Content Information
Adaptive use: Using a property for use other than what it was built or designed for. Examples: converting a school into housing or a gas station into a coffee shop. Alternatively referred to as adaptive reuse.
Certified Local Government Program
A preservation partnership between local, state, and national governments focused on promoting historic preservation at the grass roots level. The program is jointly administered by the National Park Service and the State Historic Preservation Offices in each state, with each local community working through a certification process to become recognized as a Certified Local Government; also known as a “CLG:
Character-defining feature:
A prominent or distinctive aspect, quality, or characteristic of a historic property that contributes significantly to its unique physical character. Examples include a church steeple, a factory building’s steel windows or the regular arrangement of gravestones in a cemetery.
Historic preservation commission
A volunteer citizen body established by city ordinance or county resolution that exists to advise the local elected officials on matters relating to historic preservation, advocate for historic properties and undertake historic preservation projects in the community.
Historic property
A district, site, building, structure, object, or landscape significant in American history, architecture, engineering, archeology, or culture that is eligible for or listed to the National Register of Historic Places.
Integrity
The authenticity of a property's historic identity, evidenced by the survival of physical characteristics (location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, association) that existed during its historic or prehistoric period. The extent to which a property retains its historic appearance or context associations.
Intensive survey
A systematic, detailed examination of an area designed to gather information about historic properties sufficient to evaluate them against predetermined criteria of significance within specific historic contexts. See also reconnaissance survey.
National Historic Preservation Act
Federal legislation first passed in 1966 to preserve historic and archaeological properties in the United States. The act authorized the National Register of Historic Places and the creation of professional standards for the preservation of historic properties. The act was amended to add other responsibilities including the Certified Local Government Program established by amendment in 1980.
National Park Service
An agency within the Department of the Interior. The National Park Service develops general standards for historic preservation which are used by states, local governments, and preservation professionals. The National Park Service also manages the Certified Local Government Program at the national level.
National Trust for Historic Preservation
A private non-profit membership organization dedicated to saving historic places and revitalizing America’s communities. The Trust provides leadership, education, advocacy, and resources to save America’s diverse historic places and revitalize communities.
Professional Qualifications Standards
The requirements used by the National Park Service, and have been previously published in the Code of Federal Regulations, 36 CFR Part 61. The qualifications define minimum education and experience required to perform identification, evaluation, registration, and treatment activities. In some cases, additional areas or levels of expertise may be needed, depending on the complexity of the task and the nature of the historic properties involved. In the following definitions, a year of full-time professional experience need not consist of a continuous year of full-time work but may be made up of discontinuous periods of full-time or part-time work adding up to the equivalent of a year of full-time experience. Professional Qualifications Standards (U.S. National Park Service)
Recent past
A movement that seeks to preserve modern architectural heritage and particularly those places that are less than 50 years old, and thus not “historic” according to commonly used guidelines.
Reconnaissance survey
Sometimes called a “windshield” survey, this is a quick examination of an area to generalize about the types and distributions of historic properties that may be present. See also intensive survey.
Rehabilitation
The act or process of making possible compatible use for a property through repair, alterations, and additions while preserving those portions or features which convey its historical, cultural, or architectural values. It is by far the most used preservation treatment. See also restoration.
Repointing
Is the process of removing deteriorated mortar from the joints of a masonry wall and replacing it with new mortar. Often confused with tuck pointing.
Restoration
The act or process of accurately depicting the form, features, and character of a property as it appeared at a particular period by means of the removal of features from other periods in its history and reconstruction of missing features from the restoration period. The limited and sensitive upgrading of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems and other code-required work to make properties functional is appropriate within a restoration project. See also rehabilitation.
Section 106
refers to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, which requires federal agencies to consider the effects of their proposed activities on properties included, or eligible for inclusion, in the National Register of Historic Places.
Secretary of the Interior’s Standards
Common sense historic preservation principles written in non-technical language. The “standards” promote historic preservation best practices that will help to protect our nation’s irreplaceable cultural resources.
Significance
The importance of a property to the history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, or culture of a community, state, or the nation.
State Historic Preservation Office
The mission of the State Historic Preservation Office, or SHPO (“ship-oh”), is to identify, preserve, and protect Iowa’s historic resources. The SHPO’s programs include the National Register of Historic Places program, Certified Local Government program, historic tax credit programs and Review and Compliance for federal projects. The office is in Des Moines at 1963 Bell Avenue.
Survey
A systematic examination of an area designed to gather information about historic properties to evaluate for significance. A survey can be done at a reconnaissance or intensive level.
Tuck-pointing
A primarily decorative application of a raised mortar joint or lime putty joint on top of flush mortar joints. Often confused with repointing.