The Overbrook Farms Club, the civic association for one of the nation's oldest planned communities in Philadelphia, was pleased to have Donna present at our annual meeting. She discussed the various approaches to developing main street districts, as our community is interested in revitalizing its commercial corridor. She did a fabulous job of providing a detailed but easy-to-comprehend overview, which helped our community understand both the challenges and opportunities we have ahead and what our next steps might be
Historic Annapolis was very pleased to have been able to work with Donna Ann Harris of Heritage Consulting, Inc. in the fall of 2015 and winter of 2016 in designing and implementing a public engagement forum and focus groups for the Annapolis City Dock. Entitled, “What’s Your View? – Preserving Annapolis’ Historic City Dock,” the series of workshops was funded by grants from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the City of Annapolis. Stakeholders were brought together for several opportunities to offer their “views” and ideas about the protection of the historic character of the City Dock area. Significant views to and from the Chesapeake Bay and individual historic buildings and streetscapes were identified and prioritized for preservation.
The entire process was expertly guided by Donna Ann Harris, who brought the breadth and depth of her knowledge and experience in preservation planning to design a tailor-made series of public forums that will serve as a basis for the City’s forthcoming Cultural Landscape Study of the City Dock. Donna Ann Harris was engaging and creative in working with the public that represented divergent views, in some cases. She guided discussions with respect to all. Her use of interns to assist in the facilitation of the workshops was noteworthy, in that it provided a learning opportunity for the next generation of cultural resource planners.
As part of a New Jersey Historic Trust grant, Donna Ann Harris and Heritage Consulting Inc. prepared An Assessment of the Heritage Tourism Potential for Glover Fulling Mill Park in Haddon Heights, New Jersey, a one acre wooded lot where the remains of the Glover Fulling Mill (circa 1775) lie.
Donna did an outstanding job in describing the history and current conditions of the proposed park and provided an excellent analysis of our options regarding interpretation of this early industrial site. Her report is a primer for the Department of Public Works, the new Friends of Glover Mill Park, the Historical Society and Heights Heritage League and will guide the project for the foreseeable future. Donna gives precise direction on bringing the tourism element to fruition, describing geocaching and the role of social media in heritage tourism today. Her 50 page tutorial will help us accomplish her suggestions for the web, Wikipedia and Facebook. The report closed with further funding suggestions that will be our guide for the future development. We are totally pleased with Donna’s work and congratulate her on a job well done!