Emil Bach House

Emil Bach House

The Emil Bach House is a Prairie style house in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, United States that was designed by famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The house was built in 1915 for an admirer of Wright's work, Emil Bach. Bach was co-owner of the Bach Brick Company. The house is representative of Wright's late Prairie style and is an expression of his creativity from a period just before his work shifted stylistic focus. The Bach House was declared a Chicago Landmark on September 28, 1977, and was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on January 23, 1979.[1]


History

On December 5, 1914, Emil Bach and his wife Anna purchased the site of the Bach House from Amelia Ludwick and her husband. In 1915 Bach commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design the house. Joseph Peacock purchased the house from the Bachs in 1934 and owned it until 1947. The property changed hands twice in 1951; the final sale was in December to Manuel Weiss who held the property until 1959. That year he sold the house to Joseph Blinder.[2]

In 2003, Toulabi put the home up for sale with a price of US$2.5 million, it was later listed at $1.9 million.[3] The house lingered on the market for months before it was finally put up for auction with a starting bid of $750,000, less than a third of the original asking price. Factors contributing to the slow market for the Wright designed landmark included the restrictive nature of local landmark ordinances which prevent owners from making significant alterations without prior approval.[4] The Rogers Park neighborhood changed from a once quiet lake front, country area to a busy street, which also contributed to the sluggish demand for the house.[4]

Preservationists expressed concern surrounding the auction and the question of the final destiny for the expansive 45 ft (13.72 m) by 150 ft (45.72 m) side yard.[3][5] The yard is zoned "RT-4" which, among other residential uses, allowed bidders the option to develop high rise apartments or condominiums.[6][3] When the home finally sold at auction, "well above the opening bid of $750,000," the new owners revealed that they intended to live in the house and preserve the yard.[5]


Architecture

The Bach House is one of the homes Wright designed after his 1911 return from Europe still extant in the city of Chicago. The home is part of a series of geometric, cubic homes with overhanging, flat roofs designed by Wright in the early 20th century. The first was the Laura Gale House in Oak Park, Illinois, followed by the Oscar Balch House, also in Oak Park, Coonley Kindergarten, the Bogh House and then the Bach House.[7] Of the houses of this type in Chicago, with cubic masses and a slab roof, the Bach House is the only one left standing.

The 2,700 ft² (250.84 m²) house was designed as a two-story single family residence with a basement.[3][7] When the house was constructed it was a "country home" with a clear view of Lake Michigan from its rear (east) facade.[4][7] Due to the changing nature of the Rogers Park neighborhood, the house now stands among commercial properties and apartment buildings on a busy city street (North Sheridan Road).[4] Because of the lake view, the original building had a large rear porch and sun deck; they were both enclosed when houses were built between the Bach House and the lake, obstructing the view. The enclosure of the sun deck and porch utilized mainly glass, to aid in the alteration's melding with Wright's intended vision. Other alterations included the removal of some of Wright's signature built-in features. A built-in seat was removed from the living room and a built-in counter removed in the dining room. On the second floor, the servant's room was converted into a second bathroom.[7]


Significance

The Bach House is an example of Frank Lloyd Wright's late Prairie style and was designed in the period just prior to his transition to a more expressionist, Japanese influenced aesthetic.[7] The home's individuality, coupled with its high artistic merit, and famous architect, make it significant historically and culturally.[7] The city of Chicago declared the structure a Chicago Landmark on September 28, 1977, and on January 23, 1979, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.[8][1]

The Bach House is on prime Chicago real estate, one block from Lake Michigan.[9] The neighborhood has been an area where developers bought property with the intent of building high-rise apartment and condominium buildings.[9] According to experts such as Ronald Scherubel, the executive director of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy in Chicago, a historic preservation easement has likely been the only thing that has prevented demolition of the Bach House. The easement prohibits the destruction or alteration of the house without approval from the city and the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois.[9]

Historic preservation

Historic preservation

Historic preservation is the act of maintaining and repairing existing historic materials and the retention of a property's form as it has evolved over time. When considering the United States Department of Interior's interpretation: "Preservation calls for the existing form, materials, features, and detailing of a property to be retained and preserved. This may include preliminary measures to protect and stabilize it prior to undertaking other work--or protection and stabilization may be an end in itself, for example, in an archaeological project".[1] Historic Preservation is a tool to save older buildings.

History

In England, Antiquarian interests were a familiar gentleman's pursuit since the mid 17th century, developing in tandem with the rise in scientific curiosity. Fellows of the Royal Society were often also Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries[citation needed]. The UK's Ancient Monuments Act of 1913 officially preserved certain decayed and obsolete structures of intrinsic historical and associative interest, just as Modernism was lending moral authority to destruction of the built heritage in the name of progress.[citation needed] The UK's National Trust began with the preservation of historic houses and has steadily increased its scope. In the UK's subsequent Town and Planning Act (1944), and the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, steps were taken toward historic preservation on an unprecedented scale.[citation needed] Concern about the demolition of historic buildings arose in institutions such as the pressure group The Society for the Preservation of Historic Buildings, which appealed against demolition and neglect on a case by case basis.[2]

In The United States one of the first major Historic Preservation undertakings was that of George Washington's Mount Vernon in 1858.[3] Founded in 1889, the Richmond, Virginia-based Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities was the United States' first statewide historic preservation group.[citation needed] The US National Trust for Historic Preservation, another privately funded non-profit organization, began in 1949 with a handful of privileged structures and has developed goals that provide "leadership, education, advocacy, and resources to save America's diverse historic places and revitalize our communities" according to the Trust's mission statement. In 1951 the Trust assumed responsibility for its first museum property, Woodlawn Plantation in northern Virginia. Twenty-eight sites in all have subsequently become part of the National Trust, representing the cultural diversity of American history. In New York City, the destruction of Pennsylvania Station in 1964 shocked many in that city into supporting preservation. On an international level, the New York-based World Monuments Fund was founded in 1965 to preserve historic sites all over the world.

Under the direction of James Marston Fitch, the first advanced-degree historic preservation program began at Columbia University in 1964.[4] It became the model on which most other graduate historic preservation programs were created.[5] Many other programs were to follow before 1980: M.A. in Preservation Planning from Cornell (1975); M.S. in Historic Preservation from the University of Vermont (1975); M.S. in Historic Preservation Studies from Boston University (1976); and M.S. in Historic Preservation from Eastern Michigan University (1979).

The first undergraduate programs (B.A.) appeared in 1977 from Goucher College and Roger Williams College.[6]

Historic districts

A Historic district in the United States 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 into two categories, contributing and non-contributing. Districts greatly vary in size, some having hundreds of structures while others have just a few.

The U.S. federal government designates historic districts through the U.S. Department of Interior, under the auspices of the National Park Service. Federally designated historic districts are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[7]
A similar concept exists in the United Kingdom: a Conservation area is designated in accordance with the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 in order to protect a zone in which there are buildings of architectural or cultural heritage interest.

Preserving historic landscapes

The United States led the world in the creation of National Parks, areas of unspoiled natural wilderness, where the intrusion of civilization are intentionally minimal.[citation needed]
In addition to preserving the natural heritage, the U.S. Park Service also maintains the National Register of Historic Places to recognize significant buildings and places, including historic parks, battlefields, National Historic Landmarks, memorials and monuments.

Landscapes and sites of outstanding universal value can be designated as World Heritage Sites. A requirement of such designation is that the designating nation has appropriate legislation in place to preserve them.

Careers

Although volunteers have traditionally engaged in historic preservation activities, since the 1960s, the field has seen an increased level of professionalization. Today, there are many career options in historic preservation. Institutes of secondary education (universities, colleges, etc.) in the United States offer both certificate and degree (A.A.S, B.A., B.F.A., B.S., M.A., M.F.A., M.S., and PhD) programs in historic preservation.[9] Some students—at schools with such programs available—choose to enroll in "joint degree" programs, earning a degree in historic preservation along with one in another, related subject, often an MArch, MUP or JD degree.

Possible career fields include:

Historic preservation planner (local/county/state level)
State Historic Preservation Officer
Preservation Architect
Preservation Engineer
Resource interpreters
Public historian
Historic site administrator
Consultant for Section 106 reviews in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966
Director or staff of a local, regional, statewide, or national preservation non-profit such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation
Traditional trades practitioner.


See also

Architectural conservation
Adaptive reuse
Category:Demolished buildings and structures
Category:Heritage organizations
List of historic houses
National Register of Historic Places
National Trusts worldwide
World Heritage Sites


External links

The Annapolis Collection Story from Baltilore Sun
National Trust For Historic Preservation
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada
PreserveNet: A Cornell-affiliated web page designed to provide preservationists with a comprehensive database of regularly updated internet resources and current professional opportunities.
PreservationDirectory.com: A resource for historic preservation, building restoration and cultural resource management in the US and Canada
The Association for Preservation Technology International (APT): is a cross-disciplinary, membership organization dedicated to promoting the best technology for conserving historic structures and their settings.
Preservation Trades Network (PTN): membership community organization focused on traditional trades practitioners and allied professionals in the international preservation industry
Preservation News Vol. 1 (1961) - Vol. 35 no. 1 (Feb/March 1995). Monthly publication of the Preservation Press of the National Trust for Historic Preservation of the United States.
National Council for Preservation Education: (NCPE) Guide to over fifty academic programs in historic preservation and allied fields in the United States and other information
WWW-VL US Historic Preservation Virtual Library of resources for preservation, including green LEED examples

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 worthy of preservation. The passing 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 members within historic districts. Each year approximately 30,000 properties are added to the National Register as part of districts or through 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 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, they do provide some financial incentive to listed property owners. During the nomination process, the property is evaluated in terms of the four criteria for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The application of those criteria has been the subject of criticism by academics in the fields 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: building, structure, site, object, and districts. Historic districts consist of contributing and non-contributing property types. Some properties are added automatically to the National Register when they come under the aegis of the National Park Service. These include National Historic Landmarks (NHL), National Historic Sites (NHS), National Historical Parks, National Military Parks/Battlefields, National Memorials and some National Monuments.[2]

History

On October 15, 1966 the Historic Preservation Act created the National Register of Historic Places and the corresponding State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPO).[4] Initially the National Register consisted of the National Historic Landmarks designated before the Register's creation, as well as any other historic sites within the National Park system.[5] The passage of the act, which was amended in 1980 and 1992, represented the first time the United States had a broad based historic preservation policy.[6][4] 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.[7]

To encompass the newly created National Register of Historic Places, the National Park Service under the U.S. Department of Interior, under director George B. Hartzog, Jr., established an administrative division called the Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation (OAHP).[7][8] 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.[9] The division oversaw several existing programs, including the Historic Sites Survey and the Historic American Buildings Survey, as well as the new NRHP and Historic Preservation Fund.[7]

The first official Keeper of the Register was William J. Murtagh, an architectural historian.[5] In the Register's earliest years, the late 1960s and early 1970s, organization was lax and SHPOs were small, understaffed and underfunded.[8] 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 for house museums and institutional buildings but later for commercial structures as well.[7]

A few years later 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 and the Assistant Directorate for Park Historic Preservation.[9] From 1978 until 1981 the lead agency for the NRHP was the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service (HCRS) within the United States Department of Interior.[10]

In February 1983 the two assistant directorates were merged to promote efficiency and recognize the interdependency of their programs. Jerry L. Rogers was picked to lead 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.[9]

Though not initially spelled out in the 1966 act, the role of the SHPO eventually became integral to the process to list properties on the National Register. The 1980 amendments to the 1966 law further laid out the responsibilities of SHPO concerning the federal National Register.[10] Several 1992 amendments to the NHPA added a classification to the National Register known as Traditional Cultural Properties, properties associated with Native American or Hawaiian groups.[6]

The National Register of Historic Places has grown considerably from its beginnings as legislation in 1966. In 1986 citizens and groups nominated 3,623 separate properties, sites, and districts for inclusion on the NRHP, a total of 75,000 separate properties.[10] Of the more than one million properties on the National Register, 80,000 are listed individually. Others are listed as contributing members within historic districts.[7][11]

Property owner incentives

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.[13] Indirect protection is possible, through state and local regulations on development of NRHP properties, and through tax incentives.

Until 1976 tax incentives 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.[7] After 1976 the tax code was altered to provide tax incentives which promote preservation of income-producing historic properties. The National Park Service had the responsibility to ensure that only rehabilitations that preserved the historic character of a building would qualify for the federal tax incentives. 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.[7]

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.[14]

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.[15] 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.[16]

Some property owners may qualify for grants as well, for instance, the Save America's Treasures grants that apply specifically to NRHP properties which were entered in the Register at a national level of significance or designated as National Historic Landmarks.[17]
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. Their experience had shown that categories of significance caused the lowest category to become expendable.[5] Essentially, this reduced the Landmarks to little more than the "honor roll" of the National Register of Historic Places.[5]

Nomination process

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.[19] The State Historic Preservation Office receives National Register nominations and supplies feedback to the individual or group preparing the nomination, which is done via a standard nomination form. The SHPO sends each nomination to the state's historic preservation advisory board, which then recommends whether the State Historic Preservation Officer should forward it to the Keeper of the Register. Only the State Historic Preservation Officer can officially nominate a property for inclusion in the National Register. 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 of the Register into the National Register of Historic Places.[19] Owners are also informed of the nomination during the review by the SHPO. If an owner objects to a nomination, 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.[19]

Criteria

For a property to be listed it must meet at least one of the four NRHP key criteria.[21] Information on architectural styles, association with various aspects of social history and commerce, and ownership are all integral parts of the nomination. Each nomination generally provides a narrative section which describes the site or building in detail and justifies why it is historically significant. The NRHP criteria fall into four categories. To meet the "Event" category, criterion A, the property must make a contribution to the broad patterns of American history. Criterion B, "Person," is associated with significant people in the American past. The third criterion, C, "Design/Construction," is affiliated with the distinctive characteristics of the building through its construction and architecture, including having high artistic value or being the work of a master. The final criterion, D, "Information potential," is satisfied if the property has yielded or may be likely to yield information important to prehistory or history.[19] The criteria are applied differently for different types of properties, for instance, maritime properties have different application guidelines than buildings.[21]

Exclusions

There are also specific instances where properties usually do not merit listing on 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 which have achieved significance in the last 50 years are not qualified for listing on the Register.[19] There are, however, exceptions to every category on that list. There are mitigating circumstances which allow properties classified in one of those groups to be included.[19]

Listed properties

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."[22] The National Register of Historic Places automatically includes all National Historic Landmarks as well as all historic areas administered by the National Park Service.[4] Besides Landmarks these include: National Historic Sites (NHS), National Historical Parks, National Military Parks/Battlefields, National Memorials, and some National Monuments. Occasionally historic sites outside the country's traditional borders but associated with the United States, such as the American Embassy in Tangiers, are also listed.[23]

Listing in the National Register does not restrict private property owners from the use of their property.[14] Some states and municipalities, however, may have laws that become effective when a property is listed on 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 impact of its actions on historic resources.[4] Statutorily, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation has the most significant role under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The section requires that the head of any federal agency with direct or indirect jurisdiction over a project which may affect a property listed on the National Register of Historic Places, must first report to the Advisory Council. The head 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.[24]

While Section 106 does not explicitly mandate that any federal agency head listen to the advice of the ACHP, practically their advice carries weight, especially given the statutory obligations laid out in the NHPA that require federal agencies to "take into account the effect of the undertaking."[24][4]

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.[25] In contrast to conditions relating to a federally Registered Historic District, often municipal ordinances governing local historic district restrict certain kinds of changes to properties. Thus they may protect the property more than a National Register listing does.[26]
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 language of the DOT Act is much broader than Section 106 NHPA in that it refers to properties beyond those listed on the Register.[24]

The broader language has allowed more properties and parklands to enjoy status as protected areas under this legislation, a policy laid out early on 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."[24]

Multiple Property Submission

A Multiple Property Submission (MPS) is a thematic group listing in the National Register of Historic Places which consists of related properties. The properties are of a common theme and can be submitted as a group. The multiple property submissions outlines basic criteria for National Register inclusion for properties of a certain type.

The process begins with the Multiple Property Documentation Form, which acts as a cover document rather than the nomination to the NRHP. The purpose of the documentation form is to establish the basis of eligibility for related properties. The information outlined in the Multiple Property Documentation Form can be used to nominate and register related historic properties simultaneously or, to establish criteria for properties which may be nominated in the future. Thus, additions to an MPS can occur over a period of years. The actual nomination of individual properties in an MPS is done in the same manner other nominations are made. The name of the "thematic group" denotes the historical framework of the properties. It is considered the "multiple property listing." Once an individual or group of properties are nominated and listed on the NRHP, the Multiple Property Documentation From, combined with the individual National Register of Historic Places Nomination Forms, constitute a Multiple Property Submission.[27] Examples of MPS include the Lee County Multiple Property Submission, the Warehouses in Omaha, and the Illinois Carnegie Libraries. Before the term Multiple Property Submission was introduced, in 1984, such listings were known as "Thematic Resources" (TR) or "Multiple Resource Areas" (MRA).[28]

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 more specialized subcategories. The five general categories for NRHP properties are: building, structure, object, site, and district.[21] 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, 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.[21]

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 when compared to structures and buildings. Though objects may be movable they are generally associated with a specific setting or environment. Examples of objects include, monuments, sculptures and fountains.
Sites are the location of significant events which can be prehistoric or historic in nature and represent activities, buildings (standing, ruined or vanished). With sites it is the location itself which is of historical interest. It possesses cultural or archaeological value regardless of the value of any structures which currently exist on the location. Examples of sites include shipwrecks, battlefields, campsites, natural features and rock shelters.[21]

Historic districts possess a concentration, linkage or continuity of the other four types of properties. Objects, structures, buildings, and sites within a historic district are united historically or aesthetically, either by choice or by the nature of their development.[21]

There are several other different types of historic preservation associated with the properties on the National Register of Historic Places that do not fall into the categories with 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 against different types of properties.[21] Though the criteria are always the same, the way they are applied can differ slightly, depending upon the type of property involved. The National Register bulletins cover application of the criteria for aids to navigation, historic battlefields, archaeological sites, aviation properties, cemeteries and burial places, historic designed landscapes, mining sites, post offices, properties associated with significant persons, properties achieving significance within the last 50 years, rural historic landscapes, traditional cultural properties, and vessels and shipwrecks.[21]

Criticism

In 1983 Joseph A. Tainter and G. John Lucas published "Epistemology of the Significance Concept," in American Antiquity. The paper dealt with the notion of significance and the "dilemma" it presented concerning which properties were included on the NRHP and which ones were not. The main idea underlying Lucas' and Tainter's paper was the quest for a "deeper understanding" of the notion of significance as it pertained to historic preservation efforts in the United States. Through that deeper understanding they hoped to "suggest possible courses of action for dealing with some aspects of the significance dilemma."[30] The two criticized the idea of significance as it was applied by the NRHP, stating that three of the criteria for inclusion basically defined significance as "significant." The fourth criterion, they stated, defined the concept as "important."[30] Tainter and Lucas' view drew considerable response from the larger academic community.[31][32]

Stephen Mikesell argued a similar position in 1986 in his paper, published in The Public Historian. Mikesell called the NRHP criteria "so broad as to be almost useless when evaluating specific properties."[29] A 1987 paper by Jerry L. Rogers in The Public Historian criticized the lack of a "human touch" in the way the program was administered by the National Park Service. The author contended the process was highly decentralized. Rogers further noted that federal historic preservation officers did not receive much training.[33]

The shortcomings of the NHPA are obvious when historic properties are destroyed, as when the Jobbers Canyon Historic District in downtown Omaha, Nebraska was demolished in 1987 to make way for a suburban-style corporate campus.[34]


See also

List of National Register of Historic Places entries
List of National Historic Landmarks by state
National Heritage Area
National Historical Park
List of heritage registers
Contributing property
Cultural landscape
Historic preservation


External links

National Register of Historic Places
National Historic Landmarks Program
Travel itineraries
Weekly updates
Nomination forms
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
Working with Section 106
An Overview of Federal Historic Preservation Law, 1966-1996
National Register of Historic Places.com - unofficial website
National Register of Historic Places in Google Earth - (unofficial)