Brownfields Metamorphosis—From 

Abandoned Properties to Cultural 

Celebrations 

CULTURAL REUSES 

One of the objectives of the Brownfields Pilot Program is to enable a community to "take back the land" and 

make it not only useful and productive, but something to call 

their own–a space or structure that is unique to their community. Though economic revitalization is the cornerstone of 

the Brownfields Program, more and more communities are 

looking to redevelop brownfields properties to represent and 

preserve their history and culture. Several brownfields communities are in the process of constructing new buildings or 

renovating old buildings as museums and cultural and educational community centers. Many communities also have efforts underway to restore and preserve historic districts. All 

of the Brownfields Pilots participating in culture-oriented redevelopment target economically distressed communities 

where former industrial sites have been passed over for redevelopment because of the stigma of environmental contamination. 

In the City of Tacoma, Washington, a 1.6-acre brownfield 

site is being transformed into the Museum of Glass. The 

museum will spotlight an internationally acclaimed local glass 

artist, Dale Chihuly, as well as glass artists from around the 

world. In 1996, the City of Tacoma was awarded a $200,000 

Brownfields Assessment Pilot grant to help encourage economic growth and redevelopment of the downtown area, focusing its efforts on the western side of the Thea Foss Waterway. This area includes a 1.5-mile inlet of the Commencement Bay that was originally developed as an industrial zone, 

housing numerous mill and maritime activities and serving as 

a terminal for Northern Pacific Railroad. During the last few 

decades, this area lost most of its industry, leaving abandoned 

buildings, contaminated properties, and high unemployment. 

Almost half of the area residents live below the poverty line. 

The Pilot conducted assessments at the site and facilitated 

the purchase of the property with a provision that the new 

JUST THE FACTS: • In Tacoma, Washington, Brownfields Pilot 

assessments of a 1.6-acre brownfield led to a 

$1.3 million dollar cleanup and construction 

of a $58 million, privately-funded museum. 

• A former brownfield is also home to a new 

museum in Fayetteville, North Carolina–the 

$22.5 million, Airborne and Special Operations 

Museum (ASOM). 

• In Louisville, Kentucky, a former historic street 

rail car complex is being transformed into a 

$20 million African-American Heritage center 

and museum. 

Though economic revitalization is the 

cornerstone of the Brownfields 

Program, more and more 

communities are looking to redevelop 

brownfields properties to represent 

and preserve their history and culture. 

continued 8
CONTACTS:

EPA's Office of Outreach and Special 

Projects Staff 

(202) 260-4039 

Visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: 

http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/

owners conduct cleanup using city funds. acoma 

completed the $1.3 million cleanup. 

2000, and the museum is planning a July 2002 opening. 

museum is being constructed with all private funding. 

City of Tacoma is providing $8 million for construction of a parking 

garage, a rooftop public plaza, and esplanade. , state, and 

Federal Highway Administration will provide $4.8 million for a pedestrian walkway–the planned "Chihuly Bridge of Glass"–to link the 

area to downtown Tacoma. 

seum of Glass with large exhibits and displays of unique glass artwork 

donated by Dale Chihuly and the Glass Museum, valued at nearly $10 

million. 

way projects in downtown Tacoma. 

A new museum recently opened in the City of Fayetteville, North Carolina–the 

$22.5 million Airborne and Special Operations Museum (ASOM). 

Museum system, the new 59,000-square-foot museum is located on a 6.6-acre former brownfield 

that has been home to gas stations, car lots, and a building used by a local publishing company. 

The site's downtown location had been in decline since the 1970s, when businesses, manufacturers, and other facilities closed or relocated to outlying areas. 

brownfields and led to Cumberland County's federal designation as an Urban Distressed Community. 

the ASOM site. 

contamination from asbestos and petroleum, and the 

city and the museum shared the cost of cleanup, 

which included removal of underground storage 

tanks. 

variety of sources, including federal, state, 

and county grants, private donations, and 

contributions from military associations. 

The museum houses displays of the history, technology, weaponry, and equipment 

of the U.S. airborne and special operations 

from the first Parachute Test Platoon of the 

1940s to modern-day units. 

currently attracting 20,000 visitors each month, 

and that number is expected to increase as the state 

expands its promotional campaign, including featuring 

the museum on the cover of the 2001 state map. 

playing a significant part in the economic revitalization of downtown Fayetteville. 

reports that not far from the museum site, a new, $30 million performing arts center will anchor 

redevelopment of the Manufactured Gas Plant site, a 40-acre brownfield that will also be reused 

for an amphitheater and greenspace development. 

the spring of 2002. 

the city and Fayetteville State University, a historically black institution. 

continued 8

In 1996, the City of T

Ground was broken in September 

The $58 million 

In addition, the 

The city

The walkway will complement the MuThe Museum of Glass will be the cornerstone for future waterPart of the U.S. Army 

This migration created several 

The Fayetteville Brownfields Pilot coordinated the assessment and cleanup activities at 

Environmental site assessments revealed 

Funding for the museum came from a 

The museum is 

The ASOM is 

The Pilot 

Cleanup at this site is scheduled to begin in 

The performing arts center is being realized through a partnership between 

This project, along with 

Brownfields Success Story Solid Waste EPA-500-F-02-034 

Cultural Reuses and Emergency April 2002 

Response (5105) www.epa.gov/brownfields/ 
the ASOM, represents the city's commitment to cultural development, the environment, and improving the 

overall quality of life of the citizens of Fayetteville. 

There are a number of other cities that have culturally themed redevelopment plans underway. 

of Louisville, Kentucky, the Brownfields Assessment Pilot completed site assessment work to facilitate 

redevelopment of a former historic street rail car complex, commonly referred to as the "Trolley Barn," into 

a $20 million Kentucky Center for African-American Heritage and museum. 

mid-2003, will focus on the historical and cultural contributions of 

African-Americans to the entire region and celebrate AfricanAmerican art. 

Bethlehem Steel's former plant in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 

will soon be home to the National Museum of Industrial History, the first museum in the Smithsonian Institution's Affiliation Program. 

facts from the mid-nineteenth century have been loaned to the 

museum. 

spring 2002) until the museum is completed in 2004 or 2005. 

Bethlehem site is a unique twist on the brownfields redevelopment project in that the plant 

was able to prevent the site from actually becoming a brownfield by abiding by guidelines set by the federal 

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) during the plant's operation. 

In Prichard, Alabama, a nineteenth century railroad maintenance building that sits on a brownfield site will 

soon be home to the Casey Jones Museum and Park. 

between Mobile, Alabama, and Jackson, Tennessee. 

story of the legendary folk hero and will feature artifacts representing the history of the railroad. 

Several other cities with different types of Brownfields Pilots are redeveloping brownfields into cultural, 

educational, and community centers. egas, Nevada, a former National Guard Armory site, which 

was the first brownfield cleaned up under EPA's Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund, will soon be home to 

the East Las Vegas Cultural Center. 

a senior center as well as a small business incubator. argeted Brownfields Assessment in 

Honolulu, Hawaii, a waterfront brownfield is home to the Hawaii Children's Discovery Center. , 

with three floors of hands-on exhibits, was the first redevelopment project to be completed on the site, and 

there are plans for an aquarium and a youth theater as well as a school, housing, and parks. 

Santa Fe, New Mexico, is redeveloping a former 50-acre rail yard into a cultural center, recreational park 

and plaza, and industrial park. orcester, Massachusetts, the Central Massachusetts Economic Development Authority (CMEDA) is transforming part of an abandoned mill property into a visitors' center and 

museum with a history of the Industrial Revolution theme to celebrate the city's 200-year industrial and 

manufacturing history. 

All types of EPA's Brownfields Pilots in cities across the country are helping to restore brownfields and the 

neighborhoods that surround them into viable communities. 

opment projects not only promise economic benefits, they also bolster community pride as they celebrate 

the unique cultures and histories of their communities. 

In the City 

This redevelopment project, which is set to be completed 

Nearly 100 of the Smithsonian's industrial artiThey will be displayed at a Preview Center (opening in 

The 

John Luther "Casey" Jones worked the M&O line 

The historical preservation museum will present the 

In Las V

The Center will be built in a Spanish architecture style and will contain 

As part of a T

The Center

The City of 

In W

These culturally themed brownfields redevelBrownfields Success Story Solid Waste EPA-500-F-02-034 

Cultural Reuses and Emergency April 2002 

Response (5105) www.epa.gov/brownfields/