Executive Director’s Message
Written by Brent Glass in the From the Executive Director category and the Summer 1996 issue Topics in this article: Altoona, Ephrata Cloister, Erie, Fallingwater, Forks of the Ohio, Horseshoe Curve, Lackawanna Coal Mine, Liberty Bell, National Park Service, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Pennsylvania State Capitol, Pittsburgh, Scranton, tourism, U.S. Brig Niagara“Pennsylvania Memories Last a Lifetime.”
A new tourism marketing campaign offers many opportunities and a new approach to call attention to the Keystone State’s rich and varied historical and cultural assets. Pennsylvania’s amazing array of memorable places gives travelers a deeper appreciation of our national heritage while providing an enjoyable family experience. An itinerary that includes the Liberty Bell, the Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour in Scranton, Ephrata Cloister, the State Capitol, Horseshoe Curve near Altoona, Fallingwater, the Forks of the Ohio at Pittsburgh, and the U.S. Brig Niagara berthed at Erie (my personal favorites) takes in nearly every major theme in American history. The visual and intellectual impact of visiting these places is, in a word, unforgettable.
Authenticity and integrity are the hallmarks of our historic attractions. Real history happened here – nothing is fabricated or contrived. The dramatic events of Pennsylvania’s political, military, religious, cultural, social, and economic history occupied our nation’s center stage for more than three centuries. Much of this history has been preserved intact because the National Park Service, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), local governments, and many historical organizations and preservation associations have done a remarkable job in caring for and making accessible to the public a stunning inventory of architectural landmarks, historic downtowns and neighborhoods, and cultural landscapes. Even artifacts of our prehistoric past, reflecting nearly twenty thousand years of human activity, have been meticulously conserved and intelligently interpreted by museums and historical societies throughout the Commonwealth.
The task of promoting Pennsylvania’s tourist destinations – historic, scenic, recreational, and natural – belongs to the state Department of Commerce. For the new tourism campaign, the department has created an interagency team of eighteen agencies, boards, and commissions, including the PHMC, to analyze a number of issues and address such subjects as information technology, infrastructure, and private-public partnerships. Every medium of communication – print, broadcast, and electronic networks – will be saturated to reach targeted markets outside the Commonwealth and to convince Pennsylvanians to spend more leisure time visiting destinations in the state.
My hope for the success of this campaign is driven partly by self-interest. More visitors to our historic sites and museums will mean additional – and much-needed – revenue for financially strapped public and private institutions. Creating a positive experience for visitors will depend on a strategy of reinvesting in visitor centers, exhibitions, and amenities. Recognizing the connection between capital spending on infrastructure and a successful tourism initiative is imperative. r also expect that a tourism campaign promoting our heritage will result in a greater knowledge of this priceless legacy and lead to a greater awareness of the need to preserve such a fragile inheritance.
Brent D. Glass
Executive Director
