What is a Historical Register?
A historical register is listing of culturally significant properties.
They are usually buildings, though they can be other types of places
such as ships, bridges, archeological sites or cultural landscapes. A
register or historic district usually is formed when a governmental
agency enacts a law that establishes a process for listing historic
places or districts that have been preserved over time and now embody a
significant cultural legacy. This list becomes a way to document that
the community wishes to continue to protect these places as a reminder
of the past and to retain character and quality of its communities.
Major registers include:
These listings are primarily honorary and meant to
encourage preservation of important historic places for their
architectural distinction, association with important people or role in
the community. To encourage rehabilitation of historic properties, some
landmarks groups grant Special Valuation, a property tax incentive, to
owners who complete a certified rehabilitation.
The Places of the Past image database includes more than the officially
recognized register properties. Sometimes historic places are just old
community landmarks or notable buildings with good quality architecture
that deserve recognition and documentation. Part of this project is to
help formally document and identify these places before they are gone.
