Colorado's Main Streets brings together a series of walking tours created by the historical societies or history museums from five Colorado communities:  Denver, Littleton, Loveland, Sterling and Westminster.  Working in collaboration with the CDP were Historic Denver Inc's Molly Brown House Museum, the Littleton Historical Museum, the Loveland Museum and Gallery, Overland Trails Museum in Sterling, Colorado and the Westminster Historical Society.  These groups expanded and enhanced their walking tours and made them accessible via the web.  Web access means that the tours are now available at all times to all individuals, thereby overcoming accessibility issues (a critical issue in many historic buildings and sites).  

Colorado Main Streets supports the historic preservation community’s efforts to educate the public about the value of preservation and the role historic structures play in livable communities, as well as encouraging heritage tourism and offering opportunities for students and teachers to use the sites as an educational tool.  Colorado's Main Streets was created by BCR’s CDP with support from the Colorado Historical Society State Historical Fund and the Colorado State Library.

There are many reasons to preserve historic resources. The primary reason is to preserve our country's unique history and heritage. Historic places remind us of our roots and past activities. Preservation occurs all across the country and focuses on what makes a community different, interesting or special. Preservation is not just the saving of resources that belonged to the rich; it also involves those resources associated with diverse cultures. For example, the African American dryland farming community of Dearfield (CO) is now a ghost town and has been stabilized by both historic preservationists and archeologists. It is critical that we continue to preserve a broad range of resources so that the history of our nation can be seen through our built environment.

There is also economic value to the community. Historic preservation creates more jobs than new construction. Historic preservation also encourages heritage tourism (tourism that focuses on visiting historic places). This type of tourism is important. A family who visits a historic place tends to stay longer and spend more money in the local economy than those tourists who visit for sports or recreational reasons. (For more information on the economic benefits of historic preservation visit The Economic Impact of Historic Preservation in Colorado.)

Preservation encourages neighborhood revitalization — the activity of improving the look and conditions in a neighborhood. Revitalizing neighborhoods is important as it can lower crime, create civic pride and give people a renewed quality of life. Preservation also encourages the maintenance of neighborhoods that do not need revitalization for the same reasons — to preserve the quality of life in a community.