National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the USA's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects worthy of preservation. As of 2004, the list includes approximately 78,000 entries, including many icons of American culture, history, engineering, and architecture.

Effects of being listed on the National Register

The National Register of Historic Places is primarily a tool to recognize the historical significance of a building, district, or site. With one exception, there are no laws at the state or federal level that affect the ability of a property owner to make changes to the building, including demolition. If federal money or a federal permitting process is involved, Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 is invoked which requires an assessment of the impact of an intervention on a historic resource. The process is purely advisory in nature; the end product is a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) in which the parties involved agree to a particular plan. An MOA often recommends "document and destroy" in which the historic resource is first documented and then demolished. The National Register does, though, prevent local governments from condemning the property or requiring modifications to it.

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Many states have laws equivalent to Section 106.

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As opposed to a National Historic District, a local historic district often has enabling ordinances at the municipality level that restrict certain kinds of changes to properties and thereby encourages changes that are sensitive to the historic character of an area.

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