The City of Erie hosted the first of three public meetings Monday night to educate the community on how historic preservation works and how it can benefit the community.

The plan is to open a dialogue about some of Erie’s most treasured and historic landmarks and offer strategies and guidance for how historic preservation can be used to revitalize the city.

Representatives from the Chicago-based Lakota Group have worked on projects like this in other cities around the country.

“Cities change, they evolve and keeping the most important parts of our cities, whether it’s buildings, sites and parks, is really important to maintaining community identity,” said Nick Kalogeresis, associate principal, Lakota Group.

The second of the three meetings was held Tuesday, Dec. 13, at the Performing Artists Collective Alliance (PACA) building. The third meeting is at the Cathedral of Saint Paul beginning at 7 p.m.