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The National Register of Historic Places is the United States's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects worthy of preservation. As of December 2005, the list includes approximately 79,000 entries, including many icons of American culture, history, engineering, and architecture.

Administered by the National Park Service, the Register was authorized under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. Its goals are to coordinate and help groups such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation identify and protect historic sites in the United States. Occasionally historic sites outside the country but associated with the United States (such as an embassy) are also listed.

The Register automatically includes all National Historic Landmarks as well as all historic areas administered by the National Park Service.

Process for listing a building, site or district

Any individual can prepare a National Register nomination although historians and historic preservation consultants are often employed for this work. The nomination contains basic information on the type of significance embodied in the building, district, or site:

  • Association with a person(s) in history
  • Association with historical event(s)
  • Architectural significance (design)
  • Informational value (primarily archaeology)

Information on architectural styles, association with various aspects of social history and commerce, and ownership is part of the nomination. A narrative section describes the site or building in detail and justifies why it is historically significant.

The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) receives National Register nominations and supplies feedback to the individual preparing the nomination. Once the SHPO approves the nomination, it is passed to the state's historic preservation advisory board which then approves or denies the nomination. From there the nomination is sent to the National Park Service which then approves or denies the nomination. If approved it is officially entered by the Keeper into the National Register of Historic Places.

Effects of being listed on the National Register

The National Register of Historic Places is primarily a tool to recognize the historical significance of a building, district, or site. With one exception, there are no laws at the state or federal level that affect the ability of a property owner to make changes to the building, including demolition. If federal money or a federal permitting process is involved, Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 is invoked which requires an assessment of the impact of an intervention on a historic resource. The process is purely advisory in nature; the end product is a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) in which the parties involved agree to a particular plan. An MOA often recommends "document and destroy" in which the historic resource is first documented and then demolished. The National Register does, though, prevent local governments from condemning the property or requiring modifications to it.

Many states have laws equivalent to Section 106.

As opposed to a National Register Historic District, a local historic district often has enabling ordinances at the municipality level that restrict certain kinds of changes to properties and thereby encourages changes that are sensitive to the historic character of an area.

Criteria for eligibility

  • National Register Criterion A: Event - made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history
  • National Register Criterion B: Person - associated with the lives of persons significant in our past
  • National Register Criterion C: Design/Construction - distinctive characteristics of a building type, period, or method of construction, represent the work of a master, possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction
  • National Register Criterion D: Information potential - have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.

References

  • National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places (1994), John Wiley ISBN 0471144037
  • National Park Service: National Register of Historic Places - database
  • National Park Service, How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation (1997) National Register Bulletin No. 15, Washington, DC: Government Printing Office
  • 36 CFR Part 60

See also

External links


1966 establishments | Historic preservation | Lists of places | National Register of Historic Places | Monuments and memorials in the United States

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "National Register of Historic Places".

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