Could the Blue Ridge Parkway finally become an official historic landmark?
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — In May, a committee of the National Park Service will consider National Historic Landmark designation for 11 nominated sites. Among them is North Carolina and Virginia’s Blue Ridge Parkway.
The 469-mile-long parkway was nominated for designation for being the pinnacle achievement of the American parkway movement of the early 20th century, its associations with important trends and events related to automobile tourism and its masterwork of landscape architecture and transportation engineering.
It was the most visited national park in 2022, but it isn’t exactly a park
Senator Ted Budd (R-NC) sent a letter to National Park Service Director Charles Sams III encouraging the Department of Interior and the National Historic Landmarks Committee to designate the Blue Ridge Parkway as a National Historic Landmark. In that letter, he says the Blue Ridge Parkway “serves as a gateway for millions of Americans to experience the region’s unique culture and heritage.”
“Noted for its scenic beauty, incredible hiking trails, and accessible tranquility,” the letter reads, “This historic landmark’s distinction cannot be replicated anywhere else in the United States or the world.”
Senator Budd highlighted the parkway’s economic contributions, noting the 15 million visitors who spent nearly $1.3 billion in and around the parkway in 2022.
The National Historic Landmark committee will discuss the parkway at their May meeting. Also under consideration will be the F.W. Woolworth Company Building in Greensboro for its significance to the civil rights movement. The building was the location of the 1960 lunch counter sit-ins by four N.C. A&T students who came to be known as the Greensboro Four.
The National Historic Landmark committee will make a decision on what to recommend to the National Park System Advisory Board for consideration. At its subsequent meeting, the NPSAB will vote on whether to take that recommendation to the Secretary of the Interior. Final decisions will be made by the Secretary of the Interior.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS17.com.
