Preservation Guidelines

The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards are applied to almost every decision made at the federal, state and local level relative to proposed physical changes to a historic place. These Standards were established in 1977 by the National Park Service under the authority of the United States Secretary of the Interior and provide guidelines for Preservation (maintaining a structure as found); Restoration (uncovering, protecting and recreating features that would have been present during a specific period of significance); Rehabilitation (protecting key character-defining features while modifying other parts of the structure for contemporary uses); and Reconstruction (rebuilding a known, lost historic structure using extensive historical documentation).

Museum properties and exceptionally unique structures are typically preserved or restored; buildings that are being put to new uses or that have lost much of their historic integrity are generally rehabilitated. Historically accurate reconstructions are uncommon and usually only undertaken for museum sites or minor outbuildings on private property. The standards encourage new construction to reflect contemporary aesthetics using compatible materials, form and scale.

Information about the Standards as well as Guidelines for the Treatment of Cultural Landscapes can be found at HERE.

PRESERVATION BRIEFS

The National Park Service has published fifty Preservation Briefs which cover a range of specific topics from Repointing Mortar Joints in Historic Masonry Buildings (Brief #2) to Preserving Grave Markers in Historic Cemeteries (Brief #48). These technical briefs provide excellent illustrated examples to better inform property stewards about best practices.