Register of Culturally Significant Property
Encyclopedia
The Secretary of State's Register of Culturally Significant Property is the United States Department of State
's registry of properties that are owned or leased by the Department and have particular cultural or historical significance.
The State Department owns or has under long-term lease over 3,500 properties at 265 posts
worldwide. Among these are buildings that are historically, architecturally, or culturally significant. Building types include chanceries
, residences, office buildings, staff apartments, a gardener's house, and a guesthouse. The Department also has a significant collection of fine
and decorative arts in its inventory.
These seven criteria were used to evaluate properties for listing by the Secretary of State in the register:
The Secretary's Register is similar to the National Register of Historic Places
maintained by the Secretary of the Interior
. The Register is an important initiative to commemorate the significant international heritage of the United States and to promote and preserve American history and architecture.
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
's registry of properties that are owned or leased by the Department and have particular cultural or historical significance.
The State Department owns or has under long-term lease over 3,500 properties at 265 posts
Diplomatic mission
A diplomatic mission is a group of people from one state or an international inter-governmental organisation present in another state to represent the sending state/organisation in the receiving state...
worldwide. Among these are buildings that are historically, architecturally, or culturally significant. Building types include chanceries
Diplomatic mission
A diplomatic mission is a group of people from one state or an international inter-governmental organisation present in another state to represent the sending state/organisation in the receiving state...
, residences, office buildings, staff apartments, a gardener's house, and a guesthouse. The Department also has a significant collection of fine
Fine art
Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....
and decorative arts in its inventory.
These seven criteria were used to evaluate properties for listing by the Secretary of State in the register:
- Designation or acknowledgment by a government as a significant property
- Part of the United States' overseas heritage
- Association with a significant historical event or person
- Important architecture and/or by an important architect
- Distinctive theme or assembly
- Unique object or visual feature
- Archaeological siteArchaeological siteAn archaeological site is a place in which evidence of past activity is preserved , and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record.Beyond this, the definition and geographical extent of a 'site' can vary widely,...
The Secretary's Register is similar to 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...
maintained by the Secretary of the Interior
United States Secretary of the Interior
The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
. The Register is an important initiative to commemorate the significant international heritage of the United States and to promote and preserve American history and architecture.
Culturally Significant Places
The following is a list of the Register's significant buildings. Many of these are currently used as the embassy or residence of the United States Ambassador to their respective countries.- ChanceryDiplomatic missionA diplomatic mission is a group of people from one state or an international inter-governmental organisation present in another state to represent the sending state/organisation in the receiving state...
of the Embassy of the United States in ManilaEmbassy of the United States in ManilaThe Embassy of the United States of America to the Republic of the Philippines is situated in the Chancery Building of the Manila American Embassy along Roxas Boulevard in Manila...
, Manila - Winfield HouseWinfield HouseWinfield House is a mansion set in 12 acres of grounds in Regent's Park, London, England - the largest private garden in or close to central London after that of Buckingham Palace...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... - Schoenborn PalaceSchönborn Palace (Prague)The Schoenborn Palace in the Mala Strana district of Prague is the current home of the United States Embassy to the Czech Republic. The first United States Minister to Czechoslovakia was Richard Crane, a Chicago plumbing millionaire...
, PraguePraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million... - Palazzo MargheritaPalazzo MargheritaPalazzo Margherita, or palazzo Piombino, is a palazzo on Via Veneto in Rome. It was built from 1886 to 1890 by Gaetano Koch for prince Rodolfo Boncompagni Ludovisi, prince of Piombino, on a now-vanished portion of the Villa Ludovisi...
, RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half... - Twin Villas, RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
- Seoul Old American Legation, SeoulSeoulSeoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
- Hôtel de Talleyrand, ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
- Hôtel Rothschild, ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
- Tangier Old LegationAmerican Legation, TangierThe 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...
, TangierTangierTangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel... - Ambassador’s Residence, TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
- Palacio Bosch, Buenos AiresBuenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
- Ambassador's ResidenceUnited States Ambassador to VietnamThe United States Ambassador to Vietnam is the chief American diplomat to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. After the First Indochina War and the defeat of the French dominion over Vietnam, the nation was split into North and South Vietnam at the Geneva Conference of 1954...
, HanoiHanoiHanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam... - Villa Otium, OsloOsloOslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
- New Delhi Chancery, New DelhiNew DelhiNew Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
- Tirana Embassy, TiranaTiranaTirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...
- American Center, AlexandriaAlexandriaAlexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
- Athens ChanceryEmbassy of the United States in AthensThe Embassy of the United States in Athens is the embassy of the United States in Greece, in the capital city of Athens. The embassy is charged with diplomacy and Greece–United States relations. The United States Ambassador to Greece is the head of the diplomatic mission of the United States to...
, AthensAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state... - Truman Hall, BrusselsBrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
- Byne House, MadridMadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
- Villa Petschek, PraguePraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...