National Register of Historic Places
Encyclopedia
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred preserving the property.
The passage of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA)
in 1966 established the National Register and the process for adding properties to it. Of the more than one million properties on the National Register, 80,000 are listed individually. The remainder are contributing resources
within historic districts
. Each year approximately 30,000 properties are added to the National Register as part of districts or by individual listings.
For most of its history the National Register has been administered by the National Park Service
(NPS), an agency within the United States Department of the Interior
. Its goals are to help property owners and interest groups, such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation
, coordinate, identify, and protect historic sites in the United States. While National Register listings are mostly symbolic, their recognition of significance provides some financial incentive to owners of listed properties. Protection of the property is not guaranteed. During the nomination process, the property is evaluated in terms of the four criteria for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. The application of those criteria has been the subject of criticism by academics of history and preservation, as well as the public and politicians.
Occasionally historic sites outside the country proper, but associated with the United States (such as the American Embassy in Tangiers
) are also listed. Properties can be nominated in a variety of forms, including individual properties, historic districts, and multiple property submissions (MPS). The Register categorizes general listings into one of five types of properties: district, site, structure, building, or object. National Register Historic Districts are defined geographical areas consisting of contributing and non-contributing properties. Some properties are added automatically to the National Register when they become administered by the National Park Service. These include National Historic Landmark
s (NHL), National Historic Site
s (NHS), National Historical Park
s, National Military Parks/Battlefields
, National Memorial
s, and some National Monuments
. (Federal properties can be proclaimed National Monuments by the Antiquities Act
because of either their historical or natural significance. They are managed by multiple agencies. Only monuments that are historic in character and managed by the National Park Service are listed administratively in the National Register.)
Some examples are Fallingwater
, Robie House
, Martin Luther King Jr's Grave, and Old Slater Mill.
On October 15, 1966 the Historic Preservation Act created the National Register of Historic Places and the corresponding State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPO). Initially, the National Register consisted of the National Historic Landmarks designated before the Register's creation, as well as any other historic sites in the National Park system. Approval of the act, which was amended in 1980 and 1992, represented the first time the United States had a broad-based historic preservation policy. The 1966 act required those agencies to work in conjunction with the SHPO and an independent federal agency, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
(ACHP), to confront adverse effects of federal activities on historic preservation.
To administer the newly created National Register of Historic Places, the National Park Service of the U.S. Department of Interior, with director George B. Hartzog, Jr., established an administrative division named the Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation (OAHP). Hartzog charged OAHP with creating the National Register program mandated by the 1966 law. Ernest Connally was the Office's first director. Within OAHP new divisions were created to deal with the National Register. The division administered several existing programs, including the Historic Sites Survey and the Historic American Buildings Survey
, as well as the new National Register and Historic Preservation Fund
.
The first official Keeper of the Register
was William J. Murtagh, an architectural historian. During the Register's earliest years in the late 1960s and early 1970s, organization was lax and SHPOs were small, understaffed, and underfunded. However, funds were still being supplied for the Historic Preservation Fund to provide matching grants-in-aid to listed property owners, first for house museums and institutional buildings, but later for commercial structures as well.
A few years later in 1979, the NPS history programs affiliated with both the U.S. National Parks system and the National Register were categorized formally into two "Assistant Directorates." Established were the Assistant Directorate for Archeology and Historic Preservation and the Assistant Directorate for Park Historic Preservation. From 1978 until 1981, the main agency for the National Register was the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service (HCRS) of the United States Department of Interior.
In February 1983, the two assistant directorates were merged to promote efficiency and recognize the interdependency of their programs. Jerry L. Rogers was selected to direct this newly merged associate directorate. He was described as a skilled administrator, who was sensitive to the need for the NPS to work with SHPOs, academia, and local governments.
Although not described in detail in the 1966 act, SHPOs eventually became integral to the process of listing properties on the National Register. The 1980 amendments of the 1966 law further defined the responsibilities of SHPOs concerning the National Register. Several 1992 amendments of the NHPA added a category to the National Register, known as Traditional Cultural Properties: those properties associated with Native American or Hawaiian groups.
The National Register of Historic Places has grown considerably from its legislative origins in 1966. In 1986 citizens and groups nominated 3,623 separate properties, sites, and districts for inclusion on the National Register, a total of 75,000 separate properties. Of the more than one million properties on the National Register, 80,000 are listed individually. Others are listed as contributing members
within historic district
.
Properties are not protected in any strict sense by the Federal listing. States and local zoning bodies may or may not choose to protect listed historic places. Indirect protection is possible, by state and local regulations on development of National Register properties, and by tax incentives.
Until 1976, federal tax incentive
s were virtually non-existent for buildings on the National Register. Before 1976 the federal tax code
favored new construction rather than the reuse of existing, sometimes historical, structures. In 1976, the tax code was altered to provide tax incentives that promote preservation of income-producing historic properties. The National Park Service was given the responsibility to ensure that only rehabilitations that preserved the historic character of a building would qualify for federal tax incentives. A qualifying rehabilitation is one that the NPS deems consistent with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation. Properties and sites listed in the Register, as well as those located in and contributing to the period of significance of National Register Historic Districts, became eligible for the federal tax benefits.
Owners of income-producing properties listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places or of properties that are contributing resources within a National Register Historic District may be eligible for a 20% investment tax credit for the rehabilitation of the historic structure. The rehabilitation may be of a commercial, industrial, or residential property, for rentals. The tax incentives program is operated by the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives program, which is managed jointly by the National Park Service, individual State Historic Preservation Offices, and the Internal Revenue Service
. Aside from the 20% tax credit
, the tax incentive program offers a 10% tax credit for rehabilitation to owners of non-historic, non-residential buildings constructed before 1936.
Some property owners may qualify for grants as well, for instance the Save America's Treasures
grants, which apply specifically to properties entered in the Register with national significance or designated as National Historic Landmarks.
The NHPA did not distinguish between properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places and those designated as National Historic Landmarks concerning qualification for tax incentives or grants. This was deliberate, as the authors of the act had learned from experience that distinguishing between categories of significance for such incentives caused the lowest category to become expendable. Essentially, this made the Landmarks a kind of "honor roll" of the most significant properties of the National Register of Historic Places.
s and historic preservation
consultants often are employed for this work. The nomination consists of a standard nomination form and contains basic information about a property's physical appearance and the type of significance embodied in the building, structure, object, site, or district. The State Historic Preservation Office receives National Register nominations and provides feedback to the nominating individual or group. After preliminary review, the SHPO sends each nomination to the state's historic review commission, which then recommends whether the State Historic Preservation Officer
should send the nomination to the Keeper of the National Register. For any non-Federally owned property, only the State Historic Preservation Officer may officially nominate a property for inclusion in the National Register. After the nomination is recommended for listing in the National Register by the SHPO, the nomination is sent to the National Park Service, which approves or denies the nomination. If approved, the property is entered officially by the Keeper of the National Register into the National Register of Historic Places. Property owners are notified of the nomination during the review by the SHPO and state's historic review commission. If an owner objects to a nomination of private property, or in the case of a historic district, a majority of owners, then the property cannot be listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
For a property to be eligible for the National Register, it must meet at least one of the four National Register main criteria. Information about architectural style
s, association with various aspects of social history
and commerce, and ownership are all integral parts of the nomination. Each nomination contains a narrative section that provides a detailed physical description of the property and justifies why it is significant historically with regard either to local, state, or national history. The four National Register of Historic Places criteria are the following.
The criteria are applied differently for different types of properties; for instance, maritime properties have application guidelines different from those of buildings.
A listing on the National Register of Historic Places is governmental acknowledgment of a historic district, site, building, or property. However, the Register is mostly "an honorary status with some federal financial incentives." The National Register of Historic Places automatically includes all National Historic Landmarks as well as all historic areas administered by the National Park Service. Landmarks such as these include: National Historic Site
s (NHS), National Historical Park
s, National Military Parks/Battlefields
, National Memorial
s, and some National Monuments. Occasionally historic sites outside the country's borders, but associated with the United States, such as the American Embassy in Tangiers
, also are listed.
Listing in the National Register does not restrict private property owners from the use of their property. Some states and municipalities, however, may have laws that become effective when a property is listed in the National Register. If federal money or a federal permitting process is involved, Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 is invoked. Section 106 requires the federal agency involved to assess the effect of its actions on historic resources. Statutorily, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
(ACHP) has the most significant role by Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The section requires that the director of any federal agency with direct or indirect jurisdiction of a project that may affect a property listed in the National Register of Historic Places, must first report to the Advisory Council. The director of said agency is required to "take into account the effect of the undertaking" on the National Register property, as well as to afford the ACHP a reasonable opportunity to comment.
While Section 106 does not mandate explicitly that any federal agency director accept the advice of the ACHP, their advice has practical influence, especially given the statutory obligations of the NHPA that require federal agencies to "take into account the effect of the undertaking."
In cases where the ACHP determines federal action will have an "adverse effect" on historic properties, mitigation is sought. Typically, a Memorandum of Agreement
(MOA) is created by which the involved parties agree to a particular plan. Many states have laws similar to Section 106. In contrast to conditions relating to a federally designated historic district, municipal ordinances governing local historic districts often restrict certain kinds of changes to properties. Thus they may protect the property more than a National Register listing does.
The Department of Transportation Act
, passed on October 15, 1966, the same day as the National Historic Preservation Act, included provisions that addressed historic preservation. The DOT Act is much more general than Section 106 NHPA in that it refers to properties other than those listed in the Register.
The more general language has allowed more properties and parklands to enjoy status as protected area
s by this legislation, a policy developed early in its history. The United States Supreme Court ruled in the 1971 case Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe
that parklands could have the same protected status as "historic sites."
The process begins with the Multiple Property Documentation Form, which acts as a cover document rather than the nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. The purpose of the documentation form is to establish the basis of eligibility for related properties. The information of the Multiple Property Documentation Form can be used to nominate and register related historic properties simultaneously, or to establish criteria for properties that may be nominated in the future. Thus, additions to an MPS can occur over time.
The nomination of individual properties in an MPS is accomplished in the same manner as other nominations. The name of the "thematic group" denotes the historical theme of the properties. It is considered the "multiple property listing." Once an individual property or a group of properties is nominated and listed in the National Register, the Multiple Property Documentation Form, combined with the individual National Register of Historic Places Nomination Forms, constitute a Multiple Property Submission. Examples of MPS include the Lee County Multiple Property Submission, the Warehouses in Omaha, the Boundary Markers of the Original District of Columbia
, and the Illinois Carnegie Libraries
. Before the term "Multiple Property Submission" was introduced in 1984, such listings were known as "Thematic Resources" or "Multiple Resource Areas."
Buildings, as defined by the National Register, are distinguished in the traditional sense. Examples include a house
, barn
, hotel
, church, or similar construction. They are created primarily to shelter human activity. The term building, as in outbuilding, can be used to refer to historically and functionally related units, such as a courthouse and a jail or a barn and a house.
Structures differ from buildings in that they are functional constructions meant to be used for purposes other than sheltering human activity. Examples include an aircraft
, a grain elevator
, a gazebo
, and a bridge
.
Objects are usually artistic in nature, or small in scale compared to structures and buildings. Although objects may be movable, they are generally associated with a specific setting or environment. Examples of objects include monument
s, sculpture
s, and fountain
s.
Sites are the location of significant events, which can be prehistoric or historic in nature and represent activities or buildings (standing, ruined, or vanished). With sites it is the location itself that is of historical interest. It possesses cultural or archaeological value regardless of the value of any structures that currently exist at the location. Examples of sites include shipwreck
s, battle
fields, campsite
s, natural features, and rock shelter
s.
Historic districts possess a concentration, association, or continuity of the other four types of properties. Objects, structures, buildings, and sites in a historic district are united historically or aesthetically, either by choice or by the nature of their development.
There are several other different types of historic preservation associated with the properties of the National Register of Historic Places that cannot be classified as either simple buildings and historic districts. Through the National Park Service, the National Register of Historic Places publishes a series of bulletins designed to aid in evaluating and applying the criteria for evaluation of different types of properties. Although the criteria are always the same, the manner they are applied may differ slightly, depending upon the type of property involved. The National Register bulletins describe application of the criteria for aids to navigation, historic battlefields, archaeological sites, aviation properties, cemeteries, and burial places, historic designed landscapes, mining sites, post office
s, properties associated with significant persons, properties achieving significance within the last fifty years, rural historic landscapes, traditional cultural properties, and vessels and shipwrecks.
in downtown Omaha, Nebraska
was demolished in 1987 to make way for a suburban-style corporate campus. As of 1999, there have been 982 properties removed from the Register, most often due to being destroyed.
- Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz
and National Heritage Sites (Kulturdenkmal
) - Historic building, see List of Grade I historic buildings in Hong Kong, List of Grade II historic buildings in Hong Kong and List of Grade III historic buildings in Hong Kong - Rijksmonument
- New Zealand Historic Places Trust
- National Monuments of Singapore
- Listed building or scheduled monument
The passage of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA)
National Historic Preservation Act of 1966
The National Historic Preservation Act is legislation intended to preserve historical and archaeological sites in the United States of America...
in 1966 established the National Register and the process for adding properties to it. Of the more than one million properties on the National Register, 80,000 are listed individually. The remainder are contributing resources
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
within historic districts
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
. Each year approximately 30,000 properties are added to the National Register as part of districts or by individual listings.
For most of its history the National Register has been administered by the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
(NPS), an agency within the United States Department of the Interior
United States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior is the United States federal executive department of the U.S. government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native...
. Its goals are to help property owners and interest groups, such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation
National Trust for Historic Preservation
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is an American member-supported organization that was founded in 1949 by congressional charter to support preservation of historic buildings and neighborhoods through a range of programs and activities, including the publication of Preservation...
, coordinate, identify, and protect historic sites in the United States. While National Register listings are mostly symbolic, their recognition of significance provides some financial incentive to owners of listed properties. Protection of the property is not guaranteed. During the nomination process, the property is evaluated in terms of the four criteria for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. The application of those criteria has been the subject of criticism by academics of history and preservation, as well as the public and politicians.
Occasionally historic sites outside the country proper, but associated with the United States (such as the American Embassy in Tangiers
American Legation, Tangier
The Tangier American Legation is a building in the medina of Tangier, Morocco. The first American public property outside of the United States, it commemorates the historic cultural and diplomatic relations between the United States and the Kingdom of Morocco...
) are also listed. Properties can be nominated in a variety of forms, including individual properties, historic districts, and multiple property submissions (MPS). The Register categorizes general listings into one of five types of properties: district, site, structure, building, or object. National Register Historic Districts are defined geographical areas consisting of contributing and non-contributing properties. Some properties are added automatically to the National Register when they become administered by the National Park Service. These include National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
s (NHL), National Historic Site
National Historic Sites (United States)
National Historic Sites are protected areas of national historic significance in the United States. A National Historic Site usually contains a single historical feature directly associated with its subject...
s (NHS), National Historical Park
National Historic Sites (United States)
National Historic Sites are protected areas of national historic significance in the United States. A National Historic Site usually contains a single historical feature directly associated with its subject...
s, National Military Parks/Battlefields
National Military Park
National Military Park, National Battlefield, National Battlefield Park, and National Battlefield Site are four designations for 24 battle sites preserved by the United States federal government because of their national importance...
, National Memorial
National Memorial
National Memorial is a designation in the United States for a protected area that memorializes a historic person or event. National memorials are authorized by the United States Congress...
s, and some National Monuments
U.S. National Monument
A National Monument in the United States is a protected area that is similar to a National Park except that the President of the United States can quickly declare an area of the United States to be a National Monument without the approval of Congress. National monuments receive less funding and...
. (Federal properties can be proclaimed National Monuments by the Antiquities Act
Antiquities Act
The Antiquities Act of 1906, officially An Act for the Preservation of American Antiquities , is an act passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1906, giving the President of the United States authority to, by executive order, restrict the use of...
because of either their historical or natural significance. They are managed by multiple agencies. Only monuments that are historic in character and managed by the National Park Service are listed administratively in the National Register.)
Some examples are Fallingwater
Fallingwater
Fallingwater or Kaufmann Residence is a house designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 in rural southwestern Pennsylvania, 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh...
, Robie House
Robie House
The Frederick C. Robie House is a U.S. National Historic Landmark in the Chicago, Illinois neighborhood of Hyde Park at 5757 S. Woodlawn Avenue on the South Side. It was designed and built between 1908 and 1910 by architect Frank Lloyd Wright and is renowned as the greatest example of his Prairie...
, Martin Luther King Jr's Grave, and Old Slater Mill.
History
On October 15, 1966 the Historic Preservation Act created the National Register of Historic Places and the corresponding State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPO). Initially, the National Register consisted of the National Historic Landmarks designated before the Register's creation, as well as any other historic sites in the National Park system. Approval of the act, which was amended in 1980 and 1992, represented the first time the United States had a broad-based historic preservation policy. The 1966 act required those agencies to work in conjunction with the SHPO and an independent federal agency, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation is an independent agency of the United States government that promotes the preservation, enhancement, and productive use of the nation's historic resources, and advises the President and Congress on national historic preservation policy.The goal of the...
(ACHP), to confront adverse effects of federal activities on historic preservation.
To administer the newly created National Register of Historic Places, the National Park Service of the U.S. Department of Interior, with director George B. Hartzog, Jr., established an administrative division named the Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation (OAHP). Hartzog charged OAHP with creating the National Register program mandated by the 1966 law. Ernest Connally was the Office's first director. Within OAHP new divisions were created to deal with the National Register. The division administered several existing programs, including the Historic Sites Survey and the Historic American Buildings Survey
Historic American Buildings Survey
The Historic American Buildings Survey , Historic American Engineering Record , and Historic American Landscapes Survey are programs of the National Park Service established for the purpose of documenting historic places. Records consists of measured drawings, archival photographs, and written...
, as well as the new National Register and Historic Preservation Fund
Historic Preservation Fund
The purpose of the U.S. Historic Preservation Fund is to help fund the programs engendered by the National Historic Preservation Act . Monies for the Fund were significantly expanded in 1976, when Congress approved deposits to the HPF from Outer Continental Shelf oil leases...
.
The first official Keeper of the Register
Keeper of the Register
The Keeper of the Register is a National Park Service official, responsible for deciding on the eligibility of historic properties for inclusion on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places . The Keeper's authority may be delegated as he or she sees fit...
was William J. Murtagh, an architectural historian. During the Register's earliest years in the late 1960s and early 1970s, organization was lax and SHPOs were small, understaffed, and underfunded. However, funds were still being supplied for the Historic Preservation Fund to provide matching grants-in-aid to listed property owners, first for house museums and institutional buildings, but later for commercial structures as well.
A few years later in 1979, the NPS history programs affiliated with both the U.S. National Parks system and the National Register were categorized formally into two "Assistant Directorates." Established were the Assistant Directorate for Archeology and Historic Preservation and the Assistant Directorate for Park Historic Preservation. From 1978 until 1981, the main agency for the National Register was the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service (HCRS) of the United States Department of Interior.
In February 1983, the two assistant directorates were merged to promote efficiency and recognize the interdependency of their programs. Jerry L. Rogers was selected to direct this newly merged associate directorate. He was described as a skilled administrator, who was sensitive to the need for the NPS to work with SHPOs, academia, and local governments.
Although not described in detail in the 1966 act, SHPOs eventually became integral to the process of listing properties on the National Register. The 1980 amendments of the 1966 law further defined the responsibilities of SHPOs concerning the National Register. Several 1992 amendments of the NHPA added a category to the National Register, known as Traditional Cultural Properties: those properties associated with Native American or Hawaiian groups.
The National Register of Historic Places has grown considerably from its legislative origins in 1966. In 1986 citizens and groups nominated 3,623 separate properties, sites, and districts for inclusion on the National Register, a total of 75,000 separate properties. Of the more than one million properties on the National Register, 80,000 are listed individually. Others are listed as contributing members
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
within historic district
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
.
Property owner incentives
Until 1976, federal tax incentive
Tax incentive
A tax incentive is an aspect of the tax code designed to incentivize, or encourage, a certain type of behavior. This may be accomplished through means including tax holidays, tax deductions, or tax abatements...
s were virtually non-existent for buildings on the National Register. Before 1976 the federal tax code
Tax code
In the UK, every person paid under the PAYE scheme is allocated a tax code by HM Revenue and Customs. This is usually in the form of a number followed by a letter suffix, though other 'non-standard' codes are also used. This code describes to employers how much tax to deduct from an employee. The...
favored new construction rather than the reuse of existing, sometimes historical, structures. In 1976, the tax code was altered to provide tax incentives that promote preservation of income-producing historic properties. The National Park Service was given the responsibility to ensure that only rehabilitations that preserved the historic character of a building would qualify for federal tax incentives. A qualifying rehabilitation is one that the NPS deems consistent with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation. Properties and sites listed in the Register, as well as those located in and contributing to the period of significance of National Register Historic Districts, became eligible for the federal tax benefits.
Owners of income-producing properties listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places or of properties that are contributing resources within a National Register Historic District may be eligible for a 20% investment tax credit for the rehabilitation of the historic structure. The rehabilitation may be of a commercial, industrial, or residential property, for rentals. The tax incentives program is operated by the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives program, which is managed jointly by the National Park Service, individual State Historic Preservation Offices, and the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
. Aside from the 20% tax credit
Tax credit
A tax credit is a sum deducted from the total amount a taxpayer owes to the state. A tax credit may be granted for various types of taxes, such as an income tax, property tax, or VAT. It may be granted in recognition of taxes already paid, as a subsidy, or to encourage investment or other behaviors...
, the tax incentive program offers a 10% tax credit for rehabilitation to owners of non-historic, non-residential buildings constructed before 1936.
Some property owners may qualify for grants as well, for instance the Save America's Treasures
Save America's Treasures
Save America's Treasures is a United States Federal initiative to preserve and protect American historic buildings, arts, and published works. It is a public-private partnership between the U.S. National Park Service and the National Trust for Historic Preservation...
grants, which apply specifically to properties entered in the Register with national significance or designated as National Historic Landmarks.
The NHPA did not distinguish between properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places and those designated as National Historic Landmarks concerning qualification for tax incentives or grants. This was deliberate, as the authors of the act had learned from experience that distinguishing between categories of significance for such incentives caused the lowest category to become expendable. Essentially, this made the Landmarks a kind of "honor roll" of the most significant properties of the National Register of Historic Places.
Nomination process
Any individual can prepare a National Register nomination, although historianHistorian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
s and historic preservation
Historic preservation
Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...
consultants often are employed for this work. The nomination consists of a standard nomination form and contains basic information about a property's physical appearance and the type of significance embodied in the building, structure, object, site, or district. The State Historic Preservation Office receives National Register nominations and provides feedback to the nominating individual or group. After preliminary review, the SHPO sends each nomination to the state's historic review commission, which then recommends whether the State Historic Preservation Officer
State Historic Preservation Officer
The State Historic Preservation Office was created in 1966 under Section 101 of the National Historic Preservation Act . The purposes of SHPO include surveying and recognizing historic properties, reviewing nominations for properties to be included in the National Register of Historic Places,...
should send the nomination to the Keeper of the National Register. For any non-Federally owned property, only the State Historic Preservation Officer may officially nominate a property for inclusion in the National Register. After the nomination is recommended for listing in the National Register by the SHPO, the nomination is sent to the National Park Service, which approves or denies the nomination. If approved, the property is entered officially by the Keeper of the National Register into the National Register of Historic Places. Property owners are notified of the nomination during the review by the SHPO and state's historic review commission. If an owner objects to a nomination of private property, or in the case of a historic district, a majority of owners, then the property cannot be listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Criteria
Architectural style
Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
s, association with various aspects of social history
Social history
Social history, often called the new social history, is a branch of History that includes history of ordinary people and their strategies of coping with life. In its "golden age" it was a major growth field in the 1960s and 1970s among scholars, and still is well represented in history departments...
and commerce, and ownership are all integral parts of the nomination. Each nomination contains a narrative section that provides a detailed physical description of the property and justifies why it is significant historically with regard either to local, state, or national history. The four National Register of Historic Places criteria are the following.
- Criterion A, "Event," the property must make a contribution to the major pattern of American historyHistory of the United StatesThe history of the United States traditionally starts with the Declaration of Independence in the year 1776, although its territory was inhabited by Native Americans since prehistoric times and then by European colonists who followed the voyages of Christopher Columbus starting in 1492. The...
. - Criterion B, "Person," is associated with significant people of the American past.
- Criterion C, "Design/Construction," concerns the distinctive characteristics of the building by its architecture and construction, including having great artistic value or being the work of a master.
- Criterion D, "Information potential," is satisfied if the property has yielded or may be likely to yield information important to prehistory or history.
The criteria are applied differently for different types of properties; for instance, maritime properties have application guidelines different from those of buildings.
Exclusions
There are specific instances where properties usually do not merit listing in the National Register. As a general rule, cemeteries, birthplaces, graves of historical figures, properties owned by religious institutions or used for religious purposes, moved structures, reconstructed historic buildings, commemorative properties, and properties that have achieved significance during the last fifty years are not qualified for listing on the Register. There are, however, exceptions to all the preceding; mitigating circumstances allow properties classified in one of those groups to be included.Properties listed
National Historic Sites (United States)
National Historic Sites are protected areas of national historic significance in the United States. A National Historic Site usually contains a single historical feature directly associated with its subject...
s (NHS), National Historical Park
National Historic Sites (United States)
National Historic Sites are protected areas of national historic significance in the United States. A National Historic Site usually contains a single historical feature directly associated with its subject...
s, National Military Parks/Battlefields
National Military Park
National Military Park, National Battlefield, National Battlefield Park, and National Battlefield Site are four designations for 24 battle sites preserved by the United States federal government because of their national importance...
, National Memorial
National Memorial
National Memorial is a designation in the United States for a protected area that memorializes a historic person or event. National memorials are authorized by the United States Congress...
s, and some National Monuments. Occasionally historic sites outside the country's borders, but associated with the United States, such as the American Embassy in Tangiers
American Legation, Tangier
The Tangier American Legation is a building in the medina of Tangier, Morocco. The first American public property outside of the United States, it commemorates the historic cultural and diplomatic relations between the United States and the Kingdom of Morocco...
, also are listed.
Listing in the National Register does not restrict private property owners from the use of their property. Some states and municipalities, however, may have laws that become effective when a property is listed in the National Register. If federal money or a federal permitting process is involved, Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 is invoked. Section 106 requires the federal agency involved to assess the effect of its actions on historic resources. Statutorily, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation is an independent agency of the United States government that promotes the preservation, enhancement, and productive use of the nation's historic resources, and advises the President and Congress on national historic preservation policy.The goal of the...
(ACHP) has the most significant role by Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The section requires that the director of any federal agency with direct or indirect jurisdiction of a project that may affect a property listed in the National Register of Historic Places, must first report to the Advisory Council. The director of said agency is required to "take into account the effect of the undertaking" on the National Register property, as well as to afford the ACHP a reasonable opportunity to comment.
While Section 106 does not mandate explicitly that any federal agency director accept the advice of the ACHP, their advice has practical influence, especially given the statutory obligations of the NHPA that require federal agencies to "take into account the effect of the undertaking."
In cases where the ACHP determines federal action will have an "adverse effect" on historic properties, mitigation is sought. Typically, a Memorandum of Agreement
Memorandum of Agreement
A memorandum of agreement or cooperative agreement is a document written between parties to cooperatively work together on an agreed upon project or meet an agreed objective. The purpose of an MOA is to have a written understanding of the agreement between parties.An MOA is a good tool to use for...
(MOA) is created by which the involved parties agree to a particular plan. Many states have laws similar to Section 106. In contrast to conditions relating to a federally designated historic district, municipal ordinances governing local historic districts often restrict certain kinds of changes to properties. Thus they may protect the property more than a National Register listing does.
The Department of Transportation Act
Title 49 of the United States Code
Title 49 of the United States Code is a code that regards the role of transportation in the United States of America.The title was enacted by , § 1, October 17, 1978, ; , § 1, January 12, 1983, ; and , July 5, 1994,...
, passed on October 15, 1966, the same day as the National Historic Preservation Act, included provisions that addressed historic preservation. The DOT Act is much more general than Section 106 NHPA in that it refers to properties other than those listed in the Register.
The more general language has allowed more properties and parklands to enjoy status as protected area
Protected area
Protected areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognised natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international...
s by this legislation, a policy developed early in its history. The United States Supreme Court ruled in the 1971 case Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe
Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe
Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe, 401 U.S. 402 , is a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that established the basic legal framework for judicial review of the actions of administrative agencies...
that parklands could have the same protected status as "historic sites."
Multiple Property Submission
A multiple property submission (MPS) is a thematic group listing of the National Register of Historic Places that consists of related properties that share a common theme and can be submitted as a group. Multiple property submissions must satisfy certain basic criteria for the group of properties to be included in the National Register.The nomination of individual properties in an MPS is accomplished in the same manner as other nominations. The name of the "thematic group" denotes the historical theme of the properties. It is considered the "multiple property listing." Once an individual property or a group of properties is nominated and listed in the National Register, the Multiple Property Documentation Form, combined with the individual National Register of Historic Places Nomination Forms, constitute a Multiple Property Submission. Examples of MPS include the Lee County Multiple Property Submission, the Warehouses in Omaha, the Boundary Markers of the Original District of Columbia
Boundary Stones (District of Columbia)
The Boundary Markers of the Original District of Columbia are the 40 milestones that mark the four lines forming the boundaries between the states of Maryland and Virginia and the square of 100 square miles of federal territory that became the District of Columbia in 1801...
, and the Illinois Carnegie Libraries
Illinois Carnegie Libraries Multiple Property Submission
Illinois Carnegie Libraries Multiple Property Submission was a National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Submission in the U.S. state of Illinois in 2002. The submission included a group of sixteen Illinois libraries whose construction was funded by early 20th century philanthropist...
. Before the term "Multiple Property Submission" was introduced in 1984, such listings were known as "Thematic Resources" or "Multiple Resource Areas."
Types of properties
Listed properties are generally in one of five broad categories, although there are special considerations for other types of properties that in any one, or into more specialized subcategories. The five general categories for National Register properties are: building, structure, site, district, and object. In addition, historic districts consist of contributing and non-contributing properties.Buildings, as defined by the National Register, are distinguished in the traditional sense. Examples include a house
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
, barn
Barn
A barn is an agricultural building used for storage and as a covered workplace. It may sometimes be used to house livestock or to store farming vehicles and equipment...
, hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
, church, or similar construction. They are created primarily to shelter human activity. The term building, as in outbuilding, can be used to refer to historically and functionally related units, such as a courthouse and a jail or a barn and a house.
Structures differ from buildings in that they are functional constructions meant to be used for purposes other than sheltering human activity. Examples include an aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
, a grain elevator
Grain elevator
A grain elevator is a tower containing a bucket elevator, which scoops up, elevates, and then uses gravity to deposit grain in a silo or other storage facility...
, a gazebo
Gazebo
A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal, that may be built, in parks, gardens, and spacious public areas. Gazebos are freestanding or attached to a garden wall, roofed, and open on all sides; they provide shade, shelter, ornamental features in a landscape, and a place to rest...
, and a bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
.
Objects are usually artistic in nature, or small in scale compared to structures and buildings. Although objects may be movable, they are generally associated with a specific setting or environment. Examples of objects include monument
Monument
A monument is a type of structure either explicitly created to commemorate a person or important event or which has become important to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, or simply as an example of historic architecture...
s, sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
s, and fountain
Fountain
A fountain is a piece of architecture which pours water into a basin or jets it into the air either to supply drinking water or for decorative or dramatic effect....
s.
Sites are the location of significant events, which can be prehistoric or historic in nature and represent activities or buildings (standing, ruined, or vanished). With sites it is the location itself that is of historical interest. It possesses cultural or archaeological value regardless of the value of any structures that currently exist at the location. Examples of sites include shipwreck
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
s, battle
Battle
Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, or combatants. In a battle, each combatant will seek to defeat the others, with defeat determined by the conditions of a military campaign...
fields, campsite
Campsite
A campsite or camping pitch is a place used for overnight stay in the outdoors. In British English a campsite is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight using tents or camper vans or caravans; this British English use of the word is synonymous with the...
s, natural features, and rock shelter
Rock shelter
A rock shelter is a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff....
s.
There are several other different types of historic preservation associated with the properties of the National Register of Historic Places that cannot be classified as either simple buildings and historic districts. Through the National Park Service, the National Register of Historic Places publishes a series of bulletins designed to aid in evaluating and applying the criteria for evaluation of different types of properties. Although the criteria are always the same, the manner they are applied may differ slightly, depending upon the type of property involved. The National Register bulletins describe application of the criteria for aids to navigation, historic battlefields, archaeological sites, aviation properties, cemeteries, and burial places, historic designed landscapes, mining sites, post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
s, properties associated with significant persons, properties achieving significance within the last fifty years, rural historic landscapes, traditional cultural properties, and vessels and shipwrecks.
Limitations
The limitations of the NHPA are demonstrated when historic properties are destroyed, as when the Jobbers Canyon Historic DistrictJobbers Canyon Historic District
Jobbers Canyon Historic District was a large industrial and warehouse area comprising 24 buildings located in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, USA. It was roughly bound by Farnam Street on the north, South Eighth Street on the east, Jackson Street on the south, and South Tenth Street on the west...
in downtown Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
was demolished in 1987 to make way for a suburban-style corporate campus. As of 1999, there have been 982 properties removed from the Register, most often due to being destroyed.
Similar designations outside the United States
- National Historic Sites of Canada - Monument historiqueMonument historique
A monument historique is a National Heritage Site of France. It also refers to a state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building or a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, or gardens, bridges, and other structures, because of their...
- Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz
Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz
The Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz is a German private initiative founded in 1985 which works for the preservation of cultural heritage in Germany and to promote the idea of cultural heritage management....
and National Heritage Sites (Kulturdenkmal
Kulturdenkmal
Kulturdenkmal is the official term to describe National Heritage Sites listed by law in German speaking areas of Europe, to protect and spread awareness of cultural heritage.-Austria:...
) - Historic building, see List of Grade I historic buildings in Hong Kong, List of Grade II historic buildings in Hong Kong and List of Grade III historic buildings in Hong Kong - Rijksmonument
Rijksmonument
A rijksmonument is a National Heritage Site of the Netherlands, listed by the agency Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed acting for the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.-History and criteria:...
- New Zealand Historic Places Trust
New Zealand Historic Places Trust
The New Zealand Historic Places Trust is a non-profit trust that advocates for the protection of ancestral sites and heritage buildings in New Zealand...
- National Monuments of Singapore
National Monuments of Singapore
National Monuments of Singapore are buildings and structures in Singapore that have been designated by the Preservation of Monuments Board as being of special historic, traditional, archaeological, architectural or artistic value....
- Listed building or scheduled monument
See also
- African American Historic PlacesAfrican American Historic PlacesThe stories of the contributions, hardships, and aspirations of all American people can be seen in the experiences of African Americans. The places listed below represent the achievements and struggles of African Americans. Visitors to these sites can gain a better understanding of the events and...
- Architectural photographersArchitectural photographersEarly architectural photographers include Roger Fenton, Francis Frith , Samuel Bourne and Albert Levy . They paved the way for the modern speciality of architectural photography. Later architectural photography had practitioners such as Ezra Stoller and Julius Shulman...
- Contributing propertyContributing propertyIn the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
- Cultural landscapeCultural landscapeCultural Landscapes have been defined by the World Heritage Committee as distinct geographical areas or properties uniquely "..represent[ing] the combined work of nature and of man.."....
- Historic preservationHistoric preservationHistoric preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...
- History of the National Register of Historic PlacesHistory of the National Register of Historic PlacesThe History of the National Register of Historic Places began in 1966 when the United States government passed the National Historic Preservation Act , which created the National Register of Historic Places . Upon its inception, the U.S. National Park Service became the lead agency for the Register...
- Jails and prisons listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesJails and prisons listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesThis is an incomplete list of Jails and prisons listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Included are:* Houston Jail, Houston, Alabama, NRHP listed* Old Jail , Gordo, Alabama, NRHP listed...
- Keeper of the RegisterKeeper of the RegisterThe Keeper of the Register is a National Park Service official, responsible for deciding on the eligibility of historic properties for inclusion on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places . The Keeper's authority may be delegated as he or she sees fit...
- List of heritage registers
- List of National Historic Landmarks by state
- List of threatened historic sites in the United States
- National Heritage AreaNational heritage areaNational heritage area is a region defined by a government as notable for cultural, historic, natural or recreation reasons. Compared to a national park, a national heritage area is not subject to the same level of zoning and regulations on land use. They are typically managed at a local...
- National Historical ParkNational Historical ParkNational Historic Sites are protected areas of national historic significance in the United States. A National Historic Site usually contains a single historical feature directly associated with its subject...
- Property type (National Register of Historic Places)Property type (National Register of Historic Places)The U.S. National Register of Historic Places classifies its listings by various types of properties. Listed properties generally fall into one of five categories, though there are special considerations for other types of properties which do not fit into these five broad categories or fit into...
- Public historyPublic historyPublic history is a term that describes the broad range of activities undertaken by people with some training in the discipline of history who are generally working outside of specialized academic settings. Public history practice has quite deep roots in the areas of historic preservation,...
- State Historic Preservation Office
- United States Memorials
- United States National Register of Historic Places listings
- World Heritage SiteWorld Heritage SiteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
External links
- National Register of Historic Places
- National Historic Landmarks Program
- Travel itineraries, National Park Service
- Teaching with Historic Place(TwHP), National Park Service
- Weekly updates
- Nomination forms
- Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
- Working with Section 106, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
- An Overview of Federal Historic Preservation Law, 1966-1996