Out to save Old City Lafayette, one property at a time

Why Sean Lutes is on a mission to help property owners save some of Lafayette’s oldest structures. ‘It just something I need to do.’

Thanks to today’s Based in Lafayette sponsors, including:

• Purdue University, presenting the next in the Presidential Lecture Series, featuring Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan. President Mitch Daniels will host Noonan in a Q&A format at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 17, in Fowler Hall at Purdue’s Stewart Center. Admission is free.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

• The Long Center for the Performing Arts, presenting The Wizards of Winter on Nov. 18. The 11-member ensemble features former members of classic rock giants: The Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Def Leppard, Rainbow, Alice Cooper, Blue Oyster Cult and Broadway stars. Celebrate the season with Wizards of Winter. Tickets: www.longpac.org

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OUT TO SAVE OLD CITY LAFAYETTE, ONE PROPERTY AT A TIME

Rare is a Lafayette City Council in the past year or so without a piece of Lafayette being put forward as individual historic districts, a recent tactic to deal with historic preservation one bite at a time.

Behind most of those is Sean Lutes, president of Lafayette’s Historic Preservation Commission and resident Old City advocate behind the Facebook feed, Preserve Historic Lafayette.

(If you’re not following the site that updates projects in and around downtown Lafayette – spotlighting places doing it right and places that could do it better – today’s the day to fix that.)

Sean Lutes (Photo: Dave Bangert)

“I wouldn’t even say most,” John Collier, assistant director of the city’s economic development department, said. “This is all Sean, practically. … He has all this knowledge. And he has this knack for getting property owners to want to get on board.”