The Commission operates a statewide historical preservation program that identifies and protects historic buildings, districts, structures, and archaeological sites. The Commission also develops and carries out programs to document and celebrate the rich cultural heritage of Rhode Island's people. Our state's historic buildings are an important resource for the present and future of Rhode Island. Old buildings provide needed housing and industrial and commercial space. They serve as cultural centers and as educational resources. The state's historic properties are major attractions for Rhode Island's billion-dollar tourism industry. The Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission recognizes our state's remarkable ethnic diversity and the contributions that Indigenous peoples and immigrants from around the world have made to Rhode Island's social, economic, political, and cultural history. For more than four decades, the Commission has supported and maintained a state heritage program by sponsoring and coordinating an annual Rhode Island Heritage Festival; promoting heritage festivals, seminars, conferences, symposiums, and publications of other public agencies and nonprofit organizations.