Like losing the World War II veterans, losing connections to Jefferson City’s history is just as concerning, said Art Hernandez, chairman of the city’s Historic Preservation Commission.
May is National Historic Preservation Month and the commission is hoping to inspire the community to learn more about its history.
“It’s fascinating to hear people talk about the city’s history, to learn how Jefferson City has changed over the years,†said Hernandez, who moved to Jefferson City in 2008. “It’s what makes Jefferson City special — it has that character that we’re preserving and promoting.â€
The commission’s annual Landmark Award designations are a good education tool, he said.
“I enjoy reading the information they provide,†Hernandez said.
For example, 2016 Landmark recipient ECCO Lounge, now a restaurant, originally was Farmers Home, a hotel and livery.
But it’s the Missouri State Penitentiary that Hernandez has given his attention.
“It defines a lot of what Jefferson City was for the first 150 years; it was the economic powerhouse of the city,†he said.
With a symbiotic connection to the prison, the Capitol Avenue neighborhood “is reflective of the people who worked at the prison.â€
Before Hernandez was appointed to the commission in 2010, he said his knowledge of Jefferson City history extended little beyond what could be found on Wikipedia.
As an intense, lifelong learner, he has been learning and listening since. Five years on the commission prepared him for his first term as chairman this year.
His background as an attorney — graduating from Vermont Law School in 2007 and currently operating a general practice — has helped as the commission developed ordinance changes to be approved by the council, which would give the commission more influence.
“I wanted to provide some direction for where we want to be in the next five to 10 years,†Hernandez said.
One key is cultivating working relationships with other historic preservation-minded organizations, such as the Historic City of Jefferson, the city’s Cemetery Resource Board and the State Historic Preservation Office, he said.
Hernandez also has been vocal about the prison’s value, especially when the state’s Office of Administration blocked its nomination to the National Register of Historic Places last year.
He earned a degree in anthropology from Texas A&M and joined the Missouri Bar Association in 2007. After working mostly criminal law, Hernandez opened his own practice in 2011 to learn other fields, he said. He is the only full-time immigration office in Jefferson City, working complex cases including deportation and asylum. And he represents Neighbors United from northeast Missouri, which has opposed the Mark Twain Transmission Project.
Hernandez grew up in Texas but began his legal career in Mid-Missouri, where his wife, Jennifer, also practices, currently employed with the attorney general. They have five children — Jena and Stephanie are in college; Amelia, first grade; Artie Jr., pre-K; and Allison, 8 months.
“Jefferson City is my home now, where I know my kids will grow up in a good community,†he said.