Nauvoo Illinois Historic Site: A Facilities Management Perspective

As the execution of facilities management becomes more sophisticated, specialized skill in managing specific types of buildings has become necessary. Maintaining historic structures and sites falls into this type of specialized classification. This paper is a case study review of the unique “best practices” at the Nauvoo Historic Site located in Nauvoo, Illinois. It outlines a facilities management model of common core practices that was developed by the author following an assessment of various similar historic preservation campuses and their responsibilities to accurately display historic culture while observing modern-day facilities management techniques. Although these best practices are of great value in Nauvoo, they are proposed to be valuable to other sites as well. The current Nauvoo Facilities Management (NFM) organization will be reviewed and will focus on the unique challenges associated with historic restored and reconstructed structures. The paper will also examine the use of specific facilities management techniques, visitor events, livestock, workforce dynamics, finances, managing NFM within the corporate structure of a worldwide religious organization, and the part that NFM plays in community relations.