As far as I know the Heritage Centre concept emerged (at least in the UK) from civic concern to stimulate interest in architecture and conservation. As such they were referred to als Architectural Interpretation Centres, urban studies centres, and/or urban (historic) visitor centres. The first Heritage Centres were opened in response to European Architectural Heritage Year 1975. The Civic Trust defined the heritage centre as "a permanent exhibition with the evolution of the whole community as its theme. If it has a bias towards buildings and architecture this is only because these are the main visible evidence for the community's development. pre-occupations and aspirations" (1985). A first national survey was published by the Civic Trust in 1985.This report described 38 heritage centres from the UK. The term heritage centre is introduced in Canada independently and in a slightly different meaning. Perhaps our Canadian colleagues can say something on this. Peter van Mensch Reinwardt Academie Amsterdam [log in to unmask] > -----Original Message----- > From: Adriaan Linters [SMTP:[log in to unmask]] > Sent: Sunday, April 01, 2001 7:00 PM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: heritage centers > > Just to ask if anybody has a good definition of "heritage center" - as far > as I understand a place where (local ? regional ?) heritage is interpreted > to the public. Has the term somewhere been used or defined in an > adminsitrative or legal text, or is there a fundamental publication which > offers a definition. > > How do "heritage centers" relate to museums and historic buildings open to > the public ? > > ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).