Abstract
The author considers the proposition that a historic preservation strategy helps unify progrowth coalitions. Preservation was facilitated by restructuring development policies in response to the breakdown of urban renewal coalitions. In New York City, the preservation of historic theaters mobilized support for office development by redefining the 42nd Street Development Project as an effort to restore the theater district known as the Great White Way in an area symbolizing urban decline. Although this case illustrates the importance of preservation to political discourse in urban development, cases in Atlanta and New Orleans reveal different results from preservation strategies and demonstrate the need for case-specific political analysis.

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