Wright Sites nominated to UNESCO World Heritage List

Well, not really nominated yet, but the National Park Service is proposing to nominate that various Wright Brothers sites here (along with a number of Mound Builder sites). The DDN hasa nice article on it.

Compared to Europe the USA, Canada, and Mexico don't have too much on this list. The US has only 3 post-contact cultural landmarks on the list: Independence Hall, the Statue of Liberty, and (as one site) Monticello and the original University of Virginia campus.

The rest of the US sites are natural landmarks or pre-Columbian sites like Chaco Canyon and Cahokia.

The European list has things as diverse as an old steel mill in the Saarland, a geodetic arc in Baltic region, the Ironbridge Valley industrial site in England and the Rhine Gorge cultural/natural landscape, as well as the expected castles, palaces, and cathederals.

The Euros are not shy about using the UNESCO World Heritage designation for tourism purposes, as I've seen tourist things for the Rhine gorge that mention this. If they Dayton sites get nominated this will certainly bring world attention to the area and may lead to more foreign visitors.

For more on the list follow this link to a nice Wiki article + links to the global lists.