Historic preservation is vital for maintaining a community’s identity, prosperity and connection to its past. By safeguarding architecturally and culturally significant buildings and neighborhoods, preservation ensures that unique character is not lost to homogenized development.

Over the past few months, the St. Joseph’s Nurses Home and two districts — the Kirkwood Park neighborhood and a portion of East Brackenridge Street — have been added to the National Register of Historic Places. Such a designation could qualify the properties for historic tax credits or grant funding offered through the state or federal government.

The St. Joseph’s Nurses Home, 835 Van Buren St., was constructed in 1928 and expanded in 1945. It’s a physical record of the evolution of the nursing profession and a

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