The Cultural Heritage Center of Southwest Florida began as a result of conversations with the leadership of VISIT FLORIDA at the last Florida Association of Museums Conference held in Naples. We had an in-depth discussions on the expansion of the Blanchard House Museum into a Cultural Heritage Center to be done in partnership with the Punta Gorda - Englewood Beach Visitors and Convention Bureau, and Florida Gulf Coast University. Collaboratory meetings between these three organizations followed. Shortly after, an intensive visioning process was undertaken with assistance of TEAM Punta Gorda. Afterwhich, the organization was created.

OUR BEGINNING

The purpose of the Cultural Heritage Center of Southwest Florida is to celebrate the SWFL's indigenous and pioneer beginnings and the culturally diverse community that it has now become. Recognizing the need for youth programming in our area, the organization’s mission has been expanded to open the State of Florida’s first Youth Museum and Cultural Heritage Center.

The CHC's mission is to celebrate the human diversity of the region. The ethnic and religious diversity of Southwest Florida makes it a rich and exciting place to live and visit. Groups from Charlotte, Lee, Desoto, Sarasota, Manatee, Collier county and beyond, have come together to create the Youth Museum & Cultural Heritage Center to celebrate all cultural contributions to the development and economy of the region. The Youth Museum aims to be a place to learn and teach; and celebrate and embrace all cultures. Programs include, but are not limited to: Inclusionary multi-faceted, rotating culture, art, and educational exhibits; an annual International Cultural Festival at Fisherman’s Village; an annual A Day of Celtic Music (Celtic Music Festival) at Fishermen’s Village; “mini-culture fairs” at Cooper St. Recreation Center; trips and excursions; cooking classes; language classes; cultural/language immersion classes; language/culture camps for children and teens; intergenerational cultural activities between elders and youth; cultural lending library; partnership with Rotary Exchange Programs; and Ethnic Food Festivals.

In addition to all the events of the CHC member organizations, some of the CHC banner events have been:

• In its expanding role as a regional Heritage Tourism hub, the CHC has been providing cultural heritage immersion experiences to preschoolers and homeschooled children at the Collier Museum in

Naples. https://www.facebook.com/events/319314715378068/?event_time_id=319314718711401

• This collaboration came about as a result the very successful “A Trip Around the World” event at the Punta Gorda Library.

• Additionally, as a result of the success of the event at the Punta Gorda Library, which provides residents a view of how the Library would look if it were converted into the Cultural Heritage Center of Southwest Florida, the CHC participated in the very successful “How-To Festival”, held at Mid-County Library. https://www.charlottecountyfl.gov/news/Pages/How-To-Festival-Jan-6.aspx

• We had an event called “Once Upon a Time in Punta Gorda”. This is an intergenerational community dinner where elders told stories of Punta Gorda when they were growing up to children situated at their tables. At the end of the three session, the children wrote stories about this experience.

• Punta Gorda was highlighted in two events in Collier County at the Everglades Museum’s annual Marjory Stoneman Douglas on (MSD) History & Heritage Festival, which celebrates the region’s unique past with five days of presentations by a wide variety of authors, scientists, historians, and adventurers, and at event sponsored by the Naples Friends of the Library, Martha Bireda, Director of the Blanchard House Museum and Board Member of the CHC, will be provided a presentation entitled: “Working Together: The Unique Sociology of Punta Gorda”. A brief description of the presentation: “By 1885, Jim Crow was fully entrenched in Florida's laws and customs. Even so, four African American landholders and voters were part of the 34 men who incorporated the town of Punta Gorda in 1887. An African American postmaster was appointed in 1889. Blacks and whites worked together to tame the Southwest Florida frontier and to create a thriving community. Punta Gorda, exceptional in its race relations was one of the first school districts to voluntarily integrate in 1964. Hear and see the fascinating story of this small southern town.” These presentations will be at the: Museum of the Everglades, Everglades City at 9 a.m., and the Headquarters Regional Library in Naples at 1 p.m. https://colliermuseums.com/calendarevent/15th-annual-msd-history-heritage-festival

OUR MODEL

The CHC has expressed to VISIT FLORIDA its plan to combine three strong heritage tourism models in the creation of its Center in Charlotte County.

1. The Institute of Texan Cultures at the University of Texas San Antonio: "The Institute of Texan Cultures gives voice to the experience of people from across the globe who call Texas home, providing insight into the past, present, and future. At its core, the Institute of Texan Cultures is a lesson in diversity and it shows the uniqueness and beauty of the many cultures that came to Texas. It shows the contributions those cultures have made to the state's character, through music and dance, food, stories and traditions, religion, artisan skills, and ways of life." This is a link to information about the Institute of Texan Cultures: http://www.texancultures.com/

2. The Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C.: The Smithsonian Folklife Festival, launched in 1967, is an international exhibition of living cultural heritage presented annually in the summer in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is held on the National Mall for two weeks around the Fourth of July holiday. The Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage produces the Festival. This event is co-sponsored by the countries who are featured that year. Performance groups, artists, craftspeople, and culinary experts from these countries provide those in attendance with an opportunity to truly experience the featured cultures. People travel from all over the country and from all over the world to attend this annual

event. With our state's rich cultural diversity, the Cultural Heritage Center can facilitate events on a similar scale. This is a link for the Folklife Festival: https://festival.si.edu/

3. The Polk County Historical Center: The Polk County brings to live the beginnings of Polk County to the present. The Polk County Historical Center does a tremendous job of making history relevant to the present-day and is a VISIT FLORIDA Welcome Center. This is a link for the Center: https://www.polkcounty. net/history-center/

WHO WE ARE

The Youth Museum & Cultural Heritage Center is a place that takes residents and visitors on a journey from the State's pioneer and indigenous beginnings to the kaleidoscope of cultures that it has become. It is widely held that Charlotte County and Punta Gorda, in particular, is in the unique position to host the first Cultural Heritage Center in the state, because it still maintains its connection to its past through its special balance of Old Florida, Gulf Coast, and Seasonal Residents. Additionally, Punta Gorda Airport has been the fastest growing airport in the country for the last 5 years, an airport that facilitates tourism travel for the entire region.

TODAY

We are applying for funding from the State of Florida to assist us in relocating a Historic Home on the State Registry to a lot adjacent to the Blanchard House Museum . This historic home will be located to the property behind the Blanchard House Museum. This property belongs to the Bernice A. Russell Community Development Corporation. The builder, Charlotte Harbor Construction, is providing the house to the CDC/Blanchard House Museum for its expansion, and the CDC/Blanchard House Museum is taking responsibility for its renovation and opening it to the public for community enjoyment.

Benefits of Relocating the Historic Home

The benefits of relocating the home to this location are many:

First, a historic home can be saved and preserved.

Second, the home will remain in the Historic District.

Third, the renovation of the home will provide an opportunity to create an addition to the Blanchard House Museum which will focus on the redevelopment of the Historic Cochran Street Business District. The Cochran Street Business District was a vital aspect of the Punta Gorda economy until the mid-1960s.

Fourth, this house will be the home for the Cultural Heritage Center of Southwest Florida. This is the State’s first cultural heritage center; a place the celebrates our pioneer and indigenous beginnings, and the diverse community we have become. Cultural affinity groups from Charlotte, Lee, Collier, Desoto, Sarasota, and Manatee counties, as members, come together to celebrate our combined cultural contributions to the development and economy of the region and the State of Florida as a whole.

Fifth, as part of the Cultural Heritage Center, the Cochran Street Historical Center will  provide an opportunity for this rich history to be told, to honor those families responsible for economic vitality of the community, and for the creation of  a center to encourage and cultivate the entrepreneurial interests of Punta Gorda and Charlotte County youth. This Center will further assist in the revitalization of this historic area of the City.

Sixth, the Cultural Heritage Center will be a self-sustaining enterprise that will spark the redevelop a part of the downtown business district that was source of economic vitality for the city of for many decades.

Historic Cochran Street Business District

Unlike many cities in the United States, Punta Gorda was unique in that it did not have a segregated housing and business districts. From the beginning, Punta Gorda was a socially integrated community. Over time due the presence of historical African-American churches east of US-41, a concentration of African-American owned businesses developed on Cochran (presently Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd), in the area that had formerly been where the cigar industry was located. This area became an essential economic driver for the city and known throughout the region for its lively arts and entertainment scene. Despite being essential to the economic and social integrity of downtown, in 1965 City Council began an effort to force public housing on the city’s residents despite strong protests from residents because there was no need for it in the city. This struggle to preserve the integrity of downtown’s historic homes and the Cochran St Business District lasted three years, with highly-respected city resident Berlin Bailey appealing directly to Robert Weaver, then Secretary of HUD (US Department of Housing and Urban Development) to not allow the city to destroy an entire neighborhood of historic homes and a business district patronized by those living in these homes. This effort was to no avail. The city then, through imminent domain, destroyed countless historic homes in the area around Cochran St, which led to the immediate decline and eventual disappearance of the Cochran Street Business District. This was followed two decades later by rezoning which cost the downtown the loss of additional historic homes.  In shattering the economic stability of downtown through these actions, downtown Punta Gorda began a trend of decay that peaked in the 1980s and lasted until the destruction brought by Hurricane Charley, which brought insurance money that put a new facelift on downtown. Downtown Punta Gorda was never historically divided by US-41. In 2017, the City Council began a process of reuniting the downtown into one neighborhood. The next step in this effort, is the revitalization of the economic vitality of the entire downtown.

Youth Museum & Cultural Heritage Center of Southwest Florida

The Cultural Heritage Center will serve three purposes:

One, to serve as permanent home for the Youth Museum & Cultural Heritage Center of Southwest Florida.

Two, to showcase and highlight the Historic Cochran Business District, making this permanent exhibit an attraction for both the city’s residents and tourists. The Blanchard House Museum is a Charter Member of the Smithsonian African American History Museum, and has presented its exhibits at the Smithsonian. It additionally is a member of state and national museum networks, promoting Punta Gorda and its history throughout the country.

Three, to reinvigorate the economic vitality of Dr. MLK Jr Blvd and downtown east of US-41 overall. The Blanchard House Museum will open the Historical Center which will highlight the economic and social vitality that was the Cochran Street Business District. Within this Center, will be the Cultural Heritage Center giftshop, selling cultural items from among its organizational membership; and a restaurant which will provide the city’s residents with African-American and Caribbean cuisine made with organic ingredients and prepared in healthy manner. The restaurant will be run by two organic chefs, one which is also a Registered Nurse. This restaurant will spark an economic renewal of the immediate area, as several commercial landowners in the vicinity are committed to building an arts & entertainment district east of US 41.