In addition to our natural heritage, Downers Grove enjoys an immense cultural heritage, with widely varied neighborhoods, historic buildings and sites. Prince Pond as well as  the historic Prince subdivision harkens back to an earlier period of Downers Grove.  The downtown business district reflects small town life with modern amenities. 

The Pierce Downers Heritage Alliance is a founding member of the Downers Grove Coalition for Managed Redevelopment, an organization dedicated to managing redevelopment in Downers Grove in a way that promotes growth while maintaining our rich cultural, architectural, and natural heritage, as well as our economic prosperity. Our mission is to establish a common voice that assists in the management of growth in our community.

Historic Preservation in Downers Grove:
 
Downers Grove has a historic preservation plan and ordinance, administered by the Architectural Design Review Board (ADRB).  The ordinance provides a way for individuals and neighbors to preserve their houses or neighborhoods through landmarking and creation of historic districts.  For further information, a good point to start is with the Downers Grove Community Development webpage, http://www.downers.us/govt/departments/community-development - scroll down to the section on historic preservation.  It has links to pages for the ordinance, the ADRB, and a brochure that describes the landmarking process. 
 
Other resources: Illinois -
 
Illinois Historic Preservation Agency:  http://www.illinoishistory.gov/
 
Landmarks Illinois:  http://www.landmarks.org/
 
Other resources: national –
 
National Trust for Historic Preservation:  http://www.preservationnation.org/  A compendium of information and tools regarding teardowns and redevelopment may be found at http://www.preservationnation.org/issues/teardowns/.