About Us
Pima County is rich in history, cultural diversity, living traditions, and regional character, all of which define our collective cultural heritage and community identity, where our Native American, Spanish Colonial, Mexican, and American traditions intersect with the natural environment to create a unique, multi-storied cultural landscape. The Pima County Cultural Resources & Historic Preservation Division honors this heritage by working to preserve our cultural and historical properties, including ancestral sites, traditional cultural places, historic buildings, districts, objects, living traditions, and working landscapes.
Since the 1970s, Pima County has taken an active position in protecting our cultural and historic resources through preservation policies, regional conservation, land-use planning, ordinances, and recently with historic preservation bonds. All of these efforts have received considerable public support.
The scope of this program has been significantly expanded to consider the very broadest definition of cultural and historical resources, including archaeological sites, historic sites and buildings, traditional cultural places, living traditions, and working landscapes. To address the full breadth of these heritage sites and issues, the Cultural Resources & Historic Preservation Division has developed an award-winning comprehensive set of program areas that demonstrate Pima County’s vision and commitment to historic preservation.
Historic Preservation is the act that seeks to preserve the historically built environment for use as cultural resources for current and future generations. The Pima County Cultural Resources and Historic Preservation Division is committed to historic preservation in three ways:
- Public-approved historic preservation bonds that are used to buy land containing important cultural resources
- Compliance with local, state and federal legal authorities that require the consideration of any adverse effects on cultural resources prior to an undertaking
- Management of cultural resources on County-owned lands
Federal Programs
- National Register of Historic Places
- National Historic Landmarks Program
Regional Programs