Historic Resources Marketing and Interpretation Plan

Consultants to create an implementable framework for celebrating, interpreting, and promoting the City’s historic resources with a focus on the City’s National Register-listed historic districts, including Downtown, Broadway, and the U.S. Housing Corporation District, as well as local landmarks and districts.
1. Existing Conditions and Best Practices: Review existing historic interpretation, marketing materials, historic resource inventories, programming, and target audiences. Identify gaps and opportunities
and benchmark relevant practices in comparable communities.
2. Stakeholder Engagement & Collaboration: Engage the Preservation Commission and appropriate community partners, including the Rock Island Downtown Alliance, Rock Island Preservation Society,
Broadway Historic District Association, Rock Island Public Library, Visit Quad Cities, and other regional partners, to identify priorities and opportunities for coordination.
3. Interpretation & Marketing Strategy: Develop recommendations for:
a. Digital tools, including web/app-based tours, interactive mapping, multimedia content, and QR-enabled content;
b. Physical interpretation, including historic plaques, wayfinding, and central interpretive features;
c. In-person programming, including guided tours, educational workshops, community celebrations, and partner-led events; and
d. Marketing and outreach strategies for residents, visitors, and students.
4. Branding & Coordination: Ensure recommendations complement existing City branding efforts and avoid duplication or competing identities, including guidance on visual integration, messaging, and coordination among partners.
5. Implementation Plan: Provide a prioritized short-, mid-, and long-term roadmap identifying recommended projects, responsible parties, estimated costs, potential funding sources, and implementation steps.
6. Final Deliverables: Provide the final plan as a single searchable PDF with photographs, along with editable source files.