Welcome to the National Register of Historic Places https://www.nps.gov/nr/index.htm

The National Register of Historic Places is the Nation's official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation. Authorized under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Register is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect our historic and archeological resources. Properties listed in the Register include districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that are significant in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture. The National Register is administered by the National Park Service, which is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

This site presents a range of beautiful historic places throughout the country. Visitors can access places well worth visiting in different states and counties across the nation. Both individual historic destinations and districts can be easily found that cover a tremendous range for points of interest. Get information on famous persons, events, sites, buildings, and much more. Welcome to an adventure in finding numerous places which made a mark in history.

Use the following links to locate Historic Places:

• State Listings - Locate Historic Places by State and County. There are now 85,014 places listed.
• Historic Districts - With over 13,594 designated districts listed in our database there is most likely one close to you.
• Vacant / Not In Use - Opportunities or places to avoid? Places designated as 'vacant' or 'not in use' may be an ideal business location, your next home, or perhaps a location that needs restoration assistance. Currently there are approximately 9,495 places listed as vacant or not in use.

• Review nominations submitted by states, tribes, and other federal agencies and list eligible properties in the National Register
• Offer guidance on evaluating, documenting, and listing different types of historic places through the National Register Bulletin series and other publications
• Help qualified historic properties receive preservation benefits and incentives

• National Register Fundamentals - covers everything from how to determine if your property is eligible, to how to contact your State Historic Preservation Officer to start a nomination, to the listing process, to the effects of listing
• Nomination Forms
• Publications- National Register Bulletins and other guidance on all aspects of the nomination process
• Federal Preservation Laws and Regulations(36CFR60 - specifically for the National Register of Historic Places)

The National Register of Historic Places is a treasure trove for professional historians, scholars, and anyone curious about American history. You can explore its riches three ways:

• Search a list of properties
• Read an ever-growing inventory of full nomination forms online - we are currently digitizing our files and adding them to our online database

• The more than 90,000 properties listed in the National Register represent 1.4 million individual resources - buildings, sites, districts, structures, and objects
• Almost every county in the United States has at least one place listed in the National Register
• Listing in the National Register is the first step towards eligibility for National Park Service-administered federal preservation tax credits that have leveraged more than $45 billion in private investment and National Park Service grant programs like Save America's Treasures and Preserve America.
• 30 historic lighthouses have been transferred to new owners for preservation and public use
• 144 students have taken part in the Cultural Resources Diversity Internship Program

Program Manager: Paul Loether

National Register Archive: please contact e-mail

Staff Contacts

Email:

Reference Questions about the National Register, about using the National Register collection, and for requesting copies of nominations and publications. (If requesting information, please include your mailing address, and for nominations, please include the property name, county, and state.)

Phone: (202) 354-2211
Fax: (202) 371-6447

Mailing Address:
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
1849 C Street, NW, Mail Stop 7228
Washington , DC 20240

Saint Vincent Villa
Fort Wayne, IN

The Secretary of the Interior is responsible for establishing standards for all national preservation programs under Departmental authority and for advising federal agencies on the preservation of historic properties listed or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

The Standards for Rehabilitation, a section of the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Historic Preservation, address the most prevalent preservation treatment of today: rehabilitation activities. Rehabilitation is defined as “the process of returning a property to a state of utility, through repair or alteration, which makes possible an efficient contemporary use while preserving those portions and features of the property which are significant to its historic, architectural, and cultural values.”

The Standards that follow were originally published in 1977 and were revised in 1990 as part of Department of the Interior regulations (36 CFR Part 67, Historic Preservation Certifications). They pertain to historic buildings of all materials, sizes, construction types, and occupancy, and they encompass both the exterior and interior of historic buildings. The Standards also apply to related landscape features and the building’s site and environment as well as attached, adjacent, or related new construction.

The Standards are to be applied to specific rehabilitation projects in a reasonable manner, taking into consideration economic and technical feasibility. In brief, the Standards cover the following ten points:

1. A property shall be used for its historic purpose or be placed in a new use that requires minimal change to the defining characteristics of the building and its site and environment.
2. The historic character of a property shall be retained and preserved. The removal of historic materials or alteration of features and spaces that characterize a property shall be avoided.
3. Each property shall be recognized as a physical record of its time, place, and use. Changes that create a false sense of historical development, such as adding conjectural features or architectural elements from other buildings, shall not be undertaken.
4. Most properties change over time; those changes that have acquired historic significance in their own right shall be retained and preserved.
5. Distinctive features, finishes, and construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship that characterize a property shall be preserved.
6. Deteriorated historic features shall be repaired rather than replaced. Where the severity of deterioration requires replacement of a distinctive feature, the new feature shall match the old in design, color, texture, and other visual qualities and, where possible, materials. Replacement of missing features shall be substantiated by documentary, physical, or pictorial evidence.
7. Chemical or physical treatments, such as sandblasting, that cause damage to historic materials shall not be used. The surface cleaning of structures, if appropriate, shall be undertaken using the gentlest means possible.
8. Significant archaeological resources affected by a project shall be protected and preserved. If such resources must be disturbed, mitigation measures shall be undertaken.
9. New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction shall not destroy historic materials that characterize the property. The new work shall be differentiated from the old and shall be compatible with the massing, size, scale, and architectural features to protect the historic integrity of the property and its environment.
10. New additions and adjacent or related new construction shall be undertaken in such a manner that if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be unimpaired.

Certain treatments, if improperly applied, or certain materials by their physical properties, may cause physical deterioration of historic buildings. Inappropriate physical treatments include, but are not limited to: improper repointing techniques; improper exterior masonry cleaning methods; and improper introduction of insulation where damage to historic fabric would result. In almost all situations, use of these materials and treatments will result in denial of certification for tax credit purposes. In addition, every effort should be made to ensure that new materials and workmanship are compatible with the materials and workmanship of the historic property.

The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties have been expanded and interpreted to cover a wide variety of preservation situations and issues. Specifically, the Standards cover acquisition, protection, stabilization, preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, and reconstruction. When researching these Standards or requesting copies, it is important to know which subset of the Standards apply to your situation.

For more information, or to receive a copy of the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Historic Preservation Projects, contact the DHPA or write to: National Park Service, Heritage Preservation Services, 1849 C Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20240.

.