Other Species of Heritage Sites: Commercial and Political Symbols

Abstract

I chose 12 popular major attractions that are not urban parks, national parks, zoos, or museums. Several are economic attractions and have not emphasized heritage, although they are symbols of American life and values, such as the Las Vegas Strip and Disney Park in Anaheim. Others are political symbols, such as the White House and the Alamo. Half of the sites exemplified by the Empire State Building, Grand Central Station, as well as Ellis Island, the White House, and the Hollywood Sign have developed wealth and health clusters similar to what exists near many of the zoos, urban parks and museums in Chaps. 5, 6, and 7. In contrast, the Las Vegas strip, the Alamo, Niagara Falls and several others show little evidence of clustered wealth and health. Air emissions related to motor vehicle traffic is worse near these dozen sites than other groups of heritage sites in this book (excluding the concourses, which are not comparable in size and shape). Affordable housing is a major challenge near each of these places, but the high value of the land makes it difficult to provide near the sites.