Preserving Calistoga

Abstract

The city of Calistoga located in the upper Napa Valley is a living cultural landscape defined by product and processes associated with agriculture and tourism. While the historic fabric remains largely intact, development pressures due to a paucity of adequate preservation mechanisms seriously threatens the historic integrity of Calistoga’s cultural landscape. This thesis identifies appropriate and innovative techniques to encourage preservation of Calistoga’s historic resources and the relationships that exist between them. A thorough investigation of the developmental history of the city and the national preservation movement provides a basis from which to analyze the landscape characteristics and understand Calistoga’s regulatory framework in a larger context. The relationships existing between the various sources of information illuminate the strengths and shortcomings of the current status quo and act as the basis for management recommendations.