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Rosie Polter, a student in Northern Kentucky University’s Masters in Public Administration (MPA) graduate program, describes the moment she decided to switch her undergraduate focus from neuroscience to archaeology as “serendipitous.” The morning before her orientation, what she refers to as a “divine intervention moment” carried her to the archaeology department, where she quickly found both her footing and a new passion—the world of historic preservation. And she followed this passion to a role with the State Historic Preservation Office, based in Columbus, Ohio.
 
“I discovered the field of historic preservation through my archaeology degree,” Rosie says, “and fell in love with it because of its duality—bringing together the past and present in the same time, at the same place.” 

In 2016, Rosie officially became a historic preservation consultant. One year later, she founded her own company—Above & Below Preservation—and landed a project with the City of Cincinnati to write the conservation guidelines for local historic districts.

“What studying archaeology and working in historic preservation has taught me is that everything has multiple life histories, whether it’s people, places or things,” says Rosie. “You can see this in neighborhoods that have experienced revitalization such as Over-the-Rhine, where I have focused most of my work as a historic preservation consultant.” 

By 2018, Rosie decided to go deeper into her field via NKU’s MPA program. She teamed up with Dr. Darrin Wilson to create a rubric that measured the impact that historic tax credits have on community development. This rubric was presented by Rosie and Dr. Wilson on Sept. 20, 2019, at the Midwest Public Affairs Conference, and the presentation was a conference highlight. 

Looking to the future, Rosie is now working on her capstone project, Cincinnati Heritage Project, which she describes as “creative placekeeping” and was inspired largely by San Francisco Planning Department's Social Heritage Program. Rosie and her team will hold pop-up events in Price Hill, Walnut Hills and Camp Washington to engage with residents to share their stories during a time of rapid neighborhood change. The plan is to document cultural assets from these stories though an online inventory made available through the City of Cincinnati's website. 

“I’d like to see people using this information to keep the cultural heritage of our neighborhoods in consideration during rapid redevelopment,” she says. “The people who feel the pressures of neighborhood revitalization don’t always have a voice.” 

The information provided by the Cincinnati Heritage Project could also aid in getting neighborhoods around the city recognized as cultural heritage districts. With program director Julie Olberding and project partner Joe Ewald by her side, Rosie hopes the project will gain national attention. It has recently been accepted by ioby's Artists Lead! program, a crowdfunding platform that focuses on creative community projects.

“Most of the buildings I’ve documented haven’t been touched in at least 20 years,” says Rosie. “I often come across things left behind by previous tenants, and it is through these objects that the past transcends and stories live on. I feel like part of my duty working in this field, and where I find the most meaning, is to safeguard those stories. However not all stories are attached to an object—some are intangible and attached to the people who cycle in and out of our built environment. 

“Capturing those intangible pieces of culture that shape our neighborhoods is what has inspired this project.”

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