| It is important to us to remember our history by preserving the past. Historic designations on the federal, state, and local levels serve as an important mechanism for identifying our historic resources.
Where may a property be designated as an historic property?
A property may be listed in the National Register of Historic Places, a state register of historic places, or a local register. The laws regarding state and local registers vary from state to state, and the relevant state or local laws should be consulted for further details.
What is the National Register of Historic Places?
The National Register of Historic Places is an official list of historic resources on the federal level. The National Register of Historic Places was established by the Historic Sites Act of 1935. Later, Congress again addressed the National Register of Historic Places in the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. The National Register of Historic Places includes buildings, sites, districts, structures, and other objects of significance. The National Register of Historic Places is maintained by the National Park Service.
What Are the Criteria Used by the National Park Service?
The criteria used by the National Park Service are found in the Code of Federal Regulations at 36 C.F.R. ¤60.4. The section provides, in part, as follows:
The quality of significance in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture is present in districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that possess integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association and
(a) that are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or
(b) that are associated with the lives of persons significant in our past; or
(c) that embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or
(d) that have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.
State and local criteria regarding historic designations may be reflective of the criteria set forth in the federal regulation.
For more information on historic designations, contact the historic preservation office for your area, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, or the National Park Service. Copyright 2010 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. |