History of the National Register of Historic Places
Encyclopedia
The History of the National Register of Historic Places began in 1966 when the United States government passed the National Historic Preservation Act
(NHPA), which created the National Register of Historic Places
(NRHP). Upon its inception, the U.S. National Park Service
(NPS) became the lead agency for the Register. The Register has continued to grow through two reorganizations, one in the 1970s and one in 1980s and in 1978 the NRHP was completely transferred away from the National Park Service, it was again transmitted to the NPS in 1981.
In April 1966, six months before the National Register of Historic Places was created the National Park Service's history research programs had been centralized into the office of Robert M. Utley
, NPS chief historian, in Washington, D.C., as part of an overall plan dubbed "MISSION 66." On October 15, 1966 the Historic Preservation Act created the National Register of Historic Places and the corresponding State Historic Preservation Offices. Initially the National Register consisted of those National Historic Landmarks designated before the Register's creation as well as any other historic sites within the National Park system. The passage of the act, which was amended in 1980, represented the first time the United States had a broad based historic preservation policy. While the National Register did not provide specific protection to listed properties it did require federal agencies to assess the impact of activities on buildings and properties listed or eligible for listing on the NRHP. 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.
Another Interior agency, the National Park Service, had past experience overseeing the Historic American Buildings Survey
(1933) and the Historic Sites Survey authorized in 1935. Because of this, and the fact that the Park Service was already managing numerous historic properties within national parks, the NPS was the logical choice to head up the newly created historic preservation program. To encompass the newly created National Register of Historic Places, the National Park Service, under director George B. Hartzog, Jr., created an administrative division called the Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation (OAHP). The division oversaw several existing cultural resources programs, including the Historic Sites Survey, Utley's history division and the Historic American Buildings Survey
, as well as the new NRHP and Historic Preservation Fund
. Hartzog charged OAHP with creating the National Register program mandated by the 1966 law. Ernest Connally was the Office's first director and it was he who observed that American historic preservation ought be carried out, "with the informed advice and assistance of the professional and scholarly organizations of the disciplines most directly related to the endeavor; namely history
, architecture
, and archeology." Within OAHP new divisions were created to deal with the National Register. The first official Keeper of the Register
was William J. Murtagh, an architectural historian.
In the Register's earliest years, the late 1960s and early 1970s, organization was lax and SHPO were small, understaffed and underfunded. Indeed, money was tight, but funds were still being supplied for the Historic Preservation Fund to provide matching grants-in-aid to listed property owners, first in house museums and institutional buildings but later in commercial structures as well. During this time period, the SHPO had little time to devote to serious planning, even if they wanted to, the demands of saving historic properties and building the organizations from ground up consumed most of the early state office's resources. As a result neither the State Historic Preservation Offices nor OAHP really took planning seriously. In 1969 Connally told Charles Lee, a State Historic Preservation Officer from South Carolina
, "write a paragraph of two on each of these headings. Call it 'The Preliminary South Carolina Historic Preservation Plan.' If it makes any sense at all, I'll approve, and you can file for your brick-and-mortar projects."
s were virtually non-existent for buildings on the National Register. Before 1976 the federal tax code favored new construction over the reuse of existing, sometimes historical, structures. After 1976 the tax code was altered to provide tax incentives which promote preservation of income-producing historic properties. The responsibility of ensuring that only rehabilitations that preserved the historic character of a building would qualify for the federal tax incentives fell to the National Park Service. Properties and sites listed on the Register as well as those considered contributing properties to a local historic district "approved by the Park Service" became eligible for the federal tax benefits.
Owners of properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places can be eligible for a 20% investment tax credit for the "certified rehabilitation of income-producing certified historic structures." The rehabilitation can be as commercial, industrial or residential, for rentals. The tax incentives program is operated by the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives program, which is jointly managed by the National Park Service, SHPO, 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.
The 20% tax incentive has very specific clauses indicating when it can be applied.The credit can be used for, "any project that the Secretary of the Interior designates a certified rehabilitation of a certified historic structure."
The NHPA made no distinction between properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places and those designated as National Historic Landmarks concerning qualification for tax incentives or grants. This was deliberate on the part of the 1966 act's authors, past experience had shown that categories of significance caused the lowest category to become expendable. Essentially, this reduced the Landmarks to little more than the "honor roll" of the National Register of Historic Places.
From 1978 until 1981, under President Jimmy Carter's administration, the lead agency for the NRHP was the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service (HCRS) within the United States Department of Interior. The National Park Service's brief period without the Register under its auspices began in the summer of 1978 when the separation between the two directorates established in 1973 became more pronounced. Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus
transferred authority over the Assistant Directorate for Archeology and Historic Preservation, which included the National Register of Historic Places, to the new Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service.
HCRS' time at the head of, essentially, all programs dealing with historic preservation formerly under the National Park Service, Bureau of Outdoor Recreation
(BOR) and the National Historic Landmarks Program, was tumultuous. Carter brought in administrator Chris T. Delaporte, former head of the BOR, to lead the upstart HCRS, his assertive management style and lack of experience in historic preservation
further separated state and federal entities on the topic and touched off protest from the states.
When James G. Watt
was appointed to the Interior post by Ronald Reagan among his first moves was to abolish the HCRS. This move transferred the divisions under its control, then under the leadership of Jerry L. Rogers, back to the National Park Service.
s were interdependent. Rogers, described as a skilled administrator who was sensitive to the need for the NPS to work with SHPO, academia and local governments, was picked to lead this newly merged associate directorate. When the NPS had reorganized in the mid-1960s it had eliminated the positions of regional historians and chosen instead to merge those positions into Utley's Washington office. The 1983 reorganization of the directorates in control of Register activities represented a return to the organization pre-MISSION 66.
By 1987 State Historic Preservation Offices existed in 57 separate jurisdictions, all fifty states
and several territories. The SHPOs help make the management of the National Register and its affiliated incentive programs possible, with the states assuming much of the responsibility for monitoring rehabilitation construction on Registered Historic Places. The result is that the NPS sets standards and priorities, administers the grants program, and maintains quality control, while the SHPO carry out the work as agents of the federal government.
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...
(NHPA), which created the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
(NRHP). Upon its inception, the U.S. 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) became the lead agency for the Register. The Register has continued to grow through two reorganizations, one in the 1970s and one in 1980s and in 1978 the NRHP was completely transferred away from the National Park Service, it was again transmitted to the NPS in 1981.
Early years
Robert M. Utley
Robert Marshall Utley is an author and historian who has written sixteen books on the history of the American West. He was a former chief historian of the National Park Service. Fellow historians commend Utley as the finest historian of the American frontier in the 19th century.The Western History...
, NPS chief historian, in Washington, D.C., as part of an overall plan dubbed "MISSION 66." On October 15, 1966 the Historic Preservation Act created the National Register of Historic Places and the corresponding State Historic Preservation Offices. Initially the National Register consisted of those National Historic Landmarks designated before the Register's creation as well as any other historic sites within the National Park system. The passage of the act, which was amended in 1980, represented the first time the United States had a broad based historic preservation policy. While the National Register did not provide specific protection to listed properties it did require federal agencies to assess the impact of activities on buildings and properties listed or eligible for listing on the NRHP. 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.
Another Interior agency, the National Park Service, had past experience overseeing 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...
(1933) and the Historic Sites Survey authorized in 1935. Because of this, and the fact that the Park Service was already managing numerous historic properties within national parks, the NPS was the logical choice to head up the newly created historic preservation program. To encompass the newly created National Register of Historic Places, the National Park Service, under director George B. Hartzog, Jr., created an administrative division called the Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation (OAHP). The division oversaw several existing cultural resources programs, including the Historic Sites Survey, Utley's history division 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 NRHP 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...
. Hartzog charged OAHP with creating the National Register program mandated by the 1966 law. Ernest Connally was the Office's first director and it was he who observed that American historic preservation ought be carried out, "with the informed advice and assistance of the professional and scholarly organizations of the disciplines most directly related to the endeavor; namely history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, and archeology." Within OAHP new divisions were created to deal with the National Register. 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.
In the Register's earliest years, the late 1960s and early 1970s, organization was lax and SHPO were small, understaffed and underfunded. Indeed, money was tight, but funds were still being supplied for the Historic Preservation Fund to provide matching grants-in-aid to listed property owners, first in house museums and institutional buildings but later in commercial structures as well. During this time period, the SHPO had little time to devote to serious planning, even if they wanted to, the demands of saving historic properties and building the organizations from ground up consumed most of the early state office's resources. As a result neither the State Historic Preservation Offices nor OAHP really took planning seriously. In 1969 Connally told Charles Lee, a State Historic Preservation Officer from South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, "write a paragraph of two on each of these headings. Call it 'The Preliminary South Carolina Historic Preservation Plan.' If it makes any sense at all, I'll approve, and you can file for your brick-and-mortar projects."
Reorganization
In 1973 the NPS history programs affiliated with both the U.S. National Parks system and the National Register were formally categorized into two "Assistant Directorates." Established were the Assistant Directorate for Archeology and Historic Preservation (ADAHP) and the Assistant Directorate for Park Historic Preservation (ADPHP). The Assistant Directorate for Archeology and Historic Preservation dealt with those cultural resources which were external to the National Parks system. The ADAHP included the Grants, National Register, Historical and Architectural Surveys and the Interagency Services Divisions of the Park Service. The ADPHP, on the other hand, dealt primarily with those resources associated internally with the NPS. The ADPHP included the History, Archeology and Historic Architecture Division.Incentives program
Until 1976 tax incentiveTax 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 favored new construction over the reuse of existing, sometimes historical, structures. After 1976 the tax code was altered to provide tax incentives which promote preservation of income-producing historic properties. The responsibility of ensuring that only rehabilitations that preserved the historic character of a building would qualify for the federal tax incentives fell to the National Park Service. Properties and sites listed on the Register as well as those considered contributing properties to a local historic district "approved by the Park Service" became eligible for the federal tax benefits.
Owners of properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places can be eligible for a 20% investment tax credit for the "certified rehabilitation of income-producing certified historic structures." The rehabilitation can be as commercial, industrial or residential, for rentals. The tax incentives program is operated by the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives program, which is jointly managed by the National Park Service, SHPO, 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.
The 20% tax incentive has very specific clauses indicating when it can be applied.The credit can be used for, "any project that the Secretary of the Interior designates a certified rehabilitation of a certified historic structure."
The NHPA made no distinction between properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places and those designated as National Historic Landmarks concerning qualification for tax incentives or grants. This was deliberate on the part of the 1966 act's authors, past experience had shown that categories of significance caused the lowest category to become expendable. Essentially, this reduced the Landmarks to little more than the "honor roll" of the National Register of Historic Places.
Under the Recreation service
Cecil D. Andrus
Cecil Dale Andrus was an American politician who served as Governor of Idaho from 1971 to 1977, and again from 1987 to 1995; and in Washington as United States Secretary of the Interior from 1977 to 1981, during the Carter administration...
transferred authority over the Assistant Directorate for Archeology and Historic Preservation, which included the National Register of Historic Places, to the new Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service.
HCRS' time at the head of, essentially, all programs dealing with historic preservation formerly under the National Park Service, Bureau of Outdoor Recreation
Bureau of Outdoor Recreation
The Bureau of Outdoor Recreation was an agency of the United States Department of the Interior with the mission of planning outdoor recreation opportunities for the Interior Department and assisting private, local, and state organizations with their recreation planning...
(BOR) and the National Historic Landmarks Program, was tumultuous. Carter brought in administrator Chris T. Delaporte, former head of the BOR, to lead the upstart HCRS, his assertive management style and lack of experience in 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...
further separated state and federal entities on the topic and touched off protest from the states.
When James G. Watt
James G. Watt
James Gaius Watt served as U.S. Secretary of the Interior for President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1983.-Early life and career:...
was appointed to the Interior post by Ronald Reagan among his first moves was to abolish the HCRS. This move transferred the divisions under its control, then under the leadership of Jerry L. Rogers, back to the National Park Service.
Second reorganization
In February 1983 the two assistant directorates, created in 1973, were merged to promote efficiency and recognize that the cultural resource programs associated with both directorateDirectorate
A directorate is an agency usually headed by a director, often a subdivision of a major government department.* Immigration and Nationality Directorate* Dairat al-Mukhabarat al-Ammah * Veterinary Medicines Directorate...
s were interdependent. Rogers, described as a skilled administrator who was sensitive to the need for the NPS to work with SHPO, academia and local governments, was picked to lead this newly merged associate directorate. When the NPS had reorganized in the mid-1960s it had eliminated the positions of regional historians and chosen instead to merge those positions into Utley's Washington office. The 1983 reorganization of the directorates in control of Register activities represented a return to the organization pre-MISSION 66.
Work with State offices
The NHPA established the historic preservation plan for the United States not based on a U.S. governmental model but rather on that of a highly decentralized system allowing the states to carry out activities which would allow the federal government to meet the standards of the 1966 act. Though it was not initially spelled out in the 1966 act reliance on the SHPO eventually became important as part of the process of listing properties on the National Register. The 1980 amendments to the law further laid out the responsibilities of SHPO concerning the federal Register.By 1987 State Historic Preservation Offices existed in 57 separate jurisdictions, all fifty states
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
and several territories. The SHPOs help make the management of the National Register and its affiliated incentive programs possible, with the states assuming much of the responsibility for monitoring rehabilitation construction on Registered Historic Places. The result is that the NPS sets standards and priorities, administers the grants program, and maintains quality control, while the SHPO carry out the work as agents of the federal government.