural prestige to the area.

The community forum this Wednesday will address the types of guidelines residents want in place to preserve historic elements of the town. Cole was quick to point out that guidelines are different from requirements.

"Anyone who owns private property can do what they want," she said. "A lot of historic districts have guidelines but they are not required by law."

Those guidelines encourage developers to maintain and preserve older buildings and also build new buildings that complement rather than diminish the historic areas. Cole said historic districts and guidelines provide status for old buildings and make it easier for private owners to procure restoration grants.

Depending on community sentiment and future actions by the city of Palmer, the historic district guidelines could potentially be adopted into city code. The upcoming meeting, however, is only addressing guidelines.

Other topics for the meeting include how to build within historic districts without destroying the existing atmosphere, and incentives that might encourage that.

"If the community does want the historic district to remain as such, then certain guidelines will have to be put in place," Cole said.

At meetings earlier this month, presenters talked about the early architectural ideas from the 1930s, which shaped Palmer's original design and building layout.

After the Wednesday meeting, information and suggestions from the community will be compiled and publicly presented early next year. A conclusive report should be ready by July 2006, with the city of Palmer having final say over all recommendations.

The Aug. 24 meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Palmer Depot, across from Vagabond Blues. For more information, people may call the borough's Cultural Resources Division at 745-9859.

Contact Joel Davidson at

352-2266, or joel.davidson@

frontiersman.com.