Public/Private Partnership

Both the public and private sectors have a vital interest in the district and must work together to achieve common goals of Main Street's revitalization. Each sector has a role to play and each must understand the other's strengths and limitations in order to forge an effective partnership. This category salutes the partnerships that help Main Street organizations achieve their goals.

Sense of Place SMSP Banners

On behalf of the City of Sedona Historic Preservation Commission, Sedona Historical Society and the Sedona Main Street Program we proudly nominate the Historic Uptown Sedona Self-Guided Walking Tour for Best Public/Private Partnership.  

We three community organizations worked together to create a script for a walking tour of historic Uptown Sedona (Sedona Main Street District) in 2002.  Since then, a guided tour has been given every year during National Historic Preservation Month. Many requests were made (Chamber of Commerce, Lodging Council, etc) to make an ongoing or self-guided historic walking tour available year round, not just one month.  So the Historic Uptown Sedona Self Guided Walking Tour Brochure was developed to fill this need and is now available to visitors and residents.   

This self-guided walking tour brochure provides consistent and flexible education that contributes a wealth of information to the visitors’ sense that Sedona is a special historical ‘place’. The Guide provides exposure to Sedona Main Street District’s physical, cultural, architectural and developmental history also.   

Since the Guide’s creation in late 2005 almost all 5000 copies have been distributed. They have added a personal dimension to the Uptown Sedona visitor pedestrian experience.  Uptown Sedona was the town’s main commercial district from the 1940s to the 1980s.  Though this area has much new development, most in the last 30 years, at least a dozen historic structures stand strong and exist well intermixed with many sites and remnants of places typical of a small towns long-ago.   

A few examples of Historic structures and remnants included in brochure:

• First Official Storefront Post Office in Sedona
• Sedona’s first Real Estate Office
• The site of Sedona’s first Church
• Sedona First Fire Station (also the Blacksmith Shop, Garage and Community Center)
• The AZ State shaped door handles of the first Sedona Bank, also location of Elvis Presley movie  
• Round imprints & different sidewalk materials marking second gas station and bus depot location
• The façade & saloon doors of original Oak Creek Tavern (where Cowboy Artists of America began)

With additional interest and positive feedback from highlighted properties and guests, the Historic Preservation Commission is currently working on a program to place historic plaques on several of those historic buildings mentioned in the guide.  These plaques add to the stories of the buildings and create additional interest.  The first of these plaques were installed in May 2007 and the Commission envisions it an ongoing program over the next 2-3 years as funds are made available.   

This Guide has spurred citizen awareness and support for Historic Preservation, even generating requests for Local Landmark designation. The availability and use of this Guide has resulted in increased awareness of Sedona as a place with a rich and unique history by both residents and visitors.  It has also contributed to increased interest in development of walking tours of other historic areas of Sedona. We are proud to nominate our Public/Private partnership for the Arizona Main Street 2008 Award.