Webinar: Top Tips for National Register Nominations
Wednesday, March 27th – 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
What is the National Register of Historic Places? This webinar will cover the basics of what the National Register of Historic Places program is, what being listed in the program does and does not mean, and what benefits may come with a listing. Additionally, this webinar will outline the process of nominating resources to the National Register of Historic Places and provide insight and tips to preparing a nomination.
This webinar is registered for 1.00 LU AIA credit.
About Our Presenter
Abby Marshall, Survey and National Register Manager for Inventory and Registration for the State Historic Preservation Office of the Ohio History Connection, holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Geography with a concentration in Travel and Tourism as well as a Master’s of Science degree in Historic Preservation – both from Ball State University. She began working at the Ohio State Historic Preservation Office in 2021 and currently serves on the Heritage Ohio Board as the Young Ohio Preservationist’s chair.
National Register of Historic Places and African American Sites
Wednesday, June 8th – 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Ohio has hundreds of important historic sites related to under represented communities: Ohio Green Book properties and other Civil Rights related properties from the 19th and 20th century. This webinar will provide the background and knowledge to encourage more conversations in the field of preservation in relation to underserved communities. Diamond will also touch on two specific projects King Records and the Harriet Beecher Stowe House.
We will discuss the National Register of Historic places and illuminating the importance of underrepresented communities in preservation. This webinar also examines The National Park Service Underrepresented Communities Grant.
Our Presenter
Diamond Crowder, Underrepresented Communities Survey & National Register at the State Historic Preservation Office. Diamond has a B.A. and M.A. in History, University of Toledo (with major areas of study Early American History, African American History, and Women and Gender History) and is currently finishing her doctoral dissertation that specifically focuses on African American women post Emancipation (University of Cincinnati).
Reasons to protest a National Register listing?
A Xenia newspaper recently reported on local efforts to list Xenia’s Carnegie Library in the National Register of Historic Places, an effort that has met with resistance from the owners of the building, the Greene County Commissioners. You can read the article here.
As you may know, National Register listing typically conveys a couple benefits on the owner of the listed building: a measure of pride and satisfaction at receiving recognition of the building’s historic status (typically for owners of residential properties), or access to redevelopment incentives (for owners of commercial rental property). National Register listing can also assist in efforts to preserve a historic building against unwanted federal intrusions, or when federal money is used (commonly referred to as the Section 106 process).
When it comes to National Register listing, there are only benefits, not restrictions. In fact, an owner can have his or her building listed one day, and tear it down the next day. We still occasionally hear the myth that National Register listing entails restrictions, when someone is protesting National Register listing (we got a little into NR myths and misinformation after Barb Powers excellent conference session here). And when it comes to redevelopment of historic buildings, we recommend National Register listing, even if the owner has no intention of investing in the building’s rehabilitation. A developer looking to rehabilitate a historic building has cleared an important hurdle when purchasing a building already listed in the National Register.
Xenia’s Carnegie Library
In a letter to the State Historic Preservation Office, the county administrator stated that the county commissioners didn’t see a benefit to listing, nor was he sure about the compatibility of an elevator within a historic space (his written comments, according to the article: All the history, does an elevator marry well with the history.)
The administrator goes on to state that while he understands there’s no barrier to demolition, once a building is listed, he doesn’t want the barrier (?) of National Register listing in place should the commissioners decide ultimately to demolish.
While the county commissioners, and administrator, don’t see the benefit of listing, I’d encourage them not to stand in the way of listing, especially when it’s been completed at no (or very minimal) cost to the county by volunteers. It can only improve the marketability of the building, when the commissioners do decide to sell.
We need more myth-busting!
I’m curious: did you happen to catch Barb Powers’ presentation at our Annual Conference in Kent, Myth-Busting the National Register of Historic Places? If not, here’s the quick (very quick!) summary: myths and misinformation abound when it comes to the National Register of Historic Places, including what owners of buildings are or are not required to do with their NR-listed property.
Combating that misinformation and trying to set the record straight seems to be one of those perpetual tasks for organizations such as the SHPO and Heritage Ohio. I was just reminded this week of the ignorance being spread about the National Register when I was reading an article about Hamilton’s efforts to list their downtown in the National Register in order to access tax credit incentives (you can read the article here). While the article is factually correct, the problems happen when we get to the comments section, specifically the commenter saying “Registration prevents revitalization and requires preservation. This is a bad move… You cannot change the exterior of registered buildings. You cannot demolish older buildings to replace them with newer buildings. You can maintain a movie set for the early 20th century. But, you kill revitalization of the city when you register the buildings.”
Of course, anyone who attended Barb’s session, or who has a basic familiarity with the National Register understands that these comments are patently false. The National Register does not require building owners to preserve their buildings. Nor does it prohibit exterior changes. Nor does it prohibit demolition. Unfortunately, these voices are out there, they crop up, and they have their believers. So, our jobs, as passionate preservationists, is to make sure we take every opportunity to educate people about what the National Register does and does not do, and refute National Register ignorance when we have the opportunity.