Blackwell hosts ‘Collaborative Ideas Workshop’

MARFA — The National Parks Conservation Association, The Blackwell School Alliance and Visit Marfa will host a “Collaborative Ideas Workshop” over three days for the Blackwell School National Historic Site community to join urban planning, architecture and historic preservation professionals and visualize what’s next for Blackwell. 

The workshop sessions will envision what this important historic treasure needs for the future and how to make that vision a reality. From October 24 to 26, professional planners, architects, engineers, historians, local business, tourism and cultural leaders, people whose lives are entwined with the Blackwell School story, neighborhood and Marfa residents, nonprofit groups, and others will come together to envision what this new national park site needs to better connect with visitors, residents, the neighborhood, the city, region and beyond.

The schedule includes:

Thursday, October 24 from 5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. — Community input session

Friday, October 25 from 9 a.m. – 3:00pm – Vision workshop

Saturday, October 26 from noon – 2 p.m. – Community open house

For the Friday, October 25, session, people will break into teams and generate ideas for:

• Creating a sense of place;

• Building the Blackwell experience, and;

• Connecting Blackwell to the community and region

All Blackwell Blueprint events will be held at Blackwell School National Historic Site, 501 South Abbot Street, Marfa.

The teams will use the community input and many previous studies and plans involving the city and Blackwell School as a basis for the workshop. The concepts, visuals and recommendations from the workshop will be on display for the public on Saturday, October 26, from noon to 2 p.m.

Learn more about The Blackwell Blueprint at www.npca.org/blackwell. 

“Blackwell School National Historic Site represents a critical addition to our National Park System and offers a great opportunity for people who advocated to establish this site to now collaborate on its success,” said Cristobal Lopez, field representative for the National Parks Conservation Association. “We are all looking forward to generating ideas that better connect visitors and residents to Blackwell, expand the stories into the neighborhood, and develop stronger physical connections between Blackwell, the city and the tri-county region.” 

“A national park site is what most cities can only dream of having,” said Jenna Conners, director of tourism for the City of Marfa. “We are proud to be working together with the community to envision what Blackwell School National Historic Site needs to be a new and great asset for the region’s tourism.” 

“For nearly 20 years The Alliance has kept this place secure and these stories quietly alive,” said Daniel Hernandez, president of The Blackwell School Alliance. “Today we are working with others to envision how we can turn up the volume on these stories and extend the Blackwell experience into the community and the region.”