Preservation Magazine

As the United States of America approaches its 250th anniversary, we are reflecting on the ideals that shaped the nation and the ongoing work of realizing them.

As temperatures rise and sunlight hours lengthen, people seek ways to cool down: fans, ice, shade, and, of course, swimming pools. In June, we asked readers of the National Trust’s weekly email newsletter to share which historic pool they would love to swim in. We received great responses from readers across the country, a sampling of which we share below. If you could dive into any historic pool in the United States, which would it be? Bonus points for any great stories or memories to share.

More than $9.2 million has been raised for the rehabilitation of Milwaukee’s Mitchell Park Domes, the Milwaukee Domes Alliance announced on June 23, 2026. This represents more than half of the private funding needed to break ground on Phase 1 of the project, which will include rehabilitating the three domes and adding visitor amenities. The overall project also includes $35 million in historic tax credit financing, $30 million from Milwaukee County, and $15 million in other public funding sources.

During World War II, following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. government forcibly removed approximately 126,000 Japanese Americans from their homes and incarcerated them in camps across the western U.S. Two-thirds of those incarcerated were American citizens. It stands as one of the most egregious violations of civil rights in the country’s history. What would become the largest of the incarceration camps opened in May 1942 at Tule Lake, in northern California.

photo by: Priya Chhaya This final recap of the Route 66 Centennial Caravan—organized by the Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership with support from the National Trust for Historic Preservation—covers ten days and 4.5 states. From June 16-June 25 this intrepid group of travelers journeyed from Amarillo, Texas, through Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois. Many of the stops were supported by grants from the National Trust’s Route 66 Initiative.

In 1995, Pixar released the first Toy Story movie forever, connecting a generation of adults and children to Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Rex, Slinky, Mr. Potato Head, Bo Peep, and Hamm. Told from the perspective of the toys, the film shared a message of connection, joy, and growing up—tackling complicated themes along the way. Like the film shows, toys were meant for entertainment but throughout history they also shaped socialization skills, good behavior, and creativity.

There are moments in your career that stay with you. This is one of them. A twenty-year journey has brought me here, where I am proud to be stepping into the role of the 11th President and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the largest historic preservation organization in the United States.

photo by: Priya Chhaya In the days since our last recap, the Route 66 Centennial Caravan—organized by the Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership with support from the National Trust for Historic Preservation—stopped in communities large and small across Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.

Built in 1907, the Francis Scott Key Public School served Chicago’s South Austin neighborhood for more than a century before sitting vacant for decades. It is now the Field School, an independent elementary school helping to meet the needs of low-income students on Chicago’s West Side by providing rigorous and holistic education with a strong emphasis on arts programming, family engagement, and community revitalization for 400 local students.

Built heritage is not just a connection to the past—it is a source of powerful climate action solutions for the future. Heritage-informed decarbonization solutions that blend technical and cultural approaches are needed in a sector striving to meet increasingly urgent climate targets. And yet, policies and regulations often leave aside or actively create barriers to decarbonization through cultural heritage.